There was a community vigil across the street from Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli’s office today.

It was held in opposition to to the possibility of the residential addiction treatment centre program and its 29 inpatient beds at the North Bay Regional Health Centre shutting down.

Michael Hurley, the vice president of CUPE Ontario says staff has been told the program will be replaced by an outpatient facility as early as next year.

He says he knows from personal experience how essential it is.

“The success rate of out patient treatment programs is considerably less than a residential treatment program especially for people who are acutely addicted,” he says.

He says replacing a residential treatment program shouldn’t happen.

“It’s unbelievable to me that a community of this size with the problems in terms of addiction and alcoholism wouldn’t have residential addiction alcohol treatment available to people who desperately need it, Hurley says.

In a release, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli says the community through the work of the Mayor’s roundtable has identified a centralized mental health and addictions operation.

And that is exactly what we are delivering with this transfer of funding.

He says the recently announced Transitional Housing and Crisis Stabilization Centre where Community Beds will be co-located with an emergency shelter, warming centre and transitional housing is what is being asked for by the community.

Fedeli says continued fearmongering and politically-motivated rhetoric by CUPE regarding funding is irresponsible.

He says the health care budget is being increased $1.9 billion, including an additional $384 million for hospital and in Nipissing, the government has demonstrated its commitment to ending hallway health care by providing more than $4.5 million in added funding for the North Bay Regional Health Centre in the past year including an additional $733,835 for capital upgrades last week.

Hurley says there’ll be sticker day next month as part of the campaign to keep the facility at the hospital open.

(photo by station staff)

Filed under: michael-hurley, mpp-vic-fedeli, residential-addiction-treatment-centre