Cathy Dobson/The Independent

A 24-bed Community Addictions Hub could be open at Bluewater Health in 2027.

Four years after the provincial government promised $12.5 million for a 24-bed withdrawal management facility at Bluewater Health, the Ministry of Health has given approval to go to start the building process.

Hospital CEO Paula Reaume-Zimmer, speaking at an announcement Tuesday, says the call for contractors will go out in three weeks.

Approval will be required again from the Ministry of Health for the winning bid, then construction is expected to take 18 to 24 months on the first three floors of the hospital’s vacated Russell Street west wing. That means completion and occupancy should be possible by the end of 2027 or early 2028. 

The new facility – to be known going forward as the Community Addictions Hub – will add five new detox beds in Lambton. The unit will amalgamate seven detox beds currently operating at the hospital, with 12 stabilization beds at Ryan’s House on Exmouth Street where clients can stay up to one month. It will also add five new beds, for a total of 24. 

The future of Ryan’s House is not yet clear but Reaume-Zimmer hopes it remains in use as some kind of treatment or social support facility once the new hub opens.

Demand for detox beds in Sarnia-Lambton has been urgent for some time while the community struggles with unprecedented levels of addiction and overdoses.

Current services are overwhelmed, according to hospital officials. In December there were 328 requests for beds at the hospital’s seven-bed detox unit where patients can stay up to one week. Of those, 111 received a bed.  Others had to settle for outpatient counselling and programs but many received nothing.

While local officials including MPP Bob Bailey, Mayor Mike Bradley and Lambton Warden Kevin Marriott congratulated the hospital for finally obtaining ministry approval, they acknowledged it’s a long time coming.

“It’s just the way the Ministry of Health works,” said Bailey. Once the financing was announced in 2022, the hospital was asked to revise architectural drawings at least seven times before receiving final approval.

Bailey said he pushed hard for faster approval but the long line of hospital rebuilds and new hospitals across Ontario meant Bluewater Health had to wait its turn.

“I kept telling the minister this is very important to Sarnia-Lambton,” said Bailey. “I was on the minister all the time. I know there are people suffering.”

Bradley applauds everyone involved in advocating for the hub and called it an excellent example of community collaboration.

“Lives will be saved,” Bradley said.  “Bricks and mortar are important but it is about the people.”

“It’s amazing to see this. Better late than never,” said Marriott.

“This is very heartening,” Reaume-Zimmer said. She has worked on the project since 2016. 

Reaume-Zimmer pointed out the Community Addictions Hub is not to be confused with the new HART Hub for longer-term residential care at the former SCITS high school.

The HART Hub has 30 beds where those in recovery can stay in a substance-free environment up to 18 months. It opened its doors Dec. 23 and already has seven residents.   

Once the Community Addictions Hub on Russell Street and the HART Hub are fully operational, Sarnia-Lambton’s array of options for people struggling with addictions will be more robust, more efficient and save more lives, said Laurie Hicks, a mother who lost her son, Ryan, to a drug overdose in 2015. She is a tireless advocate for better local addiction services.

“We saw with Ryan the difficulty in getting help locally and now other families don’t have to struggle like we did,” she said.  “…With addiction, it’s very important when someone calls for help, they get help now. If we can’t get them right now, tomorrow may be too late, or they may change their mind.”

Five new recovery beds aren’t enough, Hicks cautioned.

“We could have 50 and there wouldn’t be enough,” she said. “I hope in my lifetime I see addiction numbers come way down and the only way that’s going to happen is having the help locally.”

It’s an uphill battle but Hicks said she sees vast improvements since her son died.

“The success stories that we have coming out of Ryan’s House are incredible and it’s that extra time that they need,” she said. “We can provide that to more people now.”

Brian White, a county/city councillor and former Lambton County deputy warden, has been in recovery from alcohol abuse for more than 16 years and advocated for better local recovery services.

 “We’re suffering as a community,” White said.  “The long wait has been frustrating for those of us who experience addiction first-hand. But we are celebrating a milestone today and we don’t want to take anything away from that. It’s great news.”