As CAMH prepares to break ground on the next phase of our redevelopment, we’re already sure the hospital we’re building will transform the care our patients receive.
That’s because we’ve built mock spaces — life-sized, working models of patient rooms, hallways and other areas — to test, tweak and fine-tune designs before we even start construction this fall. Through tours of these spaces, we’ve welcomed input from more than 150 people, including patients, families, frontline caregivers and clinical leadership, support services representatives and other experts.
“This will be the largest and boldest phase of CAMH’s redevelopment project to date,” says Dr. Catherine Zahn, President & CEO. “Two light-filled and environmentally friendly buildings will open the doors to our community even wider. They will create dignified spaces for our patients to receive care and support for recovery.”
The project, led by redevelopment partner Plenary Health, includes two new buildings dedicated to improving care for people with serious mental illness. The eight-storey Complex Care and Recovery building — the urban entryway to CAMH — will feature a unique therapeutic neighbourhood for patients, a culinary-grade training kitchen, the RBC Patient and Family Resource Centre, a 300-seat auditorium, the Temerty Centre, a simulation training centre, and 110 beds for patients with complex mental illnesses, among other services.
The seven-storey Crisis and Critical Care building will feature 125 acute care beds, the Gerald Sheff & Shanitha Kachan Emergency Department and urgent care clinics, the Partial Hospital Program, Transitional-Age Youth Day Program, and more.
This redevelopment is being driven by the Breakthrough Campaign — the largest campaign ever for mental health in Canada. We’re set to surpass our $200-million goal, thanks to 40,000 Canadians — and counting — united in a movement for change to ensure that every person living with mental illness receives life-saving care and is restored to fullness of life.
“The success of the Breakthrough Campaign is a clear indication that mental health is increasingly a priority for Canadians,” says Thomas V. Milroy, Breakthrough Campaign Co-Chair. “They are coming together in record numbers — with visionary gifts, as corporate sponsors, as monthly donors and as participants in CAMH’s spectacular events — to transform the care and research available for people living with mental illness. And they’re coming together because they believe, like we do, that all people deserve the best chance to live the healthiest life.”
This next phase of our redevelopment marks a tremendous breakthrough. While CAMH has delivered mental health care on this site continuously for 167 years, the new buildings represent a new integration with the surrounding community. Care will no longer take place behind walls or set back from passersby; it will happen right on Queen Street in the centre of two bustling neighbourhoods, West Queen West and Liberty Village.
“Two light-filled and environmentally friendly buildings will open the doors to our community even wider. They will create dignified spaces for our patients to receive care and support recovery.”
— Dr. Catherine Zahn, President & CEO of CAMH
