Nanaimo,

EHN Edgewood Nanaimo

Western Canada's first private treatment facility, a 42,000 square foot campus where the therapeutic community itself is the treatment.

Assessed

Rank #49Public score 40Tied

Public evidence, LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01

Public evidence · 40

About EHN Edgewood Nanaimo

EHN Edgewood Nanaimo is a purpose-built 42,000 square foot residential addiction campus on the east coast of Vancouver Island, and the founding site of what is now Canada's largest private mental health and addiction network. The clinical spine is abstinence-based twelve-step recovery, layered with cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, Accelerated Resolution Therapy, EMDR, art and music therapy, and medically supervised withdrawal management under addiction-certified physicians with 24/7 nursing. The flagship inpatient programme runs about seven weeks and includes a year of aftercare. What structurally distinguishes the site is scale and community: shared meals, communal group work, on-site AA, NA and SMART Recovery meetings, an Indigenous cultural programme with its own teepee, and a large alumni association. Clients choose between standard or semi-private rooms, and no private-suite tier is described for the scored programme. That community model produces both the strongest reviews in this ranking and the concerns former clients raised with The Tyee in October 2023, on which no regulator or court outcome has been found. Accreditation Canada lists the site and the group holds Accredited with Commendation status under Qmentum Global, but no provincial licence record for the site could be retrieved from any public register, and the operator publishes no price on its own website.

Clinic overview

Founded: Two years are recorded. The operator's own anniversary article gives an opening date of 25 April 1994, and the facility page claims over 30 years. A commercial directory states 2014, which is around the date the EHN Canada group was formed. Recorded as unresolved.
Capacity: No current figure appears on the clinic's own pages. Group and directory material give capacity for about 90 clients; the operator's own 2019 anniversary article records 80 residential beds and 30 extended-care beds after the 2002 expansion. Recorded as unresolved.
Languages: The programme is delivered in English. French is offered elsewhere in the group but not at this site, and no further language capability is published for Nanaimo.
Licence: The clinic describes the campus as fully licensed but publishes no licence number, licensing statute or health authority. No provincial record was retrieved: the British Columbia Assisted Living Registry dataset carries no row for the site, and the Island Health community care facility database could not be searched with a confirmed result. Unverified
Accreditations: Accreditation Canada lists the site at 2121 Boxwood Road on its July 2026 list of accredited sites, under the account EHN Canada. The group states Accredited with Commendation status under Qmentum Global. No certificate number or register link is published on the clinic's own pages. A directory claim of CARF accreditation is not adopted: no CARF record was located.
Payment and insurance: Private insurance is widely accepted, with insurer verification handled at intake, and WorkSafeBC and first-responder funding pathways exist alongside a small number of publicly funded provincial beds. No insurer list is published for this site. The operator states that it receives no financial benefit from its treatment-financing partner. Unverified
Length of stay: The standard inpatient programme runs about seven weeks, replacing an earlier 50-day version, with shorter stabilisation or extended programmes depending on need. Extended Care for Sober Living adds 42 to 90 days or more. One year of aftercare is included.
Address: 2121 Boxwood Road, Nanaimo, Canada

Leadership

The operator publishes a fully named site leadership page with credentials and tenure, covering medical, psychiatric, clinical and non-clinical roles.

Dr Gary Richardson

Director of Medical Services, MBBCh, CCFP, FCFP, DABAM, FASAM, CCSAM; Medical Director at the site since 2002

medicine

Dr Ian King

Director of Psychiatric Services since 2022, BMSc, MD, FRCPC, DRCPSC (Addiction Medicine); Clinical Instructor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia

medicine

Dr Mel Vincent

Psychiatrist, BASc, MSc, MD, FRCP(C); Director of Psychiatric Services from 2002; instructor in the University of British Columbia Department of Psychiatry Addiction Division

medicine

Joel Hughes

Clinical Director, MA; in a clinical supervisory capacity at the site since 2008

clinical

Trevor Sigmundson

Extended Care Supervisor, a clinical supervisor at the site since 2014

clinical

Kita LaFrance

Executive Director, BBA, MBA, MScIB. Not a clinician

leadership

Lisa Stockton

Referent Relations Director for EHN Canada, based at the Nanaimo site. Not a clinical role

leadership

No professional registration numbers are published for any named clinician. Three College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia directory lookups were open at the time of scoring.

