The COVID-19 pandemic required a unique response in order to continue mental health and addiction services which are essential. In the North Region of the province, resilience and ingenuity are an everyday requirement as the region represents the majority of the province's land mass and a much smaller population dispersed across it.
In their responses to the pandemic, Northern mental health and addiction service providers built new pathways, created new service options, worked through barriers alongside community partners and found ways to maintain and build connection with clients/patients.
The innovation continues and many providers have made changes with such significant positive impact that they have transformed their service and plan to continue with these changes post-pandemic.
The following resources offer some examples of the ways in which mental health and addiction service providers in Northern Ontario have redesigned their services and formed new partnerships to adapt to the shifting landscape of COVID-19.
Contact
Erin Dunn, Programmatic Manager
Email: Erin.Dunn@camh.ca
For more specific information about any of the innovations highlighted, please refer to the contact person(s) listed at the bottom of each resource.
Related resources, news, and events
Regional mental health assessment team
Resource | Nov 30, 2021Boredom busters: Beating boredom through wellness
Resource | Jul 5, 2021Transitions in care: Enhanced community pathways for ED diversion
Resource | Jun 17, 2021Psychiatry consults in the community
Resource | Nov 29, 2020Emergency Isolation Centre: An evolving model to support community health and well-being
Resource | Nov 23, 2020Community huddles to maintain community health
Resource | Nov 16, 2020HANDS: Electronic sign-in/sign-out for employee contact tracing and site occupancy tracking
Resource | Oct 6, 2020Greenstone Collaborative
Resource | Sept 16, 2020District of Thunder Bay: Rural education and mental health collective
Resource | Aug 31, 2020Psychiatric outpatient clinic virtual care
Resource | Aug 17, 2020Meeting educational and mental health needs, together
Resource | Aug 10, 2020Virtual waiting room: After-hours clinic
Resource | Jul 2, 2020Strategies for engaging with youth remotely
Resource | Jun 25, 2020Educating and supporting families in early psychosis intervention
Resource | Jun 23, 2020HANDS: Support staff to work from home
Resource | Jun 15, 2020HANDS: Planning for safe return to face-to-face service
Resource | Jun 15, 2020HANDS: A brief intensive therapy model to support live-in treatment during COVID-19
Resource | Jun 15, 2020HANDS: Implementing incident management system
Resource | Jun 15, 2020Emergency department mental health clinic: North Bay Regional Health Centre
Resource | Jun 9, 2020Drop-in services: Meeting the community where they're at
Resource | Jun 7, 2020Thunder Bay isolation and illness shelters: Protecting those most vulnerable
Resource | Jun 6, 2020Building connections: Firefly virtual conference
Resource | Jun 5, 2020Health Sciences North & Monarch Recovery Services: Flex-bed unit
Resource | Jun 2, 2020Re-inventing CHOICES
Resource | May 25, 2020Noojmowin Teg Health Centre: 365 days of walking the red road
Resource | May 22, 2020Noojmowin Teg Health Centre: Elders social without walls
Resource | May 20, 2020Noojmowin Teg Health Centre: Making COVID masks
Resource | May 20, 2020COVID-19 Response: Shifting from walk-in to talk-in therapy
Resource | May 13, 2020HANDS: Introducing "Digit", a virtual agent
Resource | May 10, 2020Championing access to technology for individuals living in poverty
Resource | May 8, 2020COVID-19 release from custody task force
Resource | May 1, 2020