The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

!AMI l* s-- -3 l ..à@ flm* in mental health care "new beginning" By Mike Kowaji This month's oening of Whitby Mental Health Ce, heraldsane irection in h ing those suffering from mei iilniess. The move into the *90-mili faci*litY represents more thanj a modem str4cture to repf the quaint cottages and ot' building that h ave been asso ted, iththe former Whitby F chiatric Hospital since 19 19. Treatment prograrns hi essentially been revaxnped mark the centre's transition fr what chief psychiatrist Dr. pe Prendergast terms a tra tionally "in ward looking» instil tion, into one that is forgi coser links with the communit "One piece of the redeveli ment was a new building," a Prendergast of next week s mo into, the 325-bed facility 1,11 announced ini 1979, but not ma officiai until the former Ne Demnocratic Party governmei came through with the fundir three years ago. "But we didn't just want1 build a new hospital for its ow sake. Another important piec was the programs and gettir More focussed on the needsc Our catchment area,» he says. Prendergast says centre off diais view their role as beini "tertiary» te the services pre vided by the 10 generai hospîital and various mental health agein cies in its catchment area. Not oniy does it treat p)atient fromn Durham Région, the oentrd also' serves the populations o SrWborough, North York, Easi York Victoria County and York Region. Up toa 1,200 treated as Outpatients dgOur job is, te back up the work being done by the qeneral hospi- tais and community agencies,» which are the frontline providers in mental heaith care, Prender- gast expiains. «People with mental illness seeek heip in their local dom- munity irst and if they need admission they would go te their general hospital," he gays. if the hospital cant responai te thefr needs, theY wouid then come here. «Our role is te provide a ape- cialized backup system for com- piex and difficuit cases.» Gone are the days when those suffering from aimost any formn of mental iliness were routineiy admitted te the hospital te -live in isolation from the generai population, Prendergast said. A perfect example is the fact that when the former psychiatric hospital opened in 1919, it had more than 2.100 inpatient beds. Today, the new Whitby Mental Health Centre will have only 325 inpatient beds, but.as many as 1,200 people are being treated on describes as an "evolution" of the existing system. ýntre «Wé modified Borne progra eip- added some prograins, based ýntal Our own experiences and disc siens with other service i lion viderai the catchment area," just says. lac 'We've aiso attemp ted hfer decentralize decision-maIng a Cia- turned over more of the manaý %sy- ment of programs testaff i attempt te inject new leaders] ave inte the syatem.» te This has resulted in a «"certi -om ainount of deiayering of mani ýter ment" which is the current trej di- in hospital administration, M~ ýtu- ndergastsays. ing ty- IS Mediu m securit )Ve facility added nt The 14 patient care unitsà ng théeWhitby Mental Healf Centre fail under six gener to programas - adolescents an vn young aduits; psychogeriatri, ce special populations; psychiatri ré~rhabilitation; community reî pose, and forensic assessmeni consultation and treatment. 5- Ail of these 'programs pre Ig viousl 'y existed i one form o > another but the decision te adi laa 40-be< medium security facilit i- te house forensic patients cause( mild concern when it firsi ;s became known a few years ago. le Consistiniz of two medium >f secure mnpatlent units and a con. t sultation. and outpatient service, k the forensic program is for peopli who are involved in criminal activity and sent for treatnient by the courts. The forensic assessment unit evaluates méntally iii offenders wihr dt itest tn trial andcrimnal responsibility., T -he forensic treatment and irehabilitation unit provides a comprehensive, multidisci plinary serv ice for mentally iii ofenderis who require a secure setting. In addition staff will continue te work witl area jails and detention centres in assessing offenders being held in those facilities. "Right now.we'are flot in the position te provide a secure -envfronment says Prendergast of the old hospital «With the new design -features we will be able te accommodate persons requiring a medium secure setting." Atnoun.tne