Videos

EHN Edgewood Nanaimo Facility VideoSource: EHN Edgewood NanaimoWatch on YouTube

Recovery at Edgewood Treatment CentreSource: EHN Edgewood NanaimoWatch on YouTube

Treatments

Medically supervised withdrawal management

Typically the first 3 to 10 days of the stay

Within the inpatient rate, not separately published

Physician-supervised withdrawal management and stabilisation under the care of nurses and physicians, with 24/7 nursing, delivered as the entry stage of the inpatient programme rather than as a standalone product. The clinic describes an abstinence-based approach combined with medication-assisted therapy where needed, delivered by an addiction-certified medical team.

Vancouver Island Drug and Alcohol Addiction Inpatient Program

About seven weeks, with shorter stabilisation or extended programmes depending on need

Not published by the clinic. The Tyee, 17 October 2023, reported CAD 38,750 for the earlier 50-day version.

The flagship programme, coded CORE-EWN. Abstinence-based, with medication-assisted therapy where indicated, cognitive behavioural and dialectical behaviour therapy, art and music therapy, individual psychotherapy, group work, psychoeducation, life planning and relapse prevention groups. Clients see their primary counsellor at least once a week and have access to support counsellors around the clock. The published day runs from a lecture and a self-assessment group with peers through a skills group and group recreation to a communal dinner and an evening AA, NA or SMART Recovery meeting. A year of aftercare and lifelong alumni membership are included.

Vancouver Island Hybrid Inpatient and Online Program

About two weeks inpatient followed by virtual outpatient care

Built for clients who cannot leave work or family for seven weeks. A short stabilising residential block is followed by the group's virtual intensive therapy, keeping clinical continuity inside the same operator rather than handing the client to an unrelated provider. The site itself does not offer in-person outpatient or intensive outpatient programmes.

Vancouver Island Indigenous Addiction Recovery Inpatient Program

As the core inpatient programme

Combines traditional Indigenous practice, including ceremony at the teepee on the campus, with the group's evidence-based programme. It is a culturally grounded parallel pathway rather than an add-on module, and it is unusual among private Canadian centres.

Extended Care for Sober Living

42 to 90 days or more after the core programme

A residential step-down phase on the same campus, supervised by a dedicated extended care team, for clients moving from inpatient treatment toward independent living, with progressively reduced structure and greater emphasis on life skills and employment.

Family programme and one year of aftercare

Family programme within the stay, then up to 12 months of aftercare

Included with the programme, subject to eligibility

Family check-ins, therapy sessions and education workshops run during the residential phase. After discharge, weekly clinician-led aftercare groups of about two hours run for up to 12 months with the option to continue, alongside eight-week specialty groups at no additional cost for eligible clients, transitions coordinated by the care team and an app for use between sessions. Eligibility depends on the programme completed and how treatment was funded. Alumni membership is for life.

Prices

No public price found.

Our assessment

The review base is the largest in this ranking and reads as organic. The Google Business Profile for the site recorded 4.1 out of 5 from 208 reviews when captured on 15 September 2026, with owner responses and visible critical reviews. A commercial directory reports 4.1 from 209 reviews, consistent with the Google figure and almost certainly mirroring it rather than forming an independent corpus. The Facebook page has over 4,600 followers with no aggregate rating captured. No Trustpilot listing was located, and a Yelp page returned empty. The corpus spans two decades of stays, names individual counsellors, carries dated specifics and mixes praise with complaint. No sign of manipulation was found. The operator publishes its own outcome and satisfaction figures, including a stated 93.3 percent of clients reporting an overall positive experience and an 80 percent reduction in substance dependence symptoms at discharge. These are internally administered surveys with no published methodology, sample size or response rate, presented in the visual language of clinical outcome data. Read them as satisfaction surveys. No lawsuit, licence restriction, provincial enforcement action or fine against the site was found, and no statutory inspection is on record. A 2025 Federal Court of Canada decision involving the operating company concerned a trademark dispute in which an injunction was refused, and is recorded rather than scored.

