THUNDER BAY — Medically supported withdrawal services now have a new — and safer — home in Thunder Bay.
As of Tuesday, St. Joseph’s Care Group (SJCG) has moved its withdrawal management program to the Crossroads Centre location at 500 Oliver Road.
“All of the decisions around this move have been based around safety: safety for our clients, for our partners in emergency services," said Andrea Docherty, the vice president of Clinical and Community Health for SJCG.
The program provides medically supported and supervised withdrawal management services for those not in the emergency department.
It will continue to provide a voluntary place for anyone age 16 and older to safely withdraw from alcohol and other substances.
Informally known as detox, withdrawal management refers to a more complex process of professionally supporting individuals through the symptoms they experience when they stop using a substance while avoiding the negative connotations associated with 'detox.' The process is also part of a larger, more comprehensive treatment plan addressing addiction from multiple angles beyond the immediate physical symptoms.
“When people arrive at the front door, they’ll be greeted by intake and that team will provide an assessment. There’s space very close to the entrance for stabilization and close monitoring and then as people start to feel better, they’ll be moved into more private spaces where they can recover,” said Docherty.
With the acute care stabilization beds on the same floor as recovery beds, the new location is safer, private and more accessible she explained.
At the former Balmoral Centre location, said Docherty, the two sections were divided between two floors, making it challenging and sometimes unsafe to move people between the services. In the new space, it’s much safer to do so, allowing for flow and flexibility,
The open space removes the need for lifts and elevators to support clients at their old location.
The total budget for all renovations taking place at the Oliver Road site is approximately $650,000.
For now, the withdrawal management program is sharing the space with the Crossroads Centre's pre- and post-treatment programs.
Despite this, Docherty said there would be no changes to their capacity.
“We will be maintaining the same capacity for both our pre- and post-treatment services, as well as withdrawal management. And the good news is it gives us a little bit more flexibility in terms of those numbers,” said Docherty.
This move marks the completion of phase one of their three-phase site swap project, announced in July 2024.
“It’s been a lot of work and I really want to take a moment to thank all of our clients and our staff, physicians and partners in the neighbourhood for all of the work and support that they’ve done to get us to this stage today,” said Docherty.
Eventually, the Crossroads programs will move into the former Balmoral Centre location on Sibley Drive. In the meantime, that building will be closed to receive some much-needed renovations for the move of pre- and post-treatment services.
“We have lots of input, from partners and clients and staff and physicians, to help make that space as safe as possible for everybody. And then once that move happens, then we’ll be able to provide an additional service here at this location," said Docherty, "and that is some safe sobering beds.”
Beyond improving quality of care for clients and adding a space for new safe sobering beds, it will also improve safety for staff and partners, have embedded programming for Indigenous Peoples and include gender-appropriate washrooms.
Docherty said it is an important opportunity for this location to have a dedicated space for cultural services and dedicated positions.
“We’re very fortunate at St. Joseph’s Care Group to have a whole division for Indigenous health and so that team working very closely with the withdrawal management team will design offerings for clients that might include a smudge when they arrive and really embedding our services in a culturally safe approach,” said Docherty.
The SJCG will next focus on opening 7 of 15 available safe sobering beds by the end of next March and the beginning of April and welcome the Crossroads Centre permanently in the summer of 2025.