oli nespitai car- ried a minimum security desig- *nation, Prendergast says area residents have ne reason te worr about the change i sta- tus. Dangerous offenders, for exam- pIe, will stiui be sent te the maximum security hospital i Penetanguishene and numerous safeguards are i place te pre- vent someone from beig com- mitted te the wrong istitution. "The system cf mannaingme-- DR. PETER PRENDERGAST, chef psyvheatristat te Whitby Mental Heaith Centre, says the new facihtys role is to provide a "specialized backup systemn for difficuit cases of those with mental illness whose needs can t be met at general hospitals. .Shifting his attention te ether progranis, Prendergast is parti- ciryproud that the Wtby MetlHealth Centre can help people at bath ends of the age spectrum. The adolescents and young determnines where a person who has been judged net te be cri- mialyronsibie for his/her actions wll b treated. Appointed by the province and independent of the hespitai, the board must be unamimous in its decisions. The centre'a medium security designation, meanwhile, requires that specific àafety ýstandards te protect both the public and patients must be met, Prender- gaat emphasizes. "The design cf the building shouid reassure people that we can provide medium security," hie says, while adding that the architects incorperated safety features cf aimilar hospitais in beth Canada and the United States ite their planning Centre admini*strater Ron Bal- lantyne has aise heid several discussions with Durham Regional Police and Whitby offi- cil nthis matter, Prendergast said and wouid "weicome» cer- ments and suggestions from the community. Whitby Mental Health Centre Grand Opening is a supplemnent to Whitby Free Press- September'l11, 1996 and Durham Business News- September 27,1996 Publisher Doug Anderson Editor Maurice Pifher Production Manager Alexandra Martin Sales: Don Hinton, Bibi Alty, Bob Nicol, Lyrîda Fox, Joy Gilbert, Judy Tibbits, Bernadette. Miller And Liz-Anne Kalafatis fc asseosment and treatment i a highly structured and secure environment It offers a rehabilitation ser- vice aimed at reitegratinq teen- agers with severe mental ihines into the commumity and a service for transitionai, age (18-25) youth which emphasizes- educaabii- tation and support for patients and families. For individuais over the age of 65, there is the psychogeriatric program which consisasof four separate entities. An assesament unit which pro- vides ipatient assesament and treatment cf acute pasciti probiems; a réhabilitation unit fr management cf longer term ppobiema; a day hospitai which aima te, prevent hospitalization cf the eideriy mentaily iii through early intervention, -and an outreach service which pro- vdes consultation and support te, nursing homes and community agencies. Prendergast says the akilis training and treatment service for transitionai age youth is especially crucial i that people i that category run the risk cf net obtaining hep. "Once yeu turn 18 its hard te get service because you've notyet bridged the gap inte the aduit system," he says. As for the psychogeriatric pro- gram, demographica indicate that these services will become icreasigiy important i the years ahead, Prendergast notes. «Population poections sug- gest there will e a growing grup cf people with probleme i this area in the next few decades.» ù>ooking ahead, Prendergast says the changes represent an «eppertunity for a new begin- nng for the Whitby Mental Heaith Centre. «We have a new physical plant new leadership and a new struc- ture which 1 think will energize staff and help deveiop new part- nerships withi the community.» With state-cf-the-art techno- lou and, such features as a 150seat lecture theatre the needs of both patients ani staff have been more than adé7utey "Vie ve Pbecome quite' auto- mated,» he says. "This provides a reai eppor- tunity te hocok a new ways cf coiiecting and using information and sharing this information wîth tour partnera ithe catch- ment area. Congmtulaiions On Your Grand Opening> We are proud to have been your general contractor and we wish you continued success in supplying superior health services to the people-of Ontario. ELLIýS-DOn Manant um:Gencral Contracting u Debign Bd: OSTUTO P 'jetMan age n n = î ,rÇInSe'vieConstruction Management 0 General Contracting M Design-Build rjc anae ntMC suco Sris I. *~ 4 E, A