The Tyee published a bylined investigation on 17 October 2023 reporting concerns raised by four former clients of the Nanaimo centre and the father of a fifth: that some male clients behaved toward female clients in ways that made them feel unsafe and that complaints were not acted on; that a man complained about was housed in the women's wing; that client rooms could not be locked; that counsellor access was uneven; that programming leaned heavily on twelve-step material; and that relapse preparation was insufficient. The then executive director responded on the record that client safety is at the forefront, that confidentiality constraints can make a handled complaint appear brushed off, that Core Program counsellors are required to hold a weekly one-to-one session, and that non-twelve-step options are offered. No regulator or court outcome on those concerns has been found. CBC North reported that the Northwest Territories government no longer contracts the operator, a procurement outcome rather than a finding. No first-hand bylined reporting from inside the facility was found within the last five years, and the operator publishes no press or media page.

EHN Canada was named a 2025 winner of the Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures Award. That is a corporate culture award for the group, not a clinical accolade for this site and not accreditation.

Facility

A 42,000 square foot purpose-built residential campus at 2121 Boxwood Road on the east coast of Vancouver Island, developed from the original 1994 building through a 2002 expansion that added a lecture hall, the west wing and a building for family programme participants and extended-care clients. Accommodation. Clients choose between standard or semi-private rooms. No private-suite tier is described for the scored programme; private rooms appear only in the separately branded programme housed in another building on the same campus. A former client interviewed by The Tyee in October 2023 said client rooms could not be locked. That account is attributed to a former client, was not tested by a regulator and no outcome has been found. Communal facilities. A lecture hall, lounges with exposed timber trusses, a nurses' station, a fitness centre, a quiet sitting room, community and connection spaces, outdoor healing areas, a traditional teepee used for ceremony, a circular outdoor labyrinth, gardens and walking trails, with Vancouver Island forest around the site. What is not established. The campus sits in a commercial and light-industrial district on the southern edge of Nanaimo rather than in wilderness or on the water. Emergency equipment, life support training, medication storage rules and any environmental risk assessment are not published. The nearest emergency department, Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, is about 2.4 kilometres away by road.

Food

The operator describes chef-supported, nutritious meals served in the Bridges Dining Room, with freshly prepared breakfast, a substantial lunch and dinner treated as a social occasion. Nutritionists appear in the published staff description for the site alongside physicians, nurses, counsellors, occupational and family therapists and fitness trainers, so dietary input is in-house rather than on request. Nutritional guidance is listed among the activities available during a stay. Client reviews are unusually specific and consistently positive about the kitchen, naming individual dishes and the salad bar. Spontaneous, granular praise of that kind is better evidence of a functioning kitchen than any marketing line, though it is not evidence the rubric scores. No nutrition professional is named, no chef is named, and no gourmet credential is published. There is no published nutrition assessment on admission, no method behind the meal plan, no statement that the kitchen works to a plan, and no monitoring, condition-specific protocol or education for after discharge. This is institutional catering with stated nutritionist involvement rather than a culinary offering.

Privacy

shared setting

What is established. The model is a therapeutic community, and the operator states plainly that peer-to-peer interaction is essential because addiction isolates. Group therapy, shared lectures, self-assessment in front of peers, on-site AA, NA and SMART Recovery meetings, communal dining, family programme participants on campus and an active alumni culture are all deliberate design choices. Clients are meant to know each other. Accommodation is standard or semi-private, with no private-suite tier for the scored programme. Named confidentiality mechanisms are thin. All employees are bound by a confidentiality agreement as a condition of employment, and the group maintains a chief privacy officer at corporate level. No arrival or departure separation, no scheduling that keeps clients apart and no further measure beyond statute is published. What is reported and unresolved. The Tyee reported on 17 October 2023 that former clients said rooms could not be locked and that a client others had complained about was housed in the women's wing. Those accounts are attributed to former clients, the operator responded on the record, and no regulator or court outcome has been found. This is a mid-market therapeutic community operating at scale. It does not offer, and does not claim to offer, controlled anonymity.

