The Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence

A new study published in Addiction examined outcomes after the closure of the Red Deer Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) in Alberta. People who use OPS often live with severe addiction and significant social and economic vulnerability. For them — and their families — it matters that services truly help.

DYK that in #Alberta overdose deaths for people who have recently been in a provincial correctional facility have decreased by almost 70%? Now you know that opioid #RecoveryIsPossible

EMS Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) brings hospital-level care into the community for people facing barriers to traditional healthcare. MIH can provide Naloxone and access to life saving OAT medication such as Sublocade. It offers follow-up and operates 24/7 in Alberta. Learn more: albertahealthservices.ca/ems/Page16487.… #Alberta #addiction #Mental Health

⬇️Alberta saw a 39% decrease in opioid-related deaths since the peak in 2023, while Lethbridge has seen a 90% drop since the launch of the Alberta Recovery Model. ⬇️Nationally it was 17%. ❗But, when Alberta is excluded, the national rate drops to just 5%. ➡️Bottom Line: Alberta is driving Canada’s opioid reduction success though expanded access to treatment and recovery.

@DerekFinkle Thank you @DerekFinkle for helping to raise awareness of this important study.

An injection site in Red Deer was closed a year ago. A new landmark study uses its clients’ heath-# data to see what happened. More deaths? No. More “opioid-related EMS events”? Nope. But what it did trigger was a lot more of them seeking treatment. nationalpost.com/opinion/derek-…

The results raise an important question: If services are not improving outcomes for the people who rely on them most, how should health systems adapt to better support recovery and wellbeing? 👉 Full study in Addiction onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ad… 👉 Read our news release: recoveryexcellence.org/landmark-evide…

These findings were possible because Alberta collects individual-level health identifiers at consumption sites, allowing researchers to examine how people interact with the health system before, during, and after major service changes.

A new study published in Addiction examined outcomes after the closure of the Red Deer Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) in Alberta. People who use OPS often live with severe addiction and significant social and economic vulnerability. For them — and their families — it matters that services truly help.

ICYMI: Eating disorders remain one of the most serious and misunderstood mental illnesses. In October, CoRE released a Mental Health and Addiction Brief highlighting that eating disorders have the second-highest death rate of all mental health conditions, and that nearly 30% of Canadian youth engage in disordered eating. recoveryexcellence.org/wp-content/upl…

VODP is helping people beat opioid addiction. From time of VODP admission to 12 months post admission, 71.9% of people reported using 0 substances, up from 25.1% #OpioidCrisis #Addiction #MentalHealth

VODP has seen a drop in reported overdose events from 11.7% to just 1.8% from time of admission to VOPD to 12 months post admission. #OpioidCrisis #Addiction #MentalHealth

The Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP) connects people with same day access to opioid agonist treatment (OAT) through a physician-led, multidisciplinary team using telehealth. #OpioidCrisis #Addiction #MentalHealth

Alberta is improving access to opioid agonist therapy (OAT) across the province through Recovery Alberta. ‼️OAT is a proven treatment for opioid use disorder that can cut overdose risk by about 50%. ‼️One type of OAT, Sublocade, saw a 1,500% rise in prescriptions from 2021–2025. If you know someone struggling, encourage them to talk to a health-care provider about OAT. Find out more: jamanetwork.com/journals/jamap…

Using drugs is dangerous. Using drugs when you’re alone is deadly. Minutes matter in an overdose. DORS (Digital Overdose Response System) is a mobile app, with +4,200 registered users, that can dispatch emergency services if you become unresponsive. 👉 Get the app: dorsapp.ca #Alberta #MentalHealth #addiction 👉 Learn more by watching this 30-second video: youtube.com/watch?v=6VIHvf…

Opioid Use Disorder is a global crisis. CoRE’s Dr. Nathaniel Day and his co-authors highlight how telehealth can expand access to life-saving care, particularly in regions where traditional services are limited or out of reach. #OpioidCrisis #addiction bit.ly/3Z5lBey

Men and women experience alcohol use differently. This #DryJanuary, learn more about these differences in our January Mental Health and Addictions Brief. recoveryexcellence.org/wp-content/upl… #DryJanuary #MentalHealth #Addictions #AlcoholUse #RecoveryIsPossible #Alberta #SaveALIfe *This statistic is from 2020. More information can be found in the brief.

For children and youth, CASA programs provide specialized mental health services (Classrooms, Day Programs, and CASA House). If you or someone you know needs urgent help, call 2-1-1 or, in an emergency, call 9-1-1. casamentalhealth.org #MentalHealthSupport #CommunityCare #Alberta

Need counselling? Counselling Alberta (Provincial Counselling Program) offers low-barrier counselling and psychotherapy (sliding-scale fees), with no waitlist, across Alberta. counsellingalberta.com

Any day is a good day to talk about mental health, whether it’s with family, friends, colleagues, or even someone you’ve just met. #MentalHealthSupport #CommunityCare #Alberta