The expansion of Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Mental Health and Addictions Urgent Crisis Centre (MHAUCC) is proving to be successful.
Between January and October, the centre has seen over 2,600 visits, with 1,370 of those visits occurring after the centre moved to 24/7 operation in July.
During that same timeframe there have been 385 addiction consults, with 238 of those consults occurring between July and October.
The centre has also referred 218 individuals to the emergency department who came into the centre first, while the hospital has referred 442 individuals from the emergency department to the centre for more direct mental health care.
This program provides service to those over the age of 16, who are experiencing a mental health or addictions crisis and cannot safely wait for community mental health and addiction support. It also helps to keep emergency department at Windsor Regional Hospital available for urgent cases.
Tammy Kotyk, Vice President Mental Health & Addictions at HDGH, says since moving to 24/7 service, they've seen an 113 per cent increase in addiction consults.
"People coming in before would have to come back the next day to meet with addiction workers, now that we've opened our doors 24/7, it allows the individual to stay in a warm, welcoming environment, and we can connect them to those addiction services and consults the following morning."
She says they have a great relationship with the hospital in ensuring those in the emergency department are at the best location.
"If somebody shows up in the ER and does not need the acute care level of services, they're able to transfer those people over immediately in real time over to the UCC. And it's vice versa, if somebody shows up and walks into the Urgent Crisis Centre and potentially needs emergency level care, it's reciprocal, we have that pathway, we call over and we transfer the client over."
Kotyk says she thinks these numbers will continue to rise.
"We see an increase in volumes over the holiday season, but I don't think we're going to see this plateau at any point, I don't think we're going to see these volumes drop. We know that we're in an opioid and addictions, and in our community there's an epidemic happening, same with homelessness. So, the need is just there and it's just going to get greater."
Kotyk states that those coming into the centre are there for a range of services, from anxiety and depression, to people coming in with an opioid addiction.
Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare used existing resources and funding to provide this program. They recently received approval from the Ministry of Health to use $800,000 in existing funding dollars that were allocated for another program that was never launched into this service.
HDGH has been given 18 months by the Ministry to gain data collection in order to apply for annual base funding for the centre.
The centre is located adjacent to the Goyeau Street entrance of Windsor Regional Hospital’s Ouellette Campus Emergency Department.