Sault Area Hospital is adding to its mental health and addictions team even as hospitals across Ontario cut hundreds of nursing and healthcare jobs. The hospital is recruiting a new psychotherapist, a social worker, and two crisis services nurses, with applications closing July 14, 2026.
The new psychotherapist role is for the outpatient mental health program and was created as an entirely new position. The candidate must have a master’s degree in social work, Counseling, or equivalent, and at least a year’s experience in therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy. The social worker posting is for an existing vacancy and calls for three years of mental health and addictions experience.
Two part-time registered nurse positions have also been added in crisis services. All four postings are linked to the hospital’s outpatient mental health and crisis teams.
The hiring comes at a time when the Ontario Nurses’ Association reports that more than 700 front-line nurse and healthcare positions have been eliminated across the province since January 2025. Union president Erin Ariss has warned that Ontario already has the worst nurse staffing levels per capita in Canada. Despite that, SAH is expanding its mental health services in a region where opioid death rates sit at about 14 per 100,000 people, well above the provincial average of four per 100,000.
The new roles are part of the hospital’s broader mental health and addictions program, which covers adult and youth services, crisis care, and addiction treatment. SAH continues to hire for other departments, including lab and clerical workers, but the focus on mental health comes as the hospital works through a projected $10-million deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
