Latest news with #BillMarra
CBC
20-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Timeline unclear, details still slim on new homelessness addiction treatment hub in Windsor
Social Sharing One of the lead organizations on Windsor's new Homelessness Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hub services says "there hasn't been much movement" on the project, but the province says it will be operational in less than two weeks. At the end of January, Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones announced that Windsor would get a HART hub — a bundle of services including new treatment beds, transitional housing and stabilization beds to give people a place to stay as they move into the next phase of their recovery. In an interview, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH), a lead agency on the project, told CBC News at the time that an agreement hadn't been finalized and it didn't have many details. But, HDGH CEO Bill Marra had said they intended to finish planning the project before March 31, in time to begin a phased roll-out on April 1. And when asked for an update this week, a spokesperson for HDGH told CBC News that "with the timing of the announcement and the election, there hasn't been much movement." "We continue to await further details from the government and to date, we have received funding confirmation letter. With that said, planning and discussions have been ongoing with partners," reads an emailed statement. They added that they're not able to make the details of the letter public at this time. Yet the province seems to have a different understanding. In an email Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said, "all sites will be operational as of April 1." They continued to say that "The Ministry is continuing to work with all 27 HART Hubs on their multi-year operational budgets." The province hasn't yet responded to a question about what services Windsor-Essex can expect to have available by the beginning of April. At least one HART hub in the province, in Guelph, has confirmed that it won't be open in time because of funding delays. What will Windsor's hub services include? On the provincial government's website, it says that the proposed services for Windsor's HART hub include: Primary care. Mental health and addictions services including assessment, care coordination withdrawal management. Peer support. Mental health and addictions supportive housing. Services to meet basic needs. The website notes that the "primary objective" of the local HART hub is to "divert repeated/inappropriate emergency department visits by providing individuals with more immediate access to help and efficiently using local community resources." Based on previous conversations with HDGH's Marra, these services will be spread across existing organizations. HDGH did not confirm with CBC how much funding it has been approved for, though it previously said it asked to receive $18 million dollars over three years. The provincial government had initially announced the HART hub concept in August 2024, after it decided that it would be closing multiple drug consumption and treatment sites.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Timeline unclear, details still slim on new homelessness addiction treatment hub in Windsor
One of the lead organizations on Windsor's new Homelessness Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hub services says "there hasn't been much movement" on the project, but the province says it will be operational in less than two weeks. At the end of January, Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones announced that Windsor would get a HART hub — a bundle of services including new treatment beds, transitional housing and stabilization beds to give people a place to stay as they move into the next phase of their recovery. In an interview, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH), a lead agency on the project, told CBC News at the time that an agreement hadn't been finalized and it didn't have many details. But, HDGH CEO Bill Marra had said they intended to finish planning the project before March 31, in time to begin a phased roll-out on April 1. And when asked for an update this week, a spokesperson for HDGH told CBC News that "with the timing of the announcement and the election, there hasn't been much movement." Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced the HART hub for Windsor-Essex early 2025. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) "We continue to await further details from the government and to date, we have received funding confirmation letter. With that said, planning and discussions have been ongoing with partners," reads an emailed statement. They added that they're not able to make the details of the letter public at this time. Yet the province seems to have a different understanding. In an email Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said, "all sites will be operational as of April 1." They continued to say that "The Ministry is continuing to work with all 27 HART Hubs on their multi-year operational budgets." The province hasn't yet responded to a question about what services Windsor-Essex can expect to have available by the beginning of April. At least one HART hub in the province, in Guelph, has confirmed that it won't be open in time because of funding delays. What will Windsor's hub services include? On the provincial government's website, it says that the proposed services for Windsor's HART hub include: Primary care. Mental health and addictions services including assessment, care coordination withdrawal management. Peer support. Mental health and addictions supportive housing. Services to meet basic needs. The website notes that the "primary objective" of the local HART hub is to "divert repeated/inappropriate emergency department visits by providing individuals with more immediate access to help and efficiently using local community resources." Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is co-ordinating the effort to create the Windsor-Essex Ontario Health Team. (Jonathan Pinto/CBC) Based on previous conversations with HDGH's Marra, these services will be spread across existing organizations. HDGH did not confirm with CBC how much funding it has been approved for, though it previously said it asked to receive $18 million dollars over three years. The provincial government had initially announced the HART hub concept in August 2024, after it decided that it would be closing multiple drug consumption and treatment sites. That meant that Windsor's site, SafePoint, which was awaiting provincial funding, was permanently closed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Flu cases have more than doubled from last year in Windsor-Essex
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) says reported cases of influenza in Windsor-Essex have more than doubled this year, compared to the previous one. Calling it a "significant increase" across the region, officials are reminding the public that respiratory illness season is ongoing and asking people to protect themselves. In a statement, WECHU said local hospitals are seeing a rise in people with the same respiratory symptoms — but that non-emergency concerns shouldn't be directed to emergency departments. Calling it a 'significant increase across Windsor-Essex, officials are reminding residents that respiratory illness season is ongoing and are asking for people to protect themselves. (CBC) According to the health unit, getting vaccinated for the flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are the "best ways to prevent serious illness and avoid hospital visits." "At Erie Shores HealthCare, we have taken proactive steps to manage the increased demand for care, including expanding our capacity by utilizing unconventional treatment spaces, utilizing the Mobile Medical Clinic on-site, and ensuring our health-care teams are equipped to respond efficiently," said CEO Kristin Kennedy. Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor says it's opened an additional 25 beds since last fall to help deal with the influx of people coming into their care with flu-like symptoms. "I encourage everyone to practise good hygiene, consider wearing a mask while at the hospital, stay home if you are sick and try to limit the number of visitors if you or a family member is hospitalized," said HDGH president Bill Marra.
