A leadership shift in mental health services in Windsor.
The current CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association-Windsor Branch Claudia den Boer will now take on the leadership executive role at the downtown Crisis and Mental Wellness Centre on Ouellette Ave.
She will maintain her role at CMHA as well.
The move follows a partnership between the association and Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare announced five years ago.
Both organizations felt it was essential to have integrated leadership at the wellness centre to help patients with mental health.
"The number one priority is to do a better job of providing access," says den Boer. "We know that this is a significant barrier and so one of the key things that we are wanting to endeavour here, is to actually deliver the services differently."
She called the Ouellette Ave wellness centre a 'jewel'
"I think there is an opportunity to really continue to build upon this, we have talked about again wanting to ensure that there is this single door, single point of access for all mental health and addiction services."
Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare CEO Janice Kaffer says the change will help provide seamless care.
"There is a fit between our organizations and a real focus on serving people and when you talk about organizations that serve, they are different than organizations that manage."
In January 2017, staff at the wellness centre saw 48 clients which has now increased to 203 clients in January 2019.
Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's Vice President of Mental Health and Addiction Sonja Grbevski will focus on the hospital's inpatient mental health program and child and youth mental health services through the Regional Children's Centre.