Minister impressed by staff and new facilities at CAMH

Ontario’s Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, David Caplan, paid a recent visit to CAMH, which included a tour of the four new buildings of Phase 1A of the Queen Street redevelopment project. Caplan is the second cabinet minister to visit CAMH since the new facilities opened, with Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best having dropped by in June of this year.

Karen Martin (centre), Administrative Director, Mood & Anxiety Program, explains the Alternate Milieu concept of CAMH’s Redevelopment to Ontario Minister of Health and Long-term Care David Caplan during a visit in September.

The tour was led by Dr. Paul Garfinkel, Christina Bartha and Karen Martin (the Administrative Directors of the Addiction and Mood & Anxiety Programs respectively), who highlighted what CAMH has achieved through the first phase of the redevelopment project and the exiting promise it holds in future phases.

“It was very gratifying to be able to engage the Minister in conversation about the needs of individuals with Addiction and Mental Health issues while showing him the space,” said Karen Martin.

“He responded positively, was supportive and indicated that he truly understands how these physical plant and system changes are so needed to treat people in the environments they deserve and with the best treatments available. Overall, he was very impressed by the work that we do at CAMH,” she added.

David Caplan (left), Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, is Ontario’s second cabinet minister to visit the new Phase 1A buildings at Queen Street, escorted by Dr. Paul Garfinkel, President & CEO.

Staff and clients appreciated the time the Minister took to speak with them and ask about their experiences at CAMH and in the new buildings. The tour of Addiction’s outpatient building highlighted the flexible design of the space including multi-purpose rooms that provide maximum flexibility for the various types of clinical services and teaching that take place within the program. The minister also toured the recreation therapy, stress management and exercise rooms that are important components of the holistic model of care for our clients.

Christina Bartha summed up the visit by saying, “The minister and his staff were very impressed with the appearance of the space and interested to hear that clients and staff were very pleased with the final results.”