The province is about to significantly expand its MCP-covered treatment options for people who are addicted to drugs.

The Vida Recovery Centre, located just south of the TCH on the Salmonier Line, is privately owned and will open its doors within a couple of months.

There will be 16 immediate spaces for in-patient treatment with another 24 by Christmas as well as two detox units, an onsite medical clinic, and 10 sober transitional housing units.

The owners say 158 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have died of accidental overdose in the last two years – three times higher than the number killed on our highways.

They reached out to government for coverage by MCP, and Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell agrees – all clients who are receiving MCP coverage will be insured while at Vida Nova.