Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is expanding the hours once again at the Mental Health and Addictions Urgent Crisis Centre (MHAUCC).
The centre - which provides care to people in Windsor-Essex who are facing an immediate crisis related to a mental health or addiction issue - has now expanded its walk-in crisis service hours to 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday.
While the MHAUCC was previously open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for intakes from first responders - the walk-in service hours was previously open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
President and CEO of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Bill Marra, states that the hospital continues to adjust their services to ensure the needs of those in the community are being met.
The site also offers four beds to support clients who are waiting for an assessment, or to be used for overnight stabilization if necessary.
Marra says this is a great option for those who need assistance immediately.
"It's a little to no wait at all depending on flow. You'll be seen by a mental health professional, we have psychiatry support, we can also accommodate overnight stabilization if necessary - we have four beds there as well. So, we continue to grow and really encourage people to use it as an option. It also helps from a big picture perspective to divert from the other ER's, and help reduce those wait times."
He says they were seeing the need to expand the walk-in hours overnight.
"How we determine that is not only data, we listen to our partners - EMS, Windsor Police, Windsor Regional [Hospital] - who tell us what's happening in the ER," Marra says. "And so we get that information, that data, and that feedback, and then we adjust accordingly. And that's the way it should be.")
He says the hospital will continue to monitor this expansion.
"We are open 24/7, so if there's an ambulance drop off, or anything else happening, so it's the overnight piece that we added. We're going to continue to review it. What we're doing is we're basing our decisions on data, what are people asking us for, how are we driving it?"
The hours changed earlier this week, and Marra states they've already seen usage during those new hours.
Hours on the weekend and on holiday's will remain from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The site is located right next to the emergency department at Windsor Regional Hospital's Ouellette Campus.