The province’s associate health minister says opioid dependency continues to take its toll on Albertans and on Friday a $4.6 million grant was announced to help eliminate wait times and improve access to treatment programs in Calgary and Edmonton.
The Alberta government says it will add several more beds to existing facilities and provide new programs to help those suffering from ‘opioid use disorder’.
“This grant includes $2.2 million for treatment to approximately 1100 new patients with opioid use disorder in Calgary. The Renfrew Recovery Centre, CUPS and The Alex will all support clients by offering medicated assisted therapy such as Suboxone or methadone to people who are ready to take that step,” said Brandy Payne, Associate Minister of Health. “The opioid crisis continues to take a devastating toll on families and communities in our province. When someone is struggling with a fentanyl or opioid dependency reaches out for treatment we want to make sure that they can get the help that they need as quickly as possible.”
Facilities in Edmonton will receive $2.4 million from the grant for similar initiatives.
Payne says eight new detox beds at Alpha House will help about 250 new patients to receive Suboxone treatments annually and that the expansion will help cut down wait times for treatment.
“This expansion will eliminate most wait times and improve access through specialty clinics, detox facilities and front line care teams such as the City Centre Paramedic team here in Calgary,” she said. “Medication assisted treatment in the form of Suboxone or methadone is vital in supporting people who are struggling with problematic opioid use. This treatment means people can reach stability in their lives and continue on their journey to recovery. It’s been called the gold standard and a game changer for people living with substance use.”
The AHS Opioid Dependency Treatment Clinic at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre will now be open sooner and stay open later to accommodate more patients.
“These increased hours will allow the clinic to provide treatment to an additional 240 patients," said Payne. "I’ve heard from families, particularly from individuals who work during the day, that an earlier opening time makes it possible to seek treatment and to stay in treatment.”
“This is going to save lives. This is in sharp contrast and great improvement from the past, where it was heartbreaking for us to have to tell patient after patient after patient that without Suboxone their probability of relapse is almost certain, nine out of ten in some reports, and then further to have to tell them that without this medication, their chances of an overdose were potentially even higher, due to the rapid loss of tolerance after detoxing. Sure, some would make it through the two or three month wait list and eventually make their way to an outpatient opioid dependency program and get on methadone or Suboxone, but the vast majority would never make it due to relapsing and the chaos that goes along with having an opioid use disorder,” said Dr. Laura Evans, physician at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre.
Calgary’s City Centre Team was started 18 months ago to provide life-saving support on the street and it will also be enlarged.
“Their work is crucial in helping connect individuals with treatment programs in the community. Just last month, the City Centre Team has helped seven patients begin Suboxone treatment. These are people, our friends, our neighbours, who’ve been kept out of harm’s way and connected to the help they need. And now we are doubling the capacity of the City Centre Team so they can respond to many more calls by adding three more paramedics and putting them on the street seven days a week, up from the current four,” said Payne.
The province says the funding and expansion of programs will help many more Albertans who are struggling with addictions.
“I met with families and individuals affected by substance use and every one of them has told me that when the moment comes and a person is ready for treatment, we must be ready to provide that treatment and that support as quickly as possible before that moment passes. This substantial increase in treatment gets us ready to support thousands more Albertans in seizing the moment and helping to save their lives,” said Payne.
“Today’s funding marks a huge leap forward in addressing the opioid crisis, yet the problem continues to grow in Alberta with 85 more deaths attributed to fentanyl overdose between January and June of this year compared to the same timeframe last year. We’re thankful for today’s announcement and as we celebrate this funding, we need to continue to work together, putting resources where they are most needed, recognizing that a breadth of holistic solutions is needed for a very complex problem,” said Dr. Evans.
“There was nothing here for me when I needed it and I’m so excited that there will be something here when people need it because if that was going on when I needed it, like, many years ago, I would be in such a different place and who knows where I would be now,” said Chelsea Burnham, who has experience with addiction.
In 2016, about 160 people died from fentanyl in Calgary and so far this year there has already been 150 deaths.
For more information on the Opioid Dependency Program, click HERE.
