June 5th, 2020 Keeping our patients safe and cared for during COVID To our valued patients: Thank you for staying committed to your recovery during these challenging times. We are very proud of our staff who adapted quickly to be able to continue to provide the best addiction care possible and are very proud of our patients for showing patience and kindness as we figured out how to provide care while “social distancing”. As the Province begins its re-open, we are taking all the steps to make certain that our patients continue to be cared for in a safe manner; i.e. increase cleaning, a continu ..read more

A spike in both serious and fatal drug overdoses over the last week in Belleville can’t be definitively pinned down for a precise cause but it may be linked to angst being felt around the world due to COVID-19 pandemic anxiety. The local health unit said Tuesday it’s been apprised by Belleville Police Service of “five overdose related incidents in the Belleville area since Monday, March 16, including two overdoses that resulted in death.” Read more… – Belleville Intelligencer The post “Drug overdoses may be linked to COVID-19 pandemic anxiety” – Belleville health unit appeared first on Opio ..read more

  Q: Are you open? A: Yes, all CATC clinics and pharmacies remain open as we offer essential medical care. Q: Do I have to come to clinic to be cared for? A: That depends on several factors. In some situations, you may be offered a phone appointment with our doctors to help create care plan for you during this time. We are doing our best to limit the amount of time our patients spend in our clinics and pharmacies during this period of uncertainty. If you have cold/flu symptoms or have recently travelled, please call your clinic/doctor before coming in and we will go from there. If you d ..read more

It’s important find new ways to connect during this time, to protect your recovery. “For someone struggling with addiction, fellowship is a big part of the recovery process. Unfortunately, since the coronavirus outbreak began and social distancing became the norm, this process has become more challenging…” read more Source: Global News. The post “Coronavirus and addiction: For people in recovery, self-isolation can be harmful” — Global News appeared first on Opioid Clinic | Alcohol Addiction Treatment Hamilton – Towards Recovery ..read more

. CATC is following/implementing all Public Health Guidelines (for health care professionals) to keep our staff and patients healthy. We have implemented a long list of actions to keep our care environment safe and hygienic.  This week you will also notice a number of social distancing strategies. Please speak to your local clinic team if you have questions. If you suspect you have COVID-19, please call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000. . . . The post COVID-19 announcement appeared first on Opioid Clinic | Alcohol Addiction Treatment Hamilton – Towards Recovery ..read more

When people decide to take heroin for the very first time, they are unsure of the way it will affect the body. Usually, they expect that they will feel the euphoria that heroin supposedly gives to users. But, in many cases, users will vomit and not just once. Drugs Changing the Way the Body Works When heroin enters the body, it can seriously alter the way the body functions. So much so, that the only response the body can do is vomit. And vomit repeatedly. This happens because of the chemical structure of the drug. It is made in such a way that the drug actually attaches to the opioid receptor ..read more

Photo credit: www.themomentiscaptured.com “Peterborough Regional Health Centre has third highest rate of ER visits for opioid poisoning in new study” A report ranking Peterborough with the third-highest number of emergency department visits speaks to the city’s “significant problem” with opioid use, says a doctor who is leading harm-reduction efforts at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. More overdoses are being seen from use of “fairly accessible” drugs like fentanyl-laced “blue heroin,” said PRHC emergency department doctor Dr. Jim McGorman, the lead physician at the hospital’s Rapid Acc ..read more

Dr. Mike Franklyn ~ Addiction physician, Health Sciences North, Sudbury. Dr. Michael Franklyn wears many hats in the field of medicine. As a family doctor in Sudbury for almost 25 years, Dr. Franklyn recalls fearing for the life of a female patient in 2002; she was using methadone and forced to travel weekly to Toronto for care. With only one addiction specialist in Sudbury at the time, the wait list for local treatment was about two years. “Then, I had no background in addiction medicine. But out of my complete frustration with the inability to get help for her in the north, I had to go ..read more

Written by Dr. John Crosby – November 28, 2017 for canadianhealthcarenetwork.ca I recently had lunch with Dr. Andrew Worster, an old friend from my emergency days 25 years ago. He works at an opioid addiction clinic in Cambridge, Ont., and still does ER shifts at Hamilton General Hospital. He works in the ER one or two eight-10-hour shifts per week but doesn’t do night shifts any more so he enjoys the two jobs. He has been practising for 26 years and also runs a non-profit corporation called BEEM — Best Evidence in Emergency Medicine — which conducts evidence-based emergency medicine courses ..read more

Photo credit: Google. Event happened at This Ain’t Hollywood in downtown Hamilton tonight. “Ace Piva knows the dangers of opioid addiction all too well. He’s seen it up close — both as a tour manager across Canada, and as an addictions counsellor in Hamilton. Now, as overdoses and deaths due to opioid use continue to mount across the city, Piva has launched an addiction and recovery nonprofit organization specifically for the music industry. It’s called Over the Bridge — a nod to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ breakout hit Under the Bridge, which was written about addiction, lonelin ..read more