Assessed 2026-10-01

Rank #49Public score 40Tied

Public evidence, LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01

Public evidence · 40

Headline basis: Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01

Public-evidence total: 40

The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements. For the licence element of C2 only, it can also use an authority ruling held in our sealed evidence room. It is the only number used for the rank.

Confidence: medium. Provisional: C10.

C1 Client separation and occupancy · 2

The band rests on the occupancy model only; register capacity and bed figures are not used. Standard or semi-private rooms are the only accommodation for the scored programme, and group therapy, lectures, communal dining and evening mutual-help meetings are core to the published day. No exclusive-use tier and no one-client claim exist, so no contradiction deduction applies.

Confidence: high

Sources (4 cited items):

EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: Clients can choose between standard or semi-private rooms; the campus is 42,000 square feet and described as fully licensed and purpose-built.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The programme FAQ states that group therapy is an important part of the programme and publishes a day schedule with a lecture, a self-assessment group, a skills group, a group recreation class, dinner as a social affair and an evening AA, NA or SMART Recovery meeting.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: All employees are bound by a confidentiality agreement as a condition of employment.
thetyee.ca: A bylined report in The Tyee on 17 October 2023 recorded former clients saying that a male client was housed in the women's wing and that clients could not lock their doors. The then executive director responded in writing that client safety is at the forefront and that confidentiality limits what can be shared about action taken.

C2 Clinical governance and medical cover · 6

The Island Health community care facility licensing register records licence 1381747 for 2121 Boxwood Road in a regulated substance-use treatment category, and Accreditation Canada's list of accredited sites carries the site under substance abuse services. A physician Director of Medical Services and a psychiatrist Director of Psychiatric Services are named, and withdrawal is medically supervised on the campus. That is two further elements (on-site withdrawal and accreditation), band 6; band 7 needs three. The clinic states nursing and counsellors on site 24/7 with doctors available, which does not establish round-the-clock physician cover, and no non-psychiatric medical service, named hospital route or complex-psychiatry programme is published.

Confidence: high

Known gaps:

The register does not state whether the licence covers medically managed withdrawal.

Sources (5 cited items):

accreditation.ca: Accreditation Canada's July 2026 list of accredited sites records EHN Edgewood Nanaimo at 2121 Boxwood Road, Nanaimo V9S 4L2, British Columbia, under the account EHN Canada and the sector Substance Abuse and Gambling Addiction Services.
catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca: The British Columbia Assisted Living Registry open dataset, last modified 28 January 2026, contains no row for Edgewood, EHN or 2121 Boxwood Road.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The facility page states medically supervised withdrawal management and stabilisation under the care of nurses and physicians before residential treatment, physician and psychiatrist-led programming and 24/7 nursing, and describes the site as fully licensed without naming a licence.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The team page names a Director of Medical Services who has been Medical Director at the site since 2002 and a Director of Psychiatric Services, a psychiatrist at the site since 2022.
inspections.myhealthdepartment.com: The Island Health community care facility licensing record for licence 1381747 shows a routine inspection on 27 May 2026 citing three Residential Care Regulation contraventions (monitoring policy, visitors at any time, nutrition plans developed with a dietitian). The follow-up of 29 July 2026 recorded the monitoring policy as addressed and still listed the other two, with a further follow-up inspection to be conducted.

C3 Diagnostic depth on admission · 4

Two elements are published: a clinical assessment before the client commits (a free confidential assessment of medical and mental health history before pricing) and physician medication review within an addiction-certified medical team. Screening and outcome questionnaires at intake are not a psychiatric assessment by a psychiatrist. No admission psychiatric assessment, physical examination, laboratory panel, ECG, imaging, specialist diagnostics or written formulation is published, so band 5 is not reached.

