Dr. Adam Newman is a Kingston physician who specializes in treating patients with addiction and substance use disorders (SUD). He is also chair of the board of directors for Kingston House of Recovery for Women and Children, a residential treatment facility that would provide mothers with a safe place to recover from addiction, while continuing to raise their children and obtain necessary health care.
In his role as board chair, Newman lobbied for, and received, official support from Portage, the Montreal-based mother and child program after which Kingston House of Recovery is modelled. Earlier this month, the organization agreed to provide resources to set up the Kingston facility, train staff and administer the program, as well as campaign the Ontario government for funding.
Newman told the Kingston Whig Standard in a June 7 article that Portage has already spoken to MOHLTC Minister Christine Elliott and received a “very favourable response,” but funding has not yet been committed.
“We in Kingston, we’re all experts in seeing what happens to women who don’t have a program like Portage,” Newman told the Whig Standard. “We all have lots of experience looking after women who are pregnant, using substances, who have babies and end up having the babies be put into foster care. We’re experts in observing this failure.”
A recent study of women with SUD attending methadone/ buprenorphine clinics in the South East region found fear of losing their children, and a lack of access to care for their children, to be the two biggest barriers to seeking treatment.
Kingston House of Recovery would be the first facility of its kind in Ontario. In the South East region, a shortage of treatment options for SUD has been further challenged by the growing opioid crisis. A residential treatment facility exists for men, but not for women. No facilities currently exist where parents can attend with children.
Dr. Adam Newman provides eConsult advice on Opioid & Addiction Medicine for the South East region. New specialists joining eConsult recently include: Drs. Michael Fuoco (Urology), Dusan Kolar (Psychiatry — Mood Disorders), Christine Law (Ophthalmology — Pediatric), Michael Leveridge (Urology — Oncology), Bikram Sidhu (Endocrinology), Samuel Silver (Nephrology) and Gavin Winston (Neurology — Epilepsy).