New St. Paul’s program offers quick, long-term addiction recovery help

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It was the bed that made all the difference – cozy and soft, with a thin blue curtain for privacy.

“This bed showed me what life could be like,” said Ryan Top, a recovering alcoholic and addict.

Top said his life was saved by Road to Recovery, a new program at St. Paul’s Hospital. Road to Recovery, which opened last September, connects patients with a care team that follows them through detoxification, transition treatment and long-term treatment programs in the community for up to five years.

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Top, 32, had overdosed on fentanyl at least six times and lived on the streets during a long and brutal battle with addiction and poisoning that began when he was a teenager.

He used to be least welcome in a room or on any city street.

When he was referred to Road to Recovery, he was sure it would be like every other time: “You feel terrible, you have no hope,” Top said.

He had gone through the “rinse and repeat” cycle of detox and relapse at least 12 times.

As soon as he sat on the bed he knew it was different.

“It was a hospital,” Top said. “You want to leave, the door is there, but there’s this wonderful medical work, you’re in your own room partitioned off with curtains and peer support workers are there talking to you. There’s some reassurance that you’re going to be okay.”

The bed told him he was safe. He felt safe and cared for when he went through difficult layoffs and later when he moved out of the hospital and straight into a hospital rehabilitation program.

The Road to Recovery program at St. Paul’s started with 14 detox beds and recently added 11 bringing the total to 25. The program has served 486 patients. When fully implemented in 2025, the program will have 50 treatment and recovery beds.

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The program began with a $20 million donation from Vancouver’s Diamond family, who were unable to find the help they needed for their son Steven Diamond, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016 after spending three months on a waiting list for treatment.

The province has committed $23.7 million annually to support the program and hopes to expand it across the province.

Dr. Andy Ryan, medical program director for the multidisciplinary substance abuse program at Providence Health Care, said the program addresses a core need by creating a “single point of entry” to direct those in need to a related stream of services.

The Central Detox Referral Line at 1-866-658-1221 is the go-to line for access and information for anyone in Greater Vancouver, whether they are drug users, housed or homeless, or family members trying to get a loved one the help they need they need

Callers are prioritized according to clinical need, with urgent care provided within 24 hours and high priority cases seen within 72 hours.

“We heard from patients and families again and again that there is a variety of services but not a lot of coordination.” It was very confusing how they were going to get care, which led to unethical delays and waiting lists,” said Ryan.

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In July, the provincial government announced plans to expand the model across the province.

Recovery advocate Guy Felicella has been part of the Road to Recovery team since its inception.

“It’s essentially on-demand treatment: You can walk into the clinic if you have an emergency or call the hotline and you’ll be referred right away,” Felicella said.

“It takes astronomical courage to show up at the front door,” said Felicella, 55, who went through rehab at least 100 times before recovering. “People will always remember how someone makes them feel, if it’s five times they’ve been back, we welcome them.” We want people to keep trying.”

Since recovering in 2018, Felicella has married, had three children and continues to “pay it forward” as an advocate for addiction treatment reform in the province.

Felicella said it will take time to expand the program in the district, but calls it an important step in the process.

Integrating people with “lived experience” as peer support workers is key to the process, Felicella said.

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Ryan Top will be returning to Road to Recovery soon as a peer counselor.

“This is nothing short of a miracle,” said Top.

As part of the expansion of the Road to Recovery program, the district announced Tuesday the Opioid Treatment Access Line, 1-833-804-8111, a toll-free number to make it easier for people to get opioid use disorder medication throughout the district.

dryan@postmedia.com

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