Confidence: medium

Sources (2 cited items):

EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: No referral is required; clinical staff complete an assessment to determine the most appropriate level of care, and the admissions process starts with a confidential assessment reviewing medical and mental health history.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The programme FAQ states that pricing is discussed only after a free assessment confirms the programme is right, that clinical staff review each complex case individually, and that an abstinence-based approach is combined with medication-assisted therapy where needed, delivered by an addiction-certified medical team including doctors.

C4 Clinical intensity · 3

The only count is a minimum of one primary counsellor session a week with no length given, and the clinical team is pooled across the community. The published day is mainly group-based, while nursing and counsellors are on site around the clock. Band 4 needs three to four individual sessions a week or a dedicated team, which is not published. The typical seven-week stay is clinically extendable, so no fixed-package cap applies.

Confidence: high

Sources (3 cited items):

EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The programme FAQ states that a client will see their primary counsellor at least once a week and have 24/7 access to support counsellors for additional one-to-one support, that group therapy is an important part of the programme, and that nursing and counsellors are on site 24/7.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The facility page gives a typical stay of around seven weeks, with shorter stabilisation or extended programmes depending on need, and claims a high clinician-to-client ratio without a figure.
thetyee.ca: The then executive director told The Tyee on 17 October 2023 that Core Program counsellors are required to hold formal one-to-one sessions with clients at least once a week. Former clients said access to counsellors was uneven. The accounts are attributed and were not tested by a regulator.

C5 Continuity and aftercare · 7

Six elements are met, including a defined duration: a written long-term recovery plan, weekly clinician-led groups for up to 12 months after inpatient treatment, included with the programme, delivered within the same operator, and residential step-down through the Extended Care Program on the same campus. No psychiatric or medication follow-up, remote clinical sessions or family element is published, so the band above is not reached. Eligibility depends on the programme completed and how it was funded.

Confidence: medium

Known gaps:

Aftercare eligibility depends on programme and funding, so not every client may receive the included year.

Sources (3 cited items):

EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: Programme highlights state that the programme includes a year of aftercare and ongoing alumni outreach, that aftercare means weekly group therapy sessions for one year with fellow alumni, and that relapse prevention groups develop a long-term recovery plan.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The aftercare page describes weekly clinician-led groups of about two hours, support for up to 12 months after inpatient treatment with the option to continue, eight-week specialty groups at no additional cost for eligible clients, transitions coordinated by the care team and an app for use between sessions, with eligibility depending on the programme completed and how it was funded.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The Extended Care Program supports clients transitioning from inpatient treatment to independent recovery on the same campus.

C6 Admission integrity and commercial conduct · 4

A sweep of the operator's domains found no clinic ranking linked to the clinic, no commercial award presented as independent recognition and no text addressed to AI assistants; the site's llms.txt is a neutral page index. No price is published (pricing is discussed after a free assessment; a CAD 38,750 figure was given to a journalist in 2023, not published by the clinic), no referral-fee position and no admissions or declining policy exist. A clean sweep with no positive signal is band 4.

Confidence: high

Sources (5 cited items):

EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The facility page states that cost depends on programme length, clinical complexity and selected services, and that admissions provide a personalised quote.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The financial information page states that EHN Canada does not receive any financial benefits or payments from its financing partner.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: A guide article dated 29 October 2020 on choosing an inpatient centre gives selection criteria under headings and ranks or lists no clinics.
thetyee.ca: The Tyee reported on 17 October 2023 that the operator supplied a price of CAD 38,750 for the then 50-day Nanaimo programme, with flexibility on length based on a client's needs or various contracts. The figure is not published on the clinic's own site.
clinic and group domains, web search: Search of clinic and group domains, web search. Scope: domains checked edgewoodhealthnetwork.com (English and /fr/ sections: facility, team, programme, about, accreditation, aftercare, financial information, contact, feedback form, privacy, facility tour, 2019 anniversary article, the "best inpatient drug rehab center" guide, robots.txt, llms.txt).... Result: sweep recorded; outcome per the C6 V elements.

