It’s Mental Health Week, and what better time to share our exciting news that after months of planning, coordinating, and construction, Scarborough Health Network’s (SHN) new Community Mental Health Centre will open its services on May 23.
The centre will be located on the second floor of a mid-rise building at 1940 Eglinton Avenue East (near the intersection with Warden Avenue) and will for the first time bring together ambulatory and community outpatient mental health services currently offered at different SHN hospitals and satellite sites into one shared location – allowing for better integrated and more streamlined access to exceptional quality care.
The following mental health services will be wrapping up at their current locations as we get ready to move them to the Community Mental Health Centre:
| Location | Services moving | Date of wrap-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1225 Kennedy Rd. | Justice and Mental Health Intensive Case Management Medication Clinic Adult Outpatient Therapy Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Pinewood Addictions | Week of May 20 |
| General Hospital | Assertive Community Treatment Team | |
| Centenary Hospital | Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Day Treatment |
These services will begin to be offered at the Community Mental Health Centre on a rolling basis, with appointments starting on May 23. Patients and clients for these services are being updated on any changes to their appointments, and details on starting care at the new location once it opens.
What does the centre include?
The beautiful, 15,000 square-foot space will bring together SHN’s outpatient mental health services into one accessible location. The opening of this centre marks a transformation of mental health care for our Scarborough community and beyond, with a centralized intake model and clinical pathways that give patients access to a range of services to get the support they need in a timely and accessible manner.
The new Community Mental Health Centre includes:
- A comforting and spacious waiting area
- One-on-one treatment and counselling areas designed to help with recovery
- Quiet rooms
- Collaboration and group spaces
- Psychiatrist offices
- A pharmacy for client prescriptions
The launch of this centre is a major component in SHN’s larger plan to centralize and streamline many of our adult outpatient mental health services in order to provide quicker and more seamless care to our patients. Through this approach, the Community Mental Health Centre is designed to achieve:
- A “no wrong door” approach to care. This innovative model will enable our teams to connect people to the right treatments based on their condition. This means more intensive services will be available to those who need them.
- Timely access to care. No one should have to wait for mental healthcare. The centre will focus on ensuring that patients who require urgent care will be contacted within 14 days after receiving a referral, which significantly improves average wait times for access to mental health services.
- Less stigma. By having a beautiful, service-oriented outpatient mental health space with a street-front presence, SHN will make receiving care less intimidating. Our goal is to reduce the stigma people feel when seeking treatment.
The Community Mental Health Centre is one of SHN’s key capital projects, which is being realized thanks to generous donors who have entirely funded the project through SHN Foundation’s Love, Scarborough campaign. We are thrilled to be so close to the opening of the community centre as we Build It Forward for the future of healthcare in Scarborough.