Windsor gambling treatment program renamed Ontario Centre for Problem Gambling

The problem gambling treatment program run by Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) in Windsor has a new name. It is now the Ontario Centre for Problem Gambling (OCPG).

HDGH announced the change on Aug. 25. Hospital officials say the change reflects its role as a provincial leader in problem gambling treatment, serving patients, clients and families from Windsor and communities across Ontario.

A provincial program

HDGH president and CEO Bill Marra said 80 to 90 per cent of referrals to the residential program come from outside Windsor-Essex. He said the program is funded by the Ministry of Health and operates as a provincial problem gambling program, so the new name is a fairer description of what it does.

Marra said the hospital also wanted people to know the program exists and to understand that it serves the whole province.

More than 30 years of treatment

According to HDGH, the program has served people for more than 30 years and has supported more than 1,400 people through recovery. It recently completed its 300th bed-based treatment cycle. The hospital describes it as Ontario's only funded residential treatment program that focuses specifically on gambling.

He described the harm staff see every day: clients in devastating circumstances, financial and emotional strain on families, and the serious marital problems that often follow.

The centre offers a full range of specialized, evidence-based care. That includes outpatient counselling as well as bed-based residential treatment for people from across Ontario.

HDGH says the change is to the name only. Patient care and access to services are not affected, and referral processes for both outpatient and residential treatment stay the same, so health-care providers can keep making referrals as they do now.

The Ontario Centre for Problem Gambling operates from HDGH's site at 1453 Prince Road in Windsor.