C7 Transparency toward the client · 2

One element is met, a statement of limits: the site does not offer in-person outpatient or intensive outpatient programmes. No fee inclusions, payment, refund, extension or early-departure terms are published, the site says "fully licensed" without publishing licence 1381747, the privacy policy names Edgewood Health Network Inc. as website operator without a registration number or registered address, ownership is disclosed only by the investor, no external complaints body is named, no inspection report is published and no client-record retention period is stated. The register names Edgewood Holdings 2013 Ltd. as licensee; the privacy statement is scoped to the website, so this is not treated as a contradiction and no deduction applies.

Confidence: low

Known gaps:

Which entity contracts with the client (Edgewood Holdings 2013 Ltd. or Edgewood Health Network Inc.) is not established.

Sources (4 cited items):

EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The facility page states that the site is fully accredited with commendation by Accreditation Canada and describes it as fully licensed, with no number or register link, and states that the site does not offer in-person outpatient or intensive outpatient programmes.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The privacy policy, effective 1 June 2026, names Edgewood Health Network Inc. as owner and operator of the website, covers website data, and states retention until the purpose is achieved. It does not state how client health records are held or for how long.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The contact page offers a feedback form and names no external complaints body.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The financial information page states that costs vary by needs, location, accommodation type and services, and describes financing options, without publishing a fee or any fee terms.

C8 Track record and regulator standing · 4

The Island Health licensing inspection of 27 May 2026 cited three contraventions of British Columbia's Residential Care Regulation against the licensee of this site, and the follow-up of 29 July 2026 still listed two (visitors at any time, nutrition plans developed with a dietitian), with a further follow-up required. A published regulator finding of a breach that the regulator does not grade counts as a moderate finding; with no clean inspection dated after it, the band is 4. Because a finding exists within 10 years, the recent inspections and review platforms no longer lift the band. The 2023 press allegations, a 2025 trademark decision and a contract ending are not findings and score nothing.

Confidence: high

Known gaps:

The 2023 press allegations remain untested by a regulator and are not scored.
The element reading for this criterion is not published as a list; the band is explained in the reasoning.

Sources (23 cited items):

