Northway Community Welcome Event: Ribbon Cutting and Public Tours
September 21, 2023 – Northway Wellness Centre, the new home of the Residential Withdrawal Management and Safe Beds program, celebrated a Community Welcome Event which included a ribbon cutting ceremony and public guided tours on Thursday, September 21. Sault Ste. Marie MPP Ross Romano joined the celebration.
Northway is home to our Residential Withdrawal Management and Safe Beds Program. Residential Withdrawal Management is a short-term service that provides safe care for individuals 16 and older who are experiencing substance withdrawal, are intoxicated, or seeking help with relapse prevention. Safe Beds provides voluntary crisis accommodations and support for those with mental health and or addiction crises.
Services available at Northway will include comprehensive assessment, medical support (including medication-assisted symptom and craving management), education (including harm reduction, healthy coping, life skills, and relapse prevention), treatment planning and referrals, individual/group counselling and support, and peer support and self-help groups. Our excellent Mental Health and Addictions team includes Social Workers, Addiction Services Workers, Nurses, Nurse Practitioner, Addiction Medicine Physician, and Support Services Staff.
This modern facility features:
- 16,000 square feet of space for client care
- 20 private adult withdrawal management and safe beds bedrooms with private washrooms, with adjustable lighting and temperature controls, including 7 barrier free accommodations
- Contemporary standards for accessibility, privacy and infection prevention and control
- Therapeutic outdoor gardens
- Confidential space for medical exams and individual and group counselling
- Designated areas for ceremonies including burning
- Fitness and laundry rooms
- Secure entrances and heightened rooms for enhanced safety
- Safety-designed fixtures and furniture
- Bedrooms located along the perimetre for windows and natural light
- 2 client rooms with enhanced safety features
- Kitchen, living space and lounge areas
Sault Area Hospital thanks our hard working teams including staff, physicians, patient advisors and our community for their ongoing support and work on this project. Thank you also to our construction partners including DiTommaso Developments, SalDan Construction Group and IDEA Architecture/Engineering, and our government partners/MPP Ross Romano for their diligence, and dedication to this important project. A special thank you to our major donors – Algoma Steel and Clark McDaniel – for their generosity.
Northway will officially open its doors to clients on Monday, September 25. To learn how to access Northway services or for more information, please visit www.northwaywellness.ca
Quotes:
Ross Romano, MPP for Sault Ste. Marie
“I am humbled to be able to join the team at Sault Area Hospital team and so many community leaders for the grand opening of the Northway Wellness Centre,” said Ross Romano, MPP for Sault Ste. Marie. “This new facility site will provide treatment options to people in our community who are suffering and their families by complementing the significant investments made to build out-of-hospital services and numerous community wrap-around supports and services that support vulnerable persons in crisis before they end up in hospital. These supports are all critical to help people heal and thrive.”
Lisa Bell-Murray, SAH Board Chair
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we congratulate the SAH team and thank our community and our partners for their continued support. Northway Wellness Centre is indeed great news for our community and will go a long way to providing a path of hope and strength for clients. This new facility represents a culmination of hard work and dedication on the part of many individuals, including all those who came before us. It is a shining example of what can be accomplished when we work together.”
Ila Watson, SAH President and CEO
“The opening of Northway Wellness Centre is a momentous event and a major step forward in enhancing addictions services in Algoma. This much-needed modern, safe facility, along with our team of excellent health professionals, will provide a comfortable and healing environment for clients. We still have more work to do and I look forward to continuing to work with MPP Ross Romano and our government to improve mental health and addictions services in our community.”
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