ESTEVAN — The addictions recovery centre at St. Joseph's Hospital in Estevan has been making positive contributions to the lives of its patients since it opened in the fall of 2020.
"We're now at capacity and full staffed, which we're really proud of," said Anthony Cafik, who is the manager of the facility.
"Some of our staff have actually gone through our program and then changed their lives, and now are coming back as employees to help others who suffer, which is really a testament to the work that they've done, that the goal of the program is to help people return to society in a productive way."
The staff at the centre would like to help even more people, but there is currently a waitlist of about 100 people from across the province looking to come to Estevan.
"Our admissions, I would say, is over-inundated with requests for people really struggling with addictions, wanting to come into our centre," said Cafik.
St. Joseph's addictions recovery centre currently has a capacity of 32 people who can receive in-patient care. It also has beds available for a post-treatment sober living program. An increase in the number of post-treatment spots was announced in the 2023-24 provincial budget.
The centre is funded for 32 beds in sober living and is at over 95 per cent capacity. They are on track to be full in the next few weeks.
Approximately 30 per cent of patients who come to them are seeking post-treatment options, Cafik said. He also noted 30 per cent of the people receiving care at St. Joe's are Indigenous.
Four pre-treatment beds are also available for patients before they start the program. Cafik calls the detox spots "shock absorbers".
If there is someone from the Estevan area, that person can access a pre-treatment bed and receive that medical attention before being part of in-patient care.
In-patient care is currently over capacity with 35 patients. Cafik said they can have 10 per cent more patients than the 32 beds they have allocated.
"We found the capacity within ourselves to make that happen said Cafik.
Candace Kopec, the executive director of St. Joseph's Hospital, said they do it to meet immediate needs.
"We've had to do some adjusting internally to make that happen, but that's what we're about," added Cafik. "We want to meet those needs, and if we have to squeeze a bed in somewhere, we've done that."
Kopec said the addictions recovery centre at St. Joe's has the ability and the desire to meet the province's needs because they now have a successful and established program.
"I think the need is well known and Emmanuel Health and St. Joseph's want to be a big part of meeting that need," Cafik added.
St. Joseph's has had 32 in-patient beds for about a year, but because of staffing issues, they weren't able to reach their capacity until this spring.
The St. Joseph's addictions recovery centre has been working with other treatment facilities that have shorter stays but are demanding longer treatment sessions to bring people into sober living.
There are great resources across the province with creative and passionate people wanting to help he said.
"Because of the integration and the alliances we're making with the different referrals, and our intake and our admissions process, and building those relationships, and with the successes of the patients completing, we are now growing exponentially," said Cafik.
The program they have continues to evolve. Counsellors are trained in trauma.
"One thing with addictions is that you will find at the root of it, that there is some level of trauma," he said. "The trauma that triggers can be a trigger then for drinking or using for a coping strategy, so it's important to be able to deal with that, so they feel safe and have an alternative to turn to as opposed to addiction."
With the sober living component, they have a volunteer program comprised of people Cafik referred to as the centre's alumni. They help out as part of the treatment centre and in the community.
Cafik said if they added 20 more beds immediately, the centre could fill them. They also want to look to the future for how they can meet the demand.
Cafik said they continue to see the positive impact of the addictions recovery centre. Their alumni is a growing list, and they have remained in contact.
During the Canada Day long weekend, the addictions centre had their first Recovery First alumni gathering with over 80 people present at Rotary Hall in Woodlawn Regional Park for a barbecue and a weekend gathering.
"It was wonderful," said Cafik. "We had families there. We had a barbecue. We had staff. Our sober living put on all of the activities. They were flipping hamburgers. We put together a big community meeting."
They had guest speakers from Alberta at the event, and they handed out sobriety medallions.
Cafik said it would become an annual gathering for the former patients to come together and celebrate the successes they have enjoyed.