thetyee.ca: A bylined report in The Tyee on 17 October 2023 carried former clients' testimony and the operator's written responses. No regulator or court finding on those concerns was reported or found. Allegations only; not scored.
google.com: The Google Business Profile for EHN Edgewood Nanaimo at 2121 Boxwood Rd showed 4.1 from 208 reviews, with owner responses and critical review excerpts visible in the summary.
canlii.org: A 2025 Federal Court of Canada decision between another health care company and the operating company concerned a trademark dispute in which an injunction was refused. Partially verified through a search index; the case page returned no content. Recorded, not scored.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The operator's anniversary article, dated 11 March 2019, states that the site opened on 25 April 1994.
inspections.myhealthdepartment.com: The Island Health community care facility licensing record for licence 1381747 shows a routine inspection on 27 May 2026 citing three Residential Care Regulation contraventions (monitoring policy, visitors at any time, nutrition plans developed with a dietitian). The follow-up of 29 July 2026 recorded the monitoring policy as addressed and still listed the other two, with a further follow-up inspection to be conducted.
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Edgewood Health Network" lawsuit OR court OR decision OR fine. Result: no record found.
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: Edgewood Treatment Centre Nanaimo licence OR inspection OR investigation OR lawsuit. Result: no record found.
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "2025 FC 1639" Edgewood. Result: no record found.
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Edgewood Health Network Inc" Federal Court trademark injunction. Result: no record found.
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: thetyee.ca Edgewood Nanaimo former clients raise concerns 2023. Result: no record found.
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: Edgewood Nanaimo Island Health complaint investigation licensing 2024 OR 2025. Result: no record found.
Federal Court decisions database: Search of Federal Court decisions database. Scope: Edgewood Health Network (HTTP 403). Result: no record found.
CourtListener: Search of CourtListener. Scope: "Edgewood Health Network" (blocked). Result: no record found.
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Edgewood Health Network" lawsuit OR court OR decision OR fine. Result: record found: Bylined reporting (The Tyee, 17 October 2023) of concerns raised by former clients about safety and care at the Nanaimo centre; no regulator, court or other forum outcome found as of 2026-09-28.....
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: Edgewood Treatment Centre Nanaimo licence OR inspection OR investigation OR lawsuit. Result: record found: Bylined reporting (The Tyee, 17 October 2023) of concerns raised by former clients about safety and care at the Nanaimo centre; no regulator, court or other forum outcome found as of 2026-09-28.....
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "2025 FC 1639" Edgewood. Result: record found: Bylined reporting (The Tyee, 17 October 2023) of concerns raised by former clients about safety and care at the Nanaimo centre; no regulator, court or other forum outcome found as of 2026-09-28.....
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Edgewood Health Network Inc" Federal Court trademark injunction. Result: record found: Bylined reporting (The Tyee, 17 October 2023) of concerns raised by former clients about safety and care at the Nanaimo centre; no regulator, court or other forum outcome found as of 2026-09-28.....
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: thetyee.ca Edgewood Nanaimo former clients raise concerns 2023. Result: record found: Bylined reporting (The Tyee, 17 October 2023) of concerns raised by former clients about safety and care at the Nanaimo centre; no regulator, court or other forum outcome found as of 2026-09-28.....
general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: Edgewood Nanaimo Island Health complaint investigation licensing 2024 OR 2025. Result: record found: Bylined reporting (The Tyee, 17 October 2023) of concerns raised by former clients about safety and care at the Nanaimo centre; no regulator, court or other forum outcome found as of 2026-09-28.....
Federal Court decisions database: Search of Federal Court decisions database. Scope: Edgewood Health Network (HTTP 403). Result: record found: Bylined reporting (The Tyee, 17 October 2023) of concerns raised by former clients about safety and care at the Nanaimo centre; no regulator, court or other forum outcome found as of 2026-09-28.....
CourtListener: Search of CourtListener. Scope: "Edgewood Health Network" (blocked). Result: record found: Bylined reporting (The Tyee, 17 October 2023) of concerns raised by former clients about safety and care at the Nanaimo centre; no regulator, court or other forum outcome found as of 2026-09-28.....
press and news search: Search of press and news search. Scope: first-hand bylined reporting from inside the facility, last 5 years. Result: no record found.
statutory regulator records: Search of statutory regulator records. Scope: inspection history and grades of this site. Result: no record found.

C9 Environment, safety and nutrition · 4

The criterion is the mean of a health and safety sub-band of 6 and a nutrition sub-band of 2, which is 4. Health and safety meets six elements, including space, exercise, family visiting, a licensed address and a 24-hour emergency department at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital a few minutes away by road; band 7 needs published resuscitation equipment and training. No alcohol-free or brought-in medication policy and no self-harm measures are published. Nutrition is thin: meals are provided but no named nutrition professional, assessment, plan method or monitoring is published.

Confidence: medium

Known gaps:

Travel time sources differ: about 4 minutes and 2.4 km on the linked route, 6 minutes and 2.8 km in a derived computation; both are well under 30 minutes.

Sources (4 cited items):

EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The facility page describes fitness and wellness facilities, chef-supported nutritious meals, natural walking trails and outdoor recreation, and family check-ins, therapy sessions and education workshops.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The facility tour page names the Bridges Dining Room and describes opportunities for sleep hygiene, nutritional guidance, art and music therapy, and access to a hairdresser and esthetician. The team page lists site staff including physicians, nurses, counsellors, nutritionists, occupational and family therapists and fitness trainers, none of them named.
islandhealth.ca: Nanaimo Regional General Hospital at 1200 Dufferin Crescent has an emergency department open 24 hours a day.
google.com: The road route from 2121 Boxwood Road to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is about 4 minutes and 2.4 kilometres.

C10 Clinical seniority and academic standing · 4

Relevant clinicians are present: the Director of Psychiatric Services is verified as a clinical instructor on the University of British Columbia psychiatry clinical faculty list, and the Director of Medical Services' addiction medicine credential is accepted provisionally. The facility licence is proven on the health-authority register. Depth and density are thin against the size of the campus, and the clinical director's master's degree is in leadership rather than a clinical discipline, which keeps the band at 4.

