Recognition and opportunity for Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.
HDGH, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, has been chosen to participate in an 18-month schizophrenia demonstration project to help expand the implementation of Ontario Health’s schizophrenia quality standards.
The project which was launched by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) and Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences have only selected four regions to participate in the project.
As part of the project, staff will be receiving tools and training from both the MHCC and Ontario Shores.
Four pillars will be offered within Windsor-Essex, including injection-based medication, alternate medication for those who are treatment resistant, cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis, and family therapy.
President and CEO Bill Marra says they were selected because of their reputation for the work they do in the mental health field.
"We have tremendous leadership from our vice president of mental health and addictions, Dr. Andrea Steen. So we were proud to be selected, but we celebrated that for a minute because the next piece is getting ready. All of our staff have been trained, and we go live on April 1 with this national initiative," he said.
Marra says they're very excited about being one of the sites chosen to take part in the project.
"This will inform clinicians and treatment modalities going forward. Mental health and addictions really in general during the pandemic rose to the attention of more people than ever before. It was a system that was already in crisis if you will, a system that was already overrun with patient demands, and the pandemic exacerbated it and brought more attention to it."
He says while the pandemic was obviously a difficult time for many, one of the silver linings that came out of it was the attention brought to mental health and addictions.
"And this schizophrenia project is a really good example of the work that's being done on a national level. Windsor should be very proud, this is not a Hôtel-Dieu achievement, this is a regional achievement. That a hospital in Windsor-Essex County was chosen in partnership with the CMHA to be a site where this work will be done, and we'll be providing updates on a very regular basis," Marra said.
HDGH will begin enrolling patients as of April 1, who will have to be screened every three to six months.
The four pillars offered as part of the project will be used to track data to help determine if treatment options improve the quality of life and longevity of life for those living with schizophrenia.