DRUG REHABILITATION ZONE NEAR SURREY MEMORIAL

A concentration of drug and alcohol treatment services is forming
along the southern edge of Surrey Memorial Hospital, including two
detox facilities and possibly an addictions resources centre.

Maple Cottage Detox, formerly in New Westminster, is moving to a
three-acre parcel of property on 94A Ave. It will have detox beds for
30 clients, six of those reserved for youth (18 years old and younger).

Addictions experts and social service providers have long said Surrey
needs detox facilities.

Maple Cottage offers medically supervised detox, the most intensive
available outside a hospital setting.

Once in the detox, an on-duty physician prescribes the client
medication for withdrawal management, then patients are monitored by
nurses and other workers.

A clinical counsellor interviews the clients during their stay and
refers them to other agencies where they can go once they detoxify.
The detox process takes up to a week, and boasts about a 75 per cent
"program completion" rate.

The application for the Maple Cottage move was praised by city council
on Monday.

"This is a wonderful facility, and Surrey has wanted and supported it
for a number of years," said Coun. Marvin Hunt, who noted the city
isn't contributing financially to the development. "So we're doing
exactly what we're supposed to be doing - land use."

Coun. Dianne Watts, chair of the Surrey-based Drug-Crime Community
Action Group, said the medical detox is appropriately located beside
the hospital where resources can be shared.

"It's crucial to have all of these services available especially when
individuals have made the decision that they want to become clean and
sober," Watts said. "Without the services, their likelihood of
slipping back into their lifestyle is very high."

Susan McKela, manager of health services at Maple Cottage, said
Wednesday the facility will be complete by fall of next year, when
it's expected to take its first clients, coming from areas throughout
the Fraser Health Authority (Burnaby to Boston Bar).

Maple Cottage, which may be renamed to "something suitable to the
area," has 40 staff, including 13 nurses and four physicians.

Maple Cottage will be two doors away from Phoenix House, another
facility offering "social" detox, a less intensive form of withdrawal
management.

The planned three-storey facility will offer 28 drug and alcohol
recovery beds and 36 affordable housing units, with room for expanded
services, which may eventually include a medical clinic.

While McKela says no formal discussions have taken place, city
planners envision a close relationship between the two facilities.

"(Maple Cottage) provides services that are complimentary with both
Surrey Memorial Hospital across the street and with the proposed
Phoenix recovery house two lots to the west," a staff report to
council states.

In addition, the region is working on the possibility of a "centre for
excellence in addiction," which would provide resource services,
assisting patients recovering from addiction as they seek jobs,
housing, lifestyles training and counselling.

Watts said with the extra services, Surrey streets will be safer.

"It's important to remember that 90 per cent of crime is
drug-related," Watts said. "So unless you get to the root cause of
these issues, it's never going to change."