Provisional: Clinician register lookups for this criterion were still open at the edition cut-off (see known_gaps). The points count as assessed on the evidence available; the band may change when the lookups are completed, which is resolved in a later edition.

Confidence: medium

Known gaps:

Four physician directory lookups were not complete at publication; the C10 band may change when they are completed.

Sources (4 cited items):

psychiatry.ubc.ca: The University of British Columbia Department of Psychiatry clinical faculty list records the Director of Psychiatric Services as a Clinical Instructor in private practice at Nanaimo.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The team page names the Director of Medical Services as Medical Director since 2002, with certification in family and addiction medicine and a Lifetime Diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine, and names the Director of Psychiatric Services and a second psychiatrist with stated University of British Columbia Department of Psychiatry roles.
EHN Edgewood Nanaimo: The team page names the Clinical Director, whose master's degree is in Leadership rather than a clinical discipline, and an Extended Care Supervisor, a clinical supervisor at the site since 2014, with no registration claimed for either.
cpsbc.ca: Three College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia directory lookups remained open at the time of scoring, and one further physician lookup needs a person. The addiction medicine credential of the Director of Medical Services is accepted provisionally and flagged for re-check.

Frequently asked questions

What does treatment at EHN Edgewood Nanaimo cost?

The website publishes no price. Its FAQ says cost depends on programme length, clinical complexity and the services chosen, and that pricing is discussed only after a free assessment confirms the programme is right. The only figure the operator has made public is the one it gave the news outlet The Tyee, published 17 October 2023: CAD 38,750 for the then 50-day inpatient programme at Nanaimo, stated to cover clinical and medical services, room, food and housekeeping. It is a third-party report of an operator-supplied figure, not a published price. The standard programme is now described as seven weeks, so that figure may understate the current package, and no 2026 price is published anywhere. Private insurance is widely accepted, WorkSafeBC and first-responder pathways exist, and a small number of publicly funded provincial beds are available.

Where is it and how do you get there?

The centre is at 2121 Boxwood Road, Nanaimo, on the east coast of Vancouver Island, an address confirmed on Accreditation Canada's list of accredited sites. It is one of the more accessible facilities in this ranking. Nanaimo has its own airport with direct flights from Vancouver and Calgary, floatplane and passenger ferry services into downtown from Vancouver, and vehicle ferries from Horseshoe Bay and Tsawwassen. The campus itself sits in a commercial district on the city's southern edge rather than in wilderness, with forest, gardens and walking trails on the grounds. Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, whose emergency department is open around the clock, is about 2.4 kilometres away by road.

Who is it designed for?

Adults of any gender with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions, treated together in a large mixed therapeutic community. It is the group's flagship complex-case site, and complex presentations are reviewed individually by clinical staff to determine whether the clinic can support the client. Dedicated streams exist for Indigenous clients and, through a co-located programme on the same campus, for Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans, police, RCMP and firefighters. It is not designed for anyone whose first requirement is anonymity or a private room, and the site does not offer in-person outpatient or intensive outpatient programmes.

What is the admission process?

No referral is needed. The admissions process starts with a confidential assessment by clinical staff that reviews medical and mental health history and recommends the most appropriate level of care and location across the network. Payment or insurance verification follows, then travel to Nanaimo. Most clients begin with medically supervised withdrawal management under the care of nurses and physicians before entering the core seven-week programme. No admission psychiatric assessment by a psychiatrist, physical examination, laboratory panel or written diagnostic formulation is published. Referring professionals go through a dedicated referent relations director based on the campus.

What happens after discharge?

One year of aftercare is included with the programme. It means weekly clinician-led group sessions of about two hours for up to 12 months after inpatient treatment, with the option to continue, eight-week specialty groups at no additional cost for eligible clients, transitions coordinated by the care team, and an app for use between sessions. Relapse prevention groups during the stay develop a long-term recovery plan. Eligibility depends on the programme completed and how treatment was funded. Clients needing a step-down phase can move into Extended Care for Sober Living on the same campus for a further 42 to 90 days or more. Psychiatric review and medication management after discharge are not published.

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