Alex Kingsbury, a detox attendant at Holmes House in Simcoe
Provincial funding is going towards Holmes House in Simcoe.
As part of Ontario’s investment to expand access to mental health and addiction supports during COVID-19, two new staff members and a permanent full-time nurse practitioner.
This will be the first-ever full-time nurse practitioner at the facility.
The hope is that this position will help divert clients from having to go to an emergency department when withdrawal symptoms worsen and a nurse can also prescribe medication on-site which will save his clients from having to leave Holmes House to go to a doctor.
The two new staff positions are a detox attendant and a counselor.
This funding will also help offer residential treatment programs off-site.
COVID-19 forced Holmes House to close its doors from March to August in 2020. When they re-opened, they were able to bring back detox clients, but they couldn’t offer their treatment services because they didn’t have enough space to social distance.
After receiving additional funding from the province, Holmes House was able to provide their treatment services off-site which offer a 21-day, structured program designed to help clients in their recovery.