Amy Bowins, Brightshores Health System Leanne Holt, Vice-President, External Affairs and Development, Mental Health Commission of Canada Rhowena Martin, Chief Impact Officer, Canadian Centre on Substance Use & Addiction Sue Owen, CHE, President and CEO, Canadian College of Health Leaders Dr. Marc Bilodeau, Chair, Board of Directors, Canadian College of Health Leaders
Brightshores Wellness and Recovery Centre in Owen Sound received national recognition this week.
The centre was presented with the 2026 National Award of Excellence in Mental Health and Addictions Quality Improvement by the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL) on June 14 in Montreal.
“This recognition reflects the dedication of our staff, physicians, peer workers, donors, community partners, clients and families whose compassion, courage and commitment made this work possible,” says Vice-President of Clinical Programs and Quality, and Chief Nursing Executive Beth Morris. “We are grateful to the Canadian College of Health Leaders for honouring what we’ve built together – a coordinated, recovery-focused model that cares for the whole person, supporting mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.”
The honour celebrates a first-in-Ontario model that combines stable housing and integrated care for individuals with complex needs, and is helping inform system-level improvements across the province.
Since opening in 2024, the centre has delivered short- and long-term programming, including crisis support, addictions treatment, and daily drop-in clinics, providing wraparound services under one roof for every step of the recovery journey.
- A dramatic drop in emergency department visits is being credited to the success of Brightshores’ Wellness and Recovery Centre in Owen Sound.
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“Brightshores has developed a scalable and sustainable model that exemplifies the spirit of this award: evidence-based innovation, measurable outcomes, and lasting system transformation in mental health and addictions care,” the CCHL said in its award announcement.
Protocols and pathways developed through the centre have informed system-level improvements in the province and have been shared with more than 50 organizations.
“Together, we believed mental health and addictions care could be more connected, more equitable and more recovery-focused,” says Manager of Mental Health and Addictions at Brightshores Amy Bowins. “We have seen people move from crisis to stability, from isolation to community and toward hope and recovery.”
In February, Brightshores attributed a dramatic drop in emergency department to the success of its Wellness and Recovery Centre. It said, over the past three years, emergency visits within 30 days of discharge for mental health and addiction care had fallen sharply — from 410 visits in 2022 to 52 in 2024, and just four visits in 2025 across Brightshores and partner hospitals.