Health network getting $1.7M more for opioid fight

The Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) has announced more than $1.7 million in additional funding to treat opioid addiction.

About $1.6 million came from the province, and the LHIN topped it up by about $100,000, the organization said Wednesday.

However, the funding will be renewed annually, and it is in addition to the $23 million already spent annually on addictions services every year in the LHIN, said LHIN CEO Chantale LeClerc.

“We’re committed to this as base funding. And it will carry on. We know we can’t solve these complex problems with one-time money,” she said.

“It’s a big investment. We’re hoping it will be part of the solution.”

Some of the funded programs are in development while others are already in place. They include rapid access screening and support; rapid access counselling; community withdrawal management and case management as well as enhanced residential treatment and support for emergency departments.

Ten agencies across the region will be sharing the funding.

Among these: Ottawa Inner City Health will be getting $371,000 to expand its managed opioid program with homeless and street-involved adults.

Another $351,000 will go to expand the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre’s rapid access addiction medicine clinic, which develops a treatment plan and offers referrals to patients and clients.

About $319,000 is going to Montfort Renaissance to expand its addictions and referral services and add a nurse practitioner to provide opioid substitution treatment and other primary care. The service is the starting point for people over 16 who are concerned about substance use and want to discuss treatment options.

Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services has received $168,000 for its rapid access program for youth and parents. The program previously received one-time funding. The expanded program is already in operation in four locations, including Kanata, Hintonburg, Gloucester and Orléans.

Some of the money will be used to ensure that staffing is sustainable. The $116,000 going to the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre had been earmarked for a registered nurse to expand the outpatient opioid intervention service, for example.

The Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre is getting almost $76,000 to sustain the nurse practitioner resources in its residential addiction treatment sites in Carp and Carleton Place.

LeClerc said the LHIN recognizes the opioid crisis is “very fluid” and requires programs that can work in tandem with other strategies.