‘Life-saving treatment’: Siloam Mission offering opioid agonist therapy

Siloam Mission has launched a new program aimed at helping addicts get their addictions under control.

Siloam Mission launched a new program last Wednesday in partnership with 432 Health Group and NeuroMed Mental Health and Wellness Clinic, offering help to people suffering from opioid addictions.

The opioid agonist treatment (OAT) program offers medication such as Suboxone and methadone to minimize withdrawal symptoms and opioid dependence, according to Tobi Jolly, interim director of community wellness at Siloam Mission.

“It’s life-saving treatment for them to manage those symptoms and to help with those cravings,” said Jolly.

The new program operates seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Siloam Mission’s Saul Sair Health Centre, with an on-site pharmacist and nurse practitioner.

“Having it here in our building is going to be huge for community members who might not otherwise access the treatment elsewhere.”

Heidi Pharand-Joven, a nurse practitioner, said the medication is administered on-site and that patients’ treatment will be tracked. She added that regular follow-ups will also be done to ensure their cravings are satisfied and that they are not feeling withdrawal symptoms.

Pharand-Joven said that by ensuring people are not experiencing withdrawal—which can include pain, chills, sweats, nausea, and vomiting—they are less tempted to purchase street drugs.

“The reception has been really good, and the clients that I’ve met with already have just been so happy to have this service provided here,” said Pharand-Joven, noting that five people used the program on the first day.

She said that some people will require OAT for life, while others may be on it for a few months or a couple of years.

“It really is a case-by-case kind of situation, and understanding that social circumstances play a huge part in people’s stability and recovery.”

-With files from CTV’s Jamie Dowsett