A homelessness and addiction recovery treatment (HART) hub in Ottawa is extending its services to hospitals in rural areas, starting with Kemptville, Ontario. The Kemptville District Hospital has initiated a pilot project since January, allowing them to request a mobile team from the West Ottawa HART Hub to assist individuals dealing with substance use and housing issues. The primary aim of this initiative is to ease the burden on the hospital’s emergency department. Even though the main center in Bells Corners is not operational until March, the program is currently active.
The mobile team, led by Anthony Desloges, a physician assistant and clinical manager at the West Ottawa HART Hub, comprises a registered nurse, a social worker, and a case manager. They operate from a specialized van, serving as a mobile clinic. Desloges mentioned that Kemptville was selected for this project due to the significant need for substance use health services in the growing community, which lacks such specialized care locally. He expressed intentions to expand these services to other rural locations based on the success of the Kemptville program.
Katie Hogue, the vice-president of clinical services and chief nursing executive at the Kemptville District Hospital, highlighted the deficiency of specialized services in the area, stating that while the hospital has access to a social worker, it lacks other crucial services. Hogue emphasized that patients have been unnecessarily admitted to the hospital for social support reasons, a situation the new mobile clinic aims to rectify.
The HART hubs serve as comprehensive support centers for individuals grappling with addiction, mental health challenges, and homelessness, excluding supervised drug consumption services. The establishment of these hubs followed the Ontario government’s prohibition of supervised drug consumption sites near educational institutions in 2024, resulting in the closure of multiple sites across the province. Currently, there are 23 operational HART hubs in Ontario, with plans to open five more in 2026, according to a ministry of health spokesperson.
