Four Arrows Regional Health Authority Launches a Mobile Addiction Team
WINNIPEG, MB, Sept. 1, 2022 /CNW/ - This August, Four Arrows Regional Health Authority (FARHA) welcomed key staff to its Manitoba Mobile Addiction Team to Increase Community Capacity and Access (MMATICCA); an office assistant for data collection and a counselor, a peer worker, and a nurse with expertise in harm reduction.
In July 2022, FARHA received a commitment for $1,117,078 from Health Canada's Substance Use and Additions Program to pilot a mobile treatment model for problematic substance use in remote Manitoba First Nations.
MMATICCA will create the opportunity for in-community services plus build capacity for local primary health care providers to manage ongoing treatment of all substance use disorders, including the use of Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT). Most existing interventions like OAT are currently not accessible to people living in remote Indigenous communities.
MMATICCA brings together care providers across Manitoba, including Indigenous, provincial organizations, federally funded nursing stations, and university affiliated and private health service delivery organizations.
FARHA plans to roll out clinical and educational services first in the community of St. Theresa Point. Should the project prove to be successful, opportunities for sustainable funding will be sought.
At the end of the pilot project, pilot communities will be supported by existing provincial resources, including the Rapid Access to Addiction Medicine hub, the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network, Ongomiizwin Health Services and Amdocs.
"Our government is committed to ending the overdose crisis and keeping people who use drugs safe, including in Indigenous and Northern communities," said the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health. "The Four Arrows Regional Health Authority (FARHA) project will build capacity and enhance community treatment of problematic substance use in rural and remote Indigenous communities, where access to care has been traditionally limited. Four Arrows Regional Health Authority (FARHA), is integral to our comprehensive and evidence-based approach to saving lives. Together, we will help improve health outcomes for people living in remote Indigenous communities, prevent overdose, and help build much-needed capacity for health care providers in Manitoba and across the country."
The Honorable Carolyn Bennett
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions
"Despite recent increases in physician knowledge regarding OAT there remain systemic barriers to providing community addiction treatment in remote First Nation communities. MMATICCA will address the need for local education and training and provide in-community assessments and harm reduction expertise."
Dr. Erin Knight, Medical Director, Addiction Program
Four Arrows Regional Health Authority
"FARHA's project is designed to pilot and test the concept of a mobile addiction team's ability to build local capacity for treating substance use disorders, through an initially intensive and gradually decreasing hands-on mentorship model. MMATICCA will provide First Nations with equitable access to evidence-based addiction care and complement our long-term goal of establishing a robust Regional Addiction Program."
Alex McDougall, Executive Director
Four Arrows Regional Health Authority
In March 2018, Island Lake community members walked to Ottawa to bring awareness and action to the addiction crisis that existed in the Island Lake communities. Since that time, Indigenous Services Canada funded a feasibility study for a FARHA Addiction Treatment Program. During the COVID-19 pandemic and in response to an acute need, an OAT program was established in Red Sucker Lake. MMATICCA will expand upon recent OAT program development and test a new model of care.
FARHA is governed by its own Board of Directors who is primarily focused on the four Island Lake Anishininew Nations; Garden Hill First Nation, St. Theresa Point First Nation, Red Sucker Lake First Nation and Wasagamack First Nation. FARHA works cooperatively with community health services to improve health outcomes for the Island Lake membership.
SOURCE Four Arrows Regional Health Authority Inc.
Dr. Erin Knight, Medical Director, Addiction Program, Four Arrows Regional Health Authority, Phone: (431) 279-2170, E-Mail: [email protected], Website: https://fourarrowsrha.org
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