VAUGHAN, ON – Thewith this additional gift to Mackenzie Health Foundation’s Exceptional Care Belongs Here RBC Foundation has pledged $2 million to the new Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital – augmenting its previous investment and increasing access to mental health services for children and youth in southwest York Region campaign.
A new Emergency Psychiatric Unit (EPU) within Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital’s state-of-the-art Magna Emergency will be named RBC Emergency Psychiatric Unit to recognize their transformative gift when the new hospital opens in 2020.
According to Altaf Stationwala, President and CEO of Mackenzie Health, the opening of Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital – Canada’s first “smart” hospital – will ensure Mackenzie Health’s mental health services keep in stride with community need.
“Within our two-site model of care, Mackenzie Health will immediately have the capacity to expand the assessment and diagnosis of people in crisis through both the Mackenzie Richmond Hill and Mackenzie Vaughan emergency departments,” says Mr. Stationwala.
Mackenzie Health’s Mental Health program will be centralized at the new 1.2 million square foot, patient-centred Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital and will feature expanded services for adults, youth and children, complemented by emergency and out-patient services at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital.
RBC supports programs that help youth and families access the right care at the right time through the RBC Youth Mental Health Project. As part of its gift to Mackenzie Health, RBC Foundation designated funding to establish the RBC Child & Adolescent Mental Health Urgent Care Clinic at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital, which began accepting referrals last November.
“The medical needs of Canadians continue to grow and we are delighted to be able to play a part in expanding the care that will be offered in our region with the new Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital,” says Rina Pillitteri, Regional Vice-President, Vaughan, Royal Bank of Canada. “Helping to provide health care access to those in need is vitally important, especially in the area of mental health, which affects so many here at home in Greater Toronto.”
In York Region, young patients and their families can wait several months to see a specialist from the time a possible mental health issue is identified. They are often left struggling to access timely coordinated mental health services. At the RBC Clinic, young patients receive comprehensive assessment and intervention. A triage clinician assesses every patient referral to determine the intensity of care required and connects them to the right care plan.
“RBC is a catalyst for improving how young people in our community and their families access expert mental health care and connect to longer-term community-based services,” says Janis Klein, Operations Director Woman & Child/Mental Health Programs. “RBC has proactively addressed a well-known gap in our local mental health care service system and has established a new pathway for young mental health patients aged 6 to 21.”
In its first five months of operation, the RBC Clinic provided support to 166 young patients, the majority with significant depression and anxiety disorders, ranging in age from 10 to 18.
RBC has been a supporter of Mackenzie Health since the late 1980s. “This contribution exemplifies RBC’s legacy of charitable investment and community engagement,” says Ingrid Perry, President and CEO of Mackenzie Health Foundation. “RBC’s throughout the region serve as ambassadors, advocates and volunteers in support of Mackenzie Health each and every day.”
To further solidify its commitment,RBC is the lead sponsor of Mackenzie Health’s Department of Family Practice’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Education Day, fittingly scheduled on Nov. 15, which is recognized as National Philanthropy Day.
The half-day educational session is designed to inform and educate up to 100 local family phyisicans and pediatricians about Mackenzie Health’s mental health services. The session will be delivered by leading physicians and specialists, including a discussion of First Episode Psychosis by Dr. Steven Youssoufian, Mackenzie Health’s Chief of Psychiatry, and Anxiety in the Paediatric Population by Dr. Katharina Manassis, a leading expert in child anxiety.
ABOUT MACKENZIE HEALTH
Mackenzie Health is a regional health care provider currently serving the rapidly growing communities of southwest York Region at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital and through a network of community sites in Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Barrie. When completed in 2020, Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital – Canada’s first “smart” hospital – will provide an additional 350 beds, 1,800 full-time staff positions and 100 physician specialists to Mackenzie Health.
Mackenzie Health Foundation is spearheading the multi-year Exceptional Care Belongs Here campaign – the largest fundraising drive led by a community hospital in Canada – to help build and equip the much anticipated Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital, as well as to enhance care at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital.
Since 1977, Mackenzie Health Foundation has raised more than $125 million for capital projects, medical equipment, technology and educational opportunities for Mackenzie Health.
ABOUT RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is Canada’s largest bank and one of the largest in the world based on market capitalization. They are one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis.
RBC has approximately 81,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 35 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.
RBC helps communities prosper, supporting a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities.
