EDMONTON—Alberta has “a gravely ill homeless population, not just because of addiction and overdose, but frostbite, cardiac issues, COPD, diabetes, asthma, sepsis and infection,” said Premier Danielle Smith, and the province intends to address the issue with two innovative programs as part of health care reform.
“So they’re constantly back,” she said. “We have a revolving door of the same people coming through for the same treatment, or they get entered into the acute care bed because there is no place for them to go to convalesce,” she said.
This week, the Bridge Healing Transition Accommodation Program, the “first of its kind convalescence facility,” will open in Edmonton, the premier said. This is part of a larger health care reform plan to reduce overflowing emergency rooms, address the shortage of patient beds, and improve outcomes for vulnerable Albertans.
Edmonton Program
In the next week, the government will open up the first 12 of three dozen beds in Edmonton for homeless patients just discharged from the hospital. The Bridge Healing Transitional Accommodation Program will “take the pressure off the health system,” says Smith.Three buildings will each house 12 recently discharged homeless patients, for an estimated 30 days on average. Each unit has its own washroom, with a communal living area and kitchen.
This pilot housing project was developed by Dr. Louis Francescutti, an emergency room doctor, who was unable to respond to an interview request by press time. The project is funded by AHS and will be operated by Jasper Place Wellness Centre, a nonprofit program offering community support.
“Those experiencing homelessness while also struggling with a chronic illness or health issue are often more susceptible to complications and repeat emergency department visits,” said AHS.
He said this program is “historic” and will change the practice of medicine, reduce ambulance calls, reduce the number of emergency room visits, and ultimately offer “better outcomes for the patient.”
He said in the past, patients in a vulnerable state “received access to the top medical care they could probably receive. And then unfortunately, we have to turn them back into the street.”
The doctor said the bridge program aims to create a community, with only 12 beds per building: “you put 12 adults together, and they form an instant community,” he said.
The province also offers a telehealth program for opioid addiction, providing treatment on demand without a waiting list, seven days a week.
Red Deer Facility
Nicholas Milliken, Alberta minister of Mental Health and Addiction, told The Epoch Times that a new 75-bed facility has been constructed in Red Deer, and represents another “important step forward in building a comprehensive recovery-oriented system of care across the province.”He said: “Every single Albertan living with addiction deserves the opportunity to pursue recovery. With construction now complete, more Albertans will soon be able to get the help they need in this long-term therapeutic recovery community—the first of its kind in the province of Alberta.”
The program, on land near the Chiles Industrial Park, adjacent to Highway 2A, will allow addicted Albertans to stay up to one year, with free treatment. An open house was held last week for community members, and it is expected the program will be opening doors to its first residents soon.
Smith said the program will offer “intensive work” to get people free from their addictions. The 10-acre site will include community gardens, therapy in the morning, with skills and chores in the afternoon, said the premier.
“We think that by building out these kinds of communities, giving people hope, taking a different approach, that we’re going to transform the way that we are supporting our addicted and homeless population,” said Smith.
