A new mobile unit for addictions services and homelessness is now available outside the Kemptville District Hospital. The new Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub provides care for those in need in rural areas. It’s hard to tell from the outside, but inside the small non-descript trailer that is the mobile HART Hub are potential life savers performing crucial work, including a social worker and medical staff that are available for those in crisis and housing support. “It’s quite imperative that we have these at our hospital and specifically to the community that we’re serving,” said Cassandra Mayville-Fortin, manager of the emergency department at the Kemptville District Hospital. “For a long time, these populations were being underserved.” The HART Hub outside the Kemptville District Hospital runs Monday to Friday and will also help connect residents with addiction services. “The HART Hubs themselves are a new provincial model of care to help individuals that are seeking support for substance use and housing related issues,” said Anthony Desloges, clinical manager at the West Ottawa HART Hub. “Twenty-eight HART hubs were approved in the province in the west and Ottawa HART Hub is one.” Rural areas are not exempt from issues of addiction and homelessness, and experts say they are hoping this service fills the gap and provides an alternative to the emergency room. “We see approximately 200-plus patients a year with mental health issues, including substance use issues,” Mayville-Fortin said. Inside the unit, you will find Naloxone, connections to mental health support, and other medical necessities. “They have beds in there. They have a confidential space. It’s actually even tall enough that you can stand in there and so it’s quite a wonderful resource in that regards, but it’s not just limited to actually going into the van,” Mayville-Fortin said. Patients who come to the unit do not need to be referred and they also don’t need OHIP, a way to remove barriers for those most in need. “It means a tremendous amount because in general rural communities in Eastern Ontario have been underserved with the services that the Hart Hub would provide to support homelessness, addiction recovery and treatment,” said Frank Vassallo, Kemptville District Hospital President and CEO.