CBC
21-02-2025
- Health
- CBC
Flu cases have more than doubled from last year in Windsor-Essex
Social Sharing The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) says reported cases of influenza in Windsor-Essex have more than doubled this year, compared to the previous one. Calling it a "significant increase" across the region, officials are reminding the public that respiratory illness season is ongoing and asking people to protect themselves. In a statement, WECHU said local hospitals are seeing a rise in people with the same respiratory symptoms — but that non-emergency concerns shouldn't be directed to emergency departments. According to the health unit, getting vaccinated for the flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are the "best ways to prevent serious illness and avoid hospital visits." "At Erie Shores HealthCare, we have taken proactive steps to manage the increased demand for care, including expanding our capacity by utilizing unconventional treatment spaces, utilizing the Mobile Medical Clinic on-site, and ensuring our health-care teams are equipped to respond efficiently," said CEO Kristin Kennedy. Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor says it's opened an additional 25 beds since last fall to help deal with the influx of people coming into their care with flu-like symptoms. "I encourage everyone to practise good hygiene, consider wearing a mask while at the hospital, stay home if you are sick and try to limit the number of visitors if you or a family member is hospitalized," said HDGH president Bill Marra.
CBC
12-02-2025
- Health
- CBC
Mental health, addictions crisis centre expands to round-the-clock hours
A downtown centre for urgent addictions and mental health crises will now be open around the clock for intakes from first responders. The Mental Health and Addictions Urgent Crisis Centre (MHAUCC), run by Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and the Canadian Mental Health Agency (CMHA), is expand its hours to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for intake from police and paramedics, the hospital and partners announced Tuesday. The centre currently offers walk-in services available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. But with the expansion to 24/7 operations, police and paramedics can bring people in anytime with the goal of "freeing up time to respond to priority incidents and reducing emergency room wait times," the hospital and partners said in a statement. When clients come to the urgent crisis centre, they will receive stabilization care in one of four available beds, and can stay there for 48 hours. Current walk-in crisis services — for people not brought for intake by police or paramedics — will remain available. "This is one more tool to enhance services, to get police and EMS back on the road where they belong quicker and to allow, ultimately, that patient or client to get the care that she or he requires with follow up," said hospital CEO Bill Marra. "This is a starting point. We need to ensure that there's more available after they leave here. And it's nice to be able to go to 24/7 because we're not locking the door at 8 [p.m.] ... saying 'sorry, we'll see you tomorrow.' It's 'what more can we do for you while you're here?'" In the last six months of the year, the urgent crisis centre saw nearly 950 clients, the hospital says. The budget for the project is "well north" of $1 million annually, Marra added. It's being paid for in part with re-purposed funding from a pre-pandemic program that is no longer operational. Windsor police chief Jason Bellaire says he feels the service will make a big impact. "Being able to bring somebody who has agreed, in a moment of clarity to say, 'I would like to enter withdrawal management' or 'I'd like some certain services,' to have the ability to transport that person to this centre here and they immediately start to receive care." Nicole Sbrocca is the CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association Windsor-Essex County. She says the service, and others planned for the region such as the recently-announced Homelessness and Addictions Recovery Treatment (HART) hub, mean more ways for people to seek help. "This is one aspect of it, opening the doors 24 hours a day, seven days a week," she said. "The hope is that there's no wrong door of entry ... and we'll get them to the correct end state to improve the long term outcomes in downstream supports that they need."
