KDH receives funding for a Mental Health and Addictions Health Hub for Children and Youth

Kemptville District Hospital (KDH) has received funding to help develop a Mental Health and Addictions Health Hub for children and youth in North Grenville.

The funding, from the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN)’s Small Hospital Transformation Fund, will enable KDH to work with a variety of community partners to develop the health hub.

The partners are organizations already providing services to children and youth with mental health and/or addictions challenges.  There are currently approximately 20 partners from across the region eager to work together to develop the health hub.

Children’s Mental Health of Leeds and Grenville (CMHLG) is the lead agency in the collaborative. Lorena Crosbie, Executive Director of CMHLG, spoke about the exciting potential of the initiative: “Our primary goal is to make services more accessible for youth and their families experiencing mental health and/or addictions issues,” she stated.

The Mental Health and Addictions Health Hub project is very much in the inception stage. “The first year of this initiative is about collaborating with our partners to develop a patient- and family-centred model that will work for North Grenville children and youth and their parents,” explained Frank Vassallo, KDH’s Chief Executive Officer. “The second year will be focused on implementation,” he added.

The initiative is very closely tied to KDH’s strategic directions, developed in 2016 through extensive consultation with the public, partners and hospital staff and physicians.  The strategic directions include improving access to mental health and addictions services, as well as facilitating better coordination of care for people accessing services from different health providers, such as hospitals, family doctors, and health and social service agencies.

“We are grateful to the Champlain LHIN for providing the funding to improve mental health and addictions services for children and youth in our community,” stated Vassallo. “There is a dire need for these services across Canada, and North Grenville is no exception.”

About Kemptville District Hospital

Kemptville District Hospital is Accredited with Exemplary Standing, the highest ranking bestowed by Accreditation Canada. Committed to building healthier communities, we are a model of hospital-led integrated health services within the provincial health system. Kemptville District Hospital consistently ranks among the top hospitals in Ontario for both patient and employee satisfaction. We pride ourselves on being a good partner within the system. Kemptville District Hospital provides primary care management services, acute care hospital services, and advanced orthopedic care.

For further information contact:

Jenny Read, Communications Officer

T: 613-258-6133 extension 223

Email: jread@kdh.on.ca