Desjardins invests $500,000 in mental health care at CHEO
A $500,000 financial contribution from the Desjardins Group will help CHEO transform how mental health care is delivered to children and youth, supporting more personalized treatment and helping bring outpatient mental health services together under one roof.
As demand for pediatric mental health services continues to grow, the investment from the Desjardins GoodSpark Fund will support two important areas of CHEO’s work: the introduction of neuropsychology-informed care to help clinicians better understand and respond to a child’s individual needs, and the construction of CHEO’s new Integrated Treatment Centre, designed to provide families with a more streamlined and coordinated approach to care.
“The demand for mental health care has changed significantly, and our approach to delivering that care needs to evolve with it,” said Tammy DeGiovanni, Senior Vice President Clinical Services and Chief Nurse Executive at CHEO. “Investing in mental health means giving our teams the tools and environments they need to intervene earlier and provide more personalized care.”
Mental health disorders can be connected to how a person’s brain functions, which means understanding an individual child more fully can help clinicians determine which treatments are most likely to help.
CHEO clinician-researchers are incorporating neuropsychology assessments into outpatient mental health services to provide additional insight into how a child thinks, learns and processes information. That knowledge can help care teams develop more precise and personalized treatment plans, with the goal of helping children and youth get on a path toward improved long-term mental health sooner.
“We know that getting children and youth the right care as early as possible can make an enormous difference,” said Steve Read, President and CEO at CHEO Foundation. “The support from Desjardins will help us change the way we care for kids today while building a stronger system for the future.”
“Supporting young people means investing in the future of our communities. Through the GoodSpark Fund, we have an opportunity to help organizations address important needs and creating lasting impact” adds Billy Boucher, CEO of Desjardins Ontario Credit Union. “CHEO’s work is a powerful example of how investing today can help build healthier, stronger communities for generations to come.”
The gift will also support construction of CHEO’s new Integrated Treatment Centre, part of the historic redevelopment of CHEO’s Smyth Road campus.
The six-storey, 220,000-square-foot centre, currently under construction, will bring CHEO’s outpatient mental health services together in one location. By breaking down barriers between specialties and creating spaces where care teams can work more closely together, the centre will enable a more coordinated approach to care. For children, youth and their families, that means easier access to care that is both personalized and connected.