Ontario Shores, Mackenzie Health team up for specialized mental health care in York Region

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 30, 2021

Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores) and Mackenzie Health announced a new and unique partnership to provide specialized mental health care services closer to home for the people of western York region.

Through this partnership, Ontario Shores has begun to operate a clinic at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital that provides psychotherapy and interpersonal psychotherapy, as well as brain stimulation treatment for outpatients with mood and anxiety disorders.

Currently, the many York region residents living with treatment-resistant depression need to go outside their community to access non-invasive treatment. With the opening of the Integrated Mood Disorders Clinic at Mackenzie Health, thousands of residents will have access to the care they need right in their own community.

"This innovative collaboration between Mackenzie Health and Ontario Shores allows us to bring advanced mental health expertise to the patient population served by our community hospitals," said Altaf Stationwala, president and CEO of Mackenzie Health.

"Expanding the mental health services we provide at Mackenzie Health will benefit thousands of patients all across western York region in the months and years to come."

Ontario Shores clinicians will work in partnership with the Mackenzie Health psychiatry and mental health clinical team and will be integrated into its outpatient services.

One of the services being offered in this clinic is repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or more commonly known as rTMS.

It is a non-invasive treatment option for those who have treatment resistant depression and are unable to receive electroconvulsive therapy but would benefit from a similar type of treatment. It delivers a series of short magnetic pulses directed at the brain to stimulate nerve cells. Patients are able to return to their regular activities immediately following treatment, which lasts about three to eight minutes.

"We are thrilled to partner with Mackenzie Health to open this new clinic in York region," said Karim Mamdani, president and CEO of Ontario Shores. "It is through strong partnerships across all geographies that we are able to bring specialized and life-saving treatment to those who need it, regardless of where they live."

A Mackenzie Health clinician can submit a referral for any current outpatient at Mackenzie Health to Ontario Shores for this clinic, which will allow the Ontario Shores team to efficiently and effectively determine the best available treatment for the patient.

A Mackenzie Health clinician will remain connected to the patient throughout their treatment with Ontario Shores to ensure continuity of care for the patient, enabling a seamless patient experience.

The opening of this clinic is the first step of a potential long-term collaboration between Mackenzie Health and Ontario Shores directed at addressing the current and future needs for psychogeriatric and child and adolescent mental health services in western York region.

In the form of a proposal currently with the Ministry of Health, Mackenzie Health and Ontario Shores are proposing to add 25 psychogeriatric beds, 12 child and adolescent beds, as well as enhanced child and adolescent, and geriatric outpatient services for residents of western York region at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital.

The additional in-patient services will result in improved access to care closer to home, fill a much-needed gap in the services available in our community, and complement the services already provided by community partners.