Ontario Premier Doug Ford (2020)
Burlington is getting help when it comes to mental health addiction support services.
The Ontario government made an announcement on Monday, November 25th that aims to make it faster and easier for people in the Burlington area to connect to high quality, comprehensive mental health and addiction support services closer to home. They’re working on building a new mental health unit at the Joseph Brant Hospital.
“This new mental health unit will complement the incredible work Joseph Brant’s hardworking doctors, nurses and other staff do every day to provide high-quality care to the people of Burlington and the surrounding area,” says Premier Doug Ford. “I’m pleased that our government’s investment will support this work as part of our $50 billion worth of investments in more than 50 hospital projects province-wide, and I look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on the community.”
The province’s investment will build and create a larger, state-of-the-art space for inpatient and outpatient services at Joseph Brant Hospital to ensure the hospital is better equipped to deliver timely and high-quality mental health and addictions care for more patients and their families, in a safe and comfortable setting.
Once opened, the new mental health unit will include:
- A new adult outpatient space better suited to improve clinical flow and patient care
- Improved adult psychiatric intensive care space allowing for better patient-centred care and safety
- Programs will include interdisciplinary teams of nurses, physicians, social workers, psychiatrists and recreation therapists to support complex patient care needs and provide crisis intervention, psychiatric assessment, treatment and stabilization
- Enhanced child and youth programming
- Improved infection prevention and control measures
“All Ontarians deserve to have convenient access to the care they need, when they need it, no matter where they live,” says Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “By building a new mental health unit at Joseph Brant, our government is ensuring families in the Burlington region have faster access to mental health and addictions support services for years to come.”
As a next step, the ministry is working with Joseph Brant Hospital to complete early planning and design for this project. A construction schedule will be confirmed once future planning is complete and the project is tendered and awarded.
“Our government continues to address the critical need for timely, accessible, and comprehensive mental health and addiction services across Ontario,” says Michael Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “By investing in a state-of-the-art mental health unit at Joseph Brant Hospital, we are reinforcing the continuum of care, ensuring patients in Burlington and surrounding areas receive the specialized treatment and supports necessary for long-term recovery and improved quality of life.”
If you have a news tip or story idea, you can now send us a heads up via email at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. If you’d like to get ahold of me personally, shoot me a message at Cameron.Wilkinson@LocalRadio.ca. We’re in the business of content creation, so no idea is a bad idea.
