SURREY MEMORIAL DRUG REHAB ZONE SHAPING UP

A concentration of drug and alcohol treatment services is forming
along the southern edge of Surrey Memorial Hospital.

Maple Cottage Detox, formerly in New Westminster, is moving to a
three-acre parcel on 94A Avenue. It will have detox beds for 30
clients, six of those reserved for youth 18 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 medication for
withdrawal management, then patients are monitored by nurses and other
staff.

A counsellor interviews 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 a 75 per cent
"program completion" rate.

The application for the Maple Cottage move was praised by Surrey
council Tuesday.

"This is a wonderful facility, and Surrey has wanted and supported it
for a number of years," Coun. Marvin Hunt said, noting 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 Surrey-based Drug-Crime Community Action
Group, said the medical detox is appropriately located near SMH, 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 next year, when it
will take its first clients from throughout Fraser Health Authority.

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

It will be two doors 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.

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 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."