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Interior Health is announcing an addition to their substance treatment facilities across the region.
They are adding 73 new substance use treatment beds throughout communities within Interior Health (IH). The new beds are part of IH’s plan to meet the Province’s 500 Substance Use Spaces Initiative.
“These new beds for Interior Health are part of a large provincial initiative to improve care outcomes for individuals living with substance use challenges,” said Health Minister Terry Lake, in a statement. “The beds will provide a safe and supportive environment for clients and are part of the Province’s commitment to add 500 additional substance use spaces throughout British Columbia by 2017.”
Out of the 73 new beds, 57 will be for clients going through recovering, providing a substance-free place to stay while they wait for residential treatment, return from residential treatment or transition to a more stable lifestyle.
The other 16 beds will be withdrawal management beds supporting adults and youth detoxing through the early stages of withdrawal from alcohol and drugs.
The beds will be located in several communities throughout the health region, and the exact locations still have to be chosen.
Many will end up in the Okanagan. In total, there will be nine Support Recovery Beds and four Youth Withdrawal Management Beds added to facilities in Central Okanagan, 10 Support Recovery Beds for South Okanagan and six Support Recovery Beds for North Okanagan. There will be another four Support Recovery Beds provided by an Aboriginal organization in the region.
Another 12 Support Recovery Beds and four Adult Withdrawal Management Beds will be added in the Thompson Cariboo area.
“Improving outcomes for mental health and substance use clients is a top priority for Interior Health,” said IH Board Chair Erwin Malzer, also in a statement. “These additional treatment beds for both adults and youth represent a significant improvement and will help ensure appropriate levels of supports and services are available to those requiring them.”
According to IH Mental Health and Substance Use Executive Director David Harrhy, there are already 121 substance use treatment beds in the health region.
“The addition of these 73 new beds will allow us to better provide integrated specialized care planning and services in collaboration with clients and their families who have complex substance use issues,” he said.
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