RAAM clinic visits almost quadruple in five years

The number of patients seeking help to manage substance use and addictions at a Brandon drop-in clinic has “drastically increased” in recent years, with most people accessing treatment for opioid use.

Visits at Prairie Mountain Health’s Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (RAAM) clinic almost quadrupled to 2,963 in 2025 from 773 in 2020, according to data from Shared Health.

It’s difficult to pinpoint what’s driving the increase in patient visits, but it could be linked to the accessibility of the services aimed at meeting people’s needs since the clinic opened in September 2018, said Shannon Morrow-Stritz, manager of the clinic located at the 7th Street Health Access Centre.

“By allowing it to be low barrier, they benefit from the fact that they can come when they feel that they need to at the time,” she said.

“There’s no referral process that’s needed.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinic has seen a “dramatic rise” in people struggling with alcohol use disorder, Morrow-Stritz said.

The majority of patients presenting at the clinic have an opioid use disorder, but staff also see people struggling with addictions involving methamphetamine, crystal meth, cannabis and benzodiazepines, she said.

Substance use disorders have no boundaries and can affect every demographic, Morrow-Stritz said.

“I think you’d be hard-pressed to talk to anybody that doesn’t know somebody that’s living with or in recovery from a substance use disorder,” she said.

The number of patients accessing the RAAM clinic fluctuates daily and can surge from Monday to Wednesday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. when a physician is available, she said. The clinic operates Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dr. Ranjit Tatineni is one of the two doctors who works at the clinic to connect with patients for initial assessment, prescribing addictions medicine, followups and prescription renewals.

At times, he sees up to eight patients per day, he said, adding that staff help a mixture of new and returning patients.

“Even if relapse happens, they are able to re-engage with us for restarting on treatment,” he said.

Brandon’s rise in patient visits to the RAAM clinic is part of a provincewide trend linked to the escalating drug crisis.

“It’s not unique in Brandon, but it’s just that now we have a service that they can access readily, unlike in the past,” Tatineni said.

“I think there is a lot of evidence to say that the mortality from the substance use has been going down wherever the treatments are being offered, so that’s the positive,” he said.

There was a total of 388 substance-related deaths across Manitoba in 2025, an overall decrease from 570 in 2024, preliminary data from the office of the chief medical examiner show.

“We certainly are seeing people that are accidentally experiencing opioid toxicity,” Morrow-Stritz said.

She said the clinic does provide naloxone kits and staff have responded to overdoses near the clinic, in addition to calling 911.

“It’s a busy clinic,” Morrow-Stritz said.

“We might have three new initial assessments. We might have four or five followups, not to mention everything that comes outside of that (physician) clinic time,” she said.

Aside from connecting with a doctor, patients can get advice on ways they can minimize the risks of substance use and be referred to counselling programs or directed to other resources beyond what RAAM provides.

Morrow-Stritz said the clinic recently added a second nurse to their RAAM team because staff were working over capacity.

The clinic also wants to expand its ability to complete followup assessments by recruiting a third doctor, she said.

Both Tatineni and Morrow-Stritz say stigma and a lack of transportation to addictions treatment clinics prevent people from accessing the care they need — gaps that are addressed through the RAAM’s virtual clinic and mobile withdrawal unit.

Brandon’s digital front-door drop-in clinic is led by nurses every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., but people can speak to a nurse outside these hours virtually through the other six RAAM clinics in Manitoba.

“Our goal is to make sure that we develop a rapport of no judgment and working where people are at, so that they feel comfortable walking through that door again and again if they need to,” Morrow-Stritz said.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press