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An addictions treatment centre near Lumsden has opened 20 new in-patient spaces this month, with plans to triple that number still underway.
Intake for this first phase of in-patient spaces at the EHN Willowview Recovery Centre started on Jan. 21, stated Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Lori Carr in a recent government news release.
“I am delighted that the first phase of in-patient spaces are now operating at our province’s largest addictions treatment centre,” Carr said in the release, which was issued Friday. “The Government of Saskatchewan is focused on helping residents who want treatment for substance use access the supports they need to start their path to recovery.”
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The announcement comes days after a group of ex-employees of the treatment centre said the facility had not accepted any in-patients for a full stay and treatment since it opened last spring, with deadly consequences for some of the people who had been turned away.
Former employee Mandy Challis, who worked as a senior admissions co-ordinator from May to October 2024, said she knew of four people on the waiting list who died before they could access the 16 weeks of holistic, wrap-around in-patient addictions treatment the new facility had promised.
On Jan. 23, Carr’s office said patients were receiving “intensive day treatment services while they transition into overnight occupancy,” while building renovations needed for fire safety were ongoing.
In Friday’s release, Carr said the facility, operated by addictions treatment provider EHN Canada, has been offering intensive outpatient treatment since October 2024.
“A phased approach to converting the remaining 40 spaces from outpatient to in-patient spaces will continue through the spring,” the release notes.
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