Thresholds Homes and Supports and Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington (CMHAWW) announced a partnership on May 14, 2024, to create the region’s first-ever Integrated Crisis Centre (ICC).
The ICC opened at 298 Lawrence Ave., Kitchener on July 30 and provides care for patients with substance use and mental health concerns.
According to an email from Brent Murphy, the Public Relations and Communications Specialist at Thresholds Homes and Supports, 20 per cent of patients in the region who are suffering from mental health problems and substance abuse visit hospitals to seek treatment and care instead of specialized facilities such as rehab centres.
Threshold Homes and Supports and CMHAWW offer to assist with emergency room diversion by having pathways for paramedic services to bring individuals to the ICC, alleviating overwhelmed hospitals while providing the most appropriate care for people in crisis.
The hospital focuses on primary care and support of physical and emergency health needs. The ICC, however, supports individuals from a mental health perspective in a calm and supportive client-driven environment where they can relax and get the care they need.
Redirecting patients with mental health concerns also reduces stress and wait times for other patients who need medical healthcare. The long-term goal of the ICC is to embed psychiatry and other resources.
Melissa Bosher, the Director of Programming at Thresholds Homes and Supports, explained that, despite substance abuse and mental health issues being a recurring problem in the city’s, the decision to open the crisis centre was officially made in 2024 after both organizations witnessed the success of the integrated crisis centre built in London, Ontario. Waterloo then decided to use the model in London to address the substance abuse and mental health issues in Kitchener- Waterloo.
“I think that goes for anything, right? We learn as we go,” Bosher said. “… [it takes] long time to realize what is and what isn’t working for the city, and sometimes there isn’t much we can do about it, even if we are aware of specific problems.”
According to the CMHAWW website, emergency departments are not an ideal place to treat patients with mental illnesses or substance abuse since patients are left waiting hours or even days for an assessment before receiving care.
Also, patients with substance issues cannot receive treatment for underlying mental health issues in these facilities, creating a revolving door effect in which patients return after relapsing due to failure to treat the underlying mental health conditions that led to their addiction.
Eric Phillip, the chief executive officer at Thresholds Homes and Supports, said the ICC is currently allocating their own resources to the centre. They plan to use these resources to hire a social worker, nurse and peer worker to the program to support any individuals who are coming in the long term. They also plan to expand their staff before operating 24 hours per day.
Jeff Stanlick, the director of services at CMHAWW, said even with the opening of the new ICC, he believes that patients will still go back to hospitals due to the familiar environment.
The ICC has formed many partnerships with facilities related to healthcare around the Waterloo area, such as the Grand River Hospital, the paramedic services, and the Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services (PSV).
“We can facilitate referrals and connection to services with other organizations,” Stanlick said.
Currently, the centre is revisiting the need for a mobile police and crisis team at the University of Waterloo. They want to know how to maximize the effectiveness of their services and believe they can do it through their existing relationship with the university.
They are building pathways to engage staff, students, and faculty. Since the University of Waterloo has a “large footprint” in the community, the ICC understands it should focus on the students and faculty at the site and other communities in Kitchener-Waterloo.
“For example, we’ve already seen students attend the Integrated Crisis Center. So, we’re expecting that will continue to grow. So, it’ll be an area of focus for sure,” Stanlick said. Thresholds Homes and Supports and the CMHAWW saw their partnership as an opportunity to address this new healthcare model.
“I mean, this has been talked about by a committee for a good two years, and then two organizations kind of came along and said, ‘hey, let us do it,’” Bosher said.
“So, I think that’s part of it, is people talking about things and sort of understanding the challenges, but maybe don’t have the resources or the ability to do the thing they’re talking about that isn’t working,” Bosher said.
The ICC will foremost address the 20 per cent of patients who are suffering from mental health problems or substance abuse in hopes of redirecting these two types of patients to the proper care they require.
They are open only on Tuesdays to Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. However, once they receive more support and funds from the Ontario government, they hope to operate full-time.
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