Rehab Facility Leaves Patients In The Cold

Clear Haven, where you don't get what you pay for

As I celebrate another year of sobriety I’ve come across a story that confirms the worst suspicions of the rehabilitatation industry.

The Clear Haven Centre, a facility located outside Montreal, abruptly closed and dropped its patients off at the airport.

Patients were given 30 minutes to make other arrangements, as internet access was disconnected. At the airport, people who weren’t able to reach their families were given $100 and well-wishes.

Their fate is unclear, since many of the patients were from America and had their passports taken from them prior to entering the clinic. One former patient was alleged to have used that money to purchase drugs.

Even the employees were taken aback by the sudden closure, as they had continued to accept new patients (at over $5000 for a one month stay) until the very end.

Terry Orsten, an Alberta dentist, is the person in charge of the clinic, and to nobody’s surprise, he’s vanished. All phone contacts have either been disconnected or go to places where he has not worked for many years.

I hope Orsten is located and prosecuted to the fullest extent imaginable. For many people, rehab clinics are their last hope for a healthy life and stories like this can prevent individuals from taking recovery seriously.