12/02/2023

Opioid Treatment and Naloxone

Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Our team uses Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT), also known as Medication-Assisted Treatment. It involves the use of prescribed medications, such as Suboxone® or methadone, to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) by decreasing withdrawal and helping with cravings.

OAT is the best available treatment for opioid use disorder and it is the best predictor of improved outcomes for people with OUD. Research and experience tells us that most people cannot just walk away from opioid dependence. Medication-assisted treatment can help individuals to feel normal again and live healthy lives by controlling withdrawal and cravings. Under this program, clients begin and continue with Suboxone® or methadone under medical supervision. Counselling, education, other supports and follow-up are also an important part of this program.

What we do

  • Ongoing support and monitoring, such as prescription management, medical follow-up, urine testing, counselling and treatment planning.
  • Health, safety and risk reduction teaching and management.
  • Linkages to community pharmacists, other addictions treatment services and social and health supports.

How to access this service

Opioid Treatment Centres

Regional Opioid Treatment Centres provide rapid access to medication-assisted treatment (such as Suboxone® or methadone). Services can also include peer support, counselling and links to other services. These centres are not live-in. Telehealth is an option to access the service. The regional Opioid Treatment Centres can support community-based physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and counsellors upon request.

Where we are

Regional Opioid Treatment Centres (Hubs) are part of the provincial Hub and Spoke model that is being implemented to improve access to opioid dependence treatment throughout the province. These hubs provide rapid access to treatment, including Suboxone and Methadone, and are also available to support community-based physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and counsellors.

Referral is not needed.  Call directly or discuss with your health-care provider:

St. John’s
Building 532, 80 Charter Avenue (Pleasantville)
Telephone: 709-752-4478
Fax: 709-752-4012

Gander
McCurdy Complex, 1 Markham Place
Telephone: 709-256-1356
Fax: 709-256-1357

Grand Falls-Windsor
36 Queensway
Telephone: 709-489-8178

Corner Brook
35 Boones Road
Telephone: 709-634-4506
Fax: 709-634-0160

Stephenville
127 Montana Drive
Telephone: 709-643-8740
Fax: 709-643-9054

Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Telephone: 709-897-2125
Fax: 709-896-4900

Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners

Many physicians and nurse practitioners can prescribe medication-assisted treatment (Suboxone® or methadone) and they are located throughout the province. Counsellors are also available. Feel free to discuss any opioid-related concerns with your health care provider.

If you do not have a physician or health care provider, please call the 811 NL HealthLine and a registered nurse will give you contact information for your area.

Learn more about treatment:

Take-Home Naloxone Kits

Call 911 immediately if you think that someone is having an overdose.

Naloxone is a temporary medication that can save a life in the event of a fentanyl or other opioid overdose.

Naloxone Kits and instruction are free and confidential.

Get a Kit

If you are at risk of an opioid overdose or you might witness an overdose, please find a Naloxone Kit near you:

    • Call 811 NL HealthLine and a registered nurse will provide you with a contact number and location.
    • Visit the interactive map of distribution sites.
    • Visit the list of distribution sites.

How to Use Naloxone Video 

This video focuses on how to administer naloxone from the take-home naloxone kit program in Newfoundland and Labrador. Individuals can also learn about who is at risk of an opioid overdose, as well as the signs and how to respond. 

Please visit the Naloxone Kit webpage.

Learn more about Naloxone Kits:

The Newfoundland and Labrador Centre on Substance Use

The Newfoundland and Labrador Centre on Substance Use (NLCSU) is a provincial program embedded within Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services that is committed to excellence in harm reduction and substance use disorder treatment. Building collaborative relationships with people with lived and living experience, our community, and health care services is integral to our work. We are guided by a systems approach to equitable health service delivery, an evidence-informed perspective, and a broad definition of health. We support health care providers treating people with substance use disorders through education and other capacity building initiatives, as well as provide implementation support for the provincial Hub and Spoke Model and the provincial Alcohol Action Plan.

 

Hub and Spoke Model for Opioid Dependence Treatment

As a part of Towards Recovery: The Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador, the Opioid Dependence Treatment (ODT) Working Group was established in Fall 2017. Under the direction of the Working Group, a provincial Hub and Spoke Model for ODT was developed. Regional Opioid Treatment Centres (also known as hubs) are located throughout the province. Spoke implementation is ongoing.

The model also included the establishment of a Provincial ODT Centre of Excellence, which was renamed the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre on Substance Use in 2022 to expand and support the changing needs for substance use treatment in the province. The NLCSU is located in the Eastern-Urban Zone of NLHS and is provincial in scope and mandate.

 

Our Mission

To improve the quality of health care services provided for people who use substances in Newfoundland and Labrador through an evidence-based, systems-level approach that emphasizes workforce development, collaboration, harm reduction, and advocacy.

 

Our Vision

People who use substances receive coordinated, evidence-based, stigma-free, and equitable health care, regardless of where they touch down in the health system.

  

Goals of the NLCSU:

  • Support staff and core competency development by providing opportunities for education, training, mentorship, and networking under the broader context of clinical practice related to substance use disorders, substance use, and harm reduction.
  • Support and strengthen the creation of integrated care pathways between inpatient medicine programs, emergency departments, withdrawal management services, substance use treatment clinics, primary health care, and the broader health care system.
  • Work with the appropriate regulatory bodies to revise and implement new practice guidelines for the treatment of substance use disorders.
  • Support the implementation of the provincial Alcohol Action Plan.
  • Support the continued development of harm reduction education, policy development, and programming.
  • Enhance ongoing performance monitoring, surveillance, and evaluation measures related to substance use disorder treatment and the harms associated with substance use.

 

NLCSU Staff Contact Information:

Building 532, 80 Charter Avenue
P.O. Box 13122
St. John’s, NL A1B 4A4

Wayne Bishop, manager
wayne.bishop@easternhealth.ca

Brittany Howell, knowledge exchange facilitator
brittany.howell@easternhealth.ca

Kate Lambert, knowledge exchange facilitator
kate.lambert@easternhealth.ca

Jane Henderson, provincial harm reduction consultant
jane.henderson@easternhealth.ca

Sydney Peckham, clinical lead (Pharmacy)
sydney.peckham@easternhealth.ca

http://mha.easternhealth.ca/adults/opioid-treatment-and-naloxone/
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Last updated: 2023-09-20