Pictured Above (left to right): Bryan Halls, Patient Experience Advisor, CKHA; Dan Saunders, Clinical Manager, Inpatient and Outpatient Mental Health & Addictions Program, CKHA; Janine Griffore, Board Chair, Chatham Kent Community Foundation; Dr. Dele Oyebode, Chief of Psychiatry, CKHA; Elisha Banks, Founder, Music for the Mind Fundraiser; Chris Pegg, Executive Director, Chatham Kent Community Foundation; Bob Hockney, Board Chair, CKHAF; Lori Marshall, President & CEO, CKHA; Deb Crawