The Alberta Government announced Wednesday that Health Canada had approved applications by two organizations in the province to offer supervised consumption services to individuals at risk of overdosing.
Officials said two organizations, Edmonton-based AMSISE (Access to Medically Supervised Injection Services Edmonton), and Lethbridge-based ARCHES had been approved to provide supervised consumption services in Edmonton and Lethbridge.
AMSISE has been approved to offer services at three facilities in Edmonton, and Alberta Health Services has also been approved to offer services to in-patients at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
The province said the approval for the Royal Alexandra Hospital made it the first acute care hospital in North America to have those services.
In Lethbridge, ARCHES will provide services at a location in the city’s downtown core.
Meanwhile, AHS has sought approval to offer supervised injection services at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre in Calgary. The province anticipates Health Canada will approve the site by the end of the month.
The announcement came as part of the province’s plan to address the opioid crisis – 315 Albertans have died of apparent fentanyl-related overdoses so far in 2017. The changes mean more than 3,000 new patients in Alberta will be able to receive treatment annually.
The province said AMSISE consulted with the community about plans to incorporate the services at three sites: the Boyle McCauley Health Centre, Boyle Community Services and the George Spady Centre.
The sites in Edmonton are expected to open later this year, or in early 2018. The facility at the Royal Alexandra Hospital is scheduled to open in the New Year.
The site in Lethbridge is expected to open in early 2018.
