The Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network has endorsed a revised application from Bluewater Health for a proposed $10-million detox hub in Sarnia Lambton.
LHIN Acting CEO Ralph Ganter says the changes will make it easier and quicker to access provincial funding.
"They tweaked it to make it more centred on withdrawal management as opposed to placing other services within it," he says. "That makes it fit under the Community Capital Program that we're endorsing. We won't really know the timing [for construction] until this next step takes place in terms of the planning. The different option that will come out of it is, is it a new build? Is it rental with lease hold improvements? So this next step is significant to understand what those timelines are."
It's proposed the centre provide ten residential, six stabilization and eight observation beds, addictions counselling and day treatment.
Ganter hopes to receive a response in six to eight weeks after which a decision will be made as to whether a new building will be built or an existing facility used. Site selection would then begin and more specific cost estimates determined.
Sarnia-Lambton has been trying to establish a withdrawal management facility for decades.