‘This is going to help people’: North Bay’s new addictions treatment centre set to open next summer
The Northern Ontario Addiction Treatment Centre of Excellence coming to North Bay is a step closer to becoming a reality. It will be located in the old Farquhar Chrysler Dealership on Lakeshore Drive.
This planned facility will act as a treatment centre for people suffering from mental health and addictions. The centre will consist of 24 addictions treatment beds, nine withdrawal services beds and 20 supportive treatment beds.
"We keep putting initiatives in place but new drugs just keep coming in on the streets,” said Pat Cliche the chair for the Community Drug Strategy North Bay and Area.
“So yes, this is going to help those people that really want to be helped."
In February, the Ontario Government announced an investment of $6.84 million for 53 new addictions treatment beds to address the ongoing mental health and addictions crisis the city is facing.
"As part of my work, I’ve read a lot of studies that show that if you're going to support people, you need to support them where they live and when you don't they go looking for help elsewhere,” said Ontario’s Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo.
The centre has suffered from a few delays. It was hoped it would be open a year and a half ago. Issues with the pandemic and supply chain slowed it down.
"The plans are finished. We have a lot of the materials here. Now it's all about starting in earnest with the renovations,” said George Burton, the president and CEO of Canadore College.
The challenge, once open, will be finding staff and getting them adequately trained. That's where Canadore College comes in. The school will manage the treatment centre and will work to train the staff.
"We hope to have our staff on board by the end of March. That'll give us a couple of months of team forming and look at the model of care," said Burton.
Tibollo said it was an easy decision to partner with the post-secondary institution..
"Because of its excellent programs in nursing and addictions treatments,” he stated. “These are going to be the leaders of the future."
The centre's first entourage of staff will be made up of a team of 14. The college will look at ways to incorporate some of its programs into the centre so students can get a hands-on experience at the site, working with patients.
"It's something that we have needed for a long time,” said Cliche.
The centre is slated to open in the summer of 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.