New Pictou County Recovery Support Centre provides Nova Scotians access to timely and safe addictions care
By Crystal Jamieson
Patient accessibility, safe and inviting therapeutic space, and hospital integration are key attributes to the new Pictou County Recovery Support Centre.
On February 14, 2022, Nova Scotia Health, in partnership with the Province of Nova Scotia, reopened Pictou County Recovery Support Centre, formerly known as withdrawal management services, at the Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow.
Services include withdrawal management, education, recovery and harm reduction support, along with individual and group recovery support.
“People who have difficulty with substance use and addictive behavior have needs for support that are, at times, complex and time sensitive,” said Dr. Dave Martell, physician lead, Addictions Medicine, Mental Health and Addictions Program at Nova Scotia Health. “This recovery support centre will build on our existing system of mental health and addictions care in ways that are responsive and holistic, meeting the needs of the community for some of the most vulnerable.”
The Recovery Support Centre provides a safe, inviting, therapeutic environment for individuals and their families, clinicians and staff at a location well-suited to provide high quality clinical care to support people in their recovery.
“Where we are integrated within the hospital, we have access to different departments like pharmacy, blood collection, lab and diagnostics,” said Naomie Dexter, manager of Withdrawal Services (Pictou County) and Opioid Treatment and Recovery Program. “This allows us to be better connected within the system of care which is very helpful and provides better outcomes and better patient care.” Recovery Support Centres provide people who may not wish to fully engage in treatment an opportunity to participate in brief intervention, while also offering those who need increased support the ability to step up into receiving greater care.
“The new location at the Aberdeen [Hospital] is more accessible to individuals, there are buses that come here, it’s right off of the Trans-Canada highway, and within walking distance of the main Community Mental Health and Addictions clinic in New Glasgow,” said Dexter.
Recovery Support Centres are part of the new provincial withdrawal management service delivery model within Nova Scotia Health. This model includes a variety of levels of evidence-based medically assisted withdrawal management.
“One area of the program is outpatient medical withdrawal and it usually involves three days of treatment, but the hard work is afterwards,” said Dexter. “The clients are able to go home after a day of being supported. We also discuss a relapse prevention plan, provide contacts and if necessary, a dose of medication to take overnight.”
The centre features trauma-informed enhancements that have been funded through generous support from the Aberdeen Health Foundation, such as new lighting for the inpatient rooms, furnishings for the common areas, and devices enabling clients to access virtual care.
In total, ten Recovery Support Centres will be set up across the province over the next two years. Five additional sites will be set up in existing Mental Health and Addictions Program sites in Lunenburg, Middleton, Strait-Richmond, Sydney and Yarmouth. New centres will also be set up in Truro, North Sydney and Halifax.
