ADDICTIONS CENTRE TO IMPROVE REGION'S SERVICE: MANAGER

CORNER BROOK - While the service itself has received good reviews,
those who operate the Humberwood addictions treatment centre hope a
new facility will soon generate an excellent report card clear across
the board.

Friday, Premier Danny Williams and Health and Community Services
Minister Ton Osborne officially turned the first sod on the new,
provincial addictions treatment centre to be built in Corner Brook.
The $3-million facility, to be constructed on Boone's Road, is
expected to open its doors late in 2008.

Lisa Goudie, Western Health's manager of mental health and addiction,
said the new facility - which will feature an expansion of services
to include four detox beds - is much-needed.

Humberwood is currently housed in cramped quarters in the aged
Hammond Building on West Valley Road.

"We outgrew that space some time ago," said Goudie. "So, we're really
bursting at the seams now. This is needed right now and we're really
excited about it."

Michelle House, Western Health's vice-president of population health
said client satisfaction surveys of Humberwood clients regularly
indicate the service currently provided is excellent. However, they
also indicate dissatisfaction with the physical facility itself in
terms of privacy and space.

"This will only add to the excellent service already provided there,"
said House. "The expansion of the detox beds will expand the scope of
service we're able to provide and move people from detox to inpatient
service much easier."

Williams said he himself has had a couple of sobering reminders of
the importance of addictions treatment services in the province in
the past few weeks.

He said the rise of petty crimes in the province - including a number
of break-ins of his own family's vehicles in recent weeks - is a
symptom of people desperate to feed their addictions - whether they
are drugs, alcohol or gambling.

Further, the premier was at a youth forum in Clarenville recently,
encouraging young people to become more involved in politics, when
one teenager unexpectedly implored the premier to address the serious
problem of drug use among youth if government is concerned for the future.

"He was reaching out, he was saying we need some help to try and
address these problems when they are starting out," said the premier.
"What we're doing here today is treating the problem, and that is
very positive, but we certainly owe it to our young people to help
them at the stage when they really need our assistance."

The new Humberwood facility will provide an enhanced treatment
program, including a non-medical detox program, which will allow for
seamless transfer from detox to treatment, and will incorporate
clients who are in the latter stages of detox, allowing for a better
opportunity for rehabilitation.

The physical structure of the new facility will incorporate modern,
and more private, accommodations and include required space for
fitness, recreation, dining and group therapy areas. Additionally,
the facility will provide office and counselling space for the 13
addictions counsellors responsible for the outpatient program in Corner Brook.

"This new treatment centre will offer complete rehabilitative
services in comfortable surroundings to any resident of the province
requiring inpatient treatment to deal with addictions," said Osborne.

"The additional office space will enable us to centralize addiction
services in one location and will provide an integrated service
delivery program for persons suffering from alcohol, drug and
gambling addictions."

Western Health said its organization, the region and the province
have much to celebrate.

"The need for a new provincial inpatient addiction facility ... has
been a long-standing one and one that many of the people here today
have played a role in and worked towards," said Tina Moores, Western
Health's vice-chairperson.

FACILITY FACTS

Humberwood Provincial Addictions Treatment Centre

Government invested $1.1 million in Budget 2006 for the planning,
design, and construction of the new centre to replace the current
10-bed facility in Corner Brook.

Projected total cost: $3 million

New facility will encompass roughly 10,000 square feet and will have
a capacity for 15 beds.

A tender call was issued for the design and construction of the new
facility Sept. 16, 2006. The tender will close in mid-October and the
review of the tender bids is anticipated shortly thereafter.

Site preparation on the new facility is expected to commence by
November 2006, with occupancy expected within 24 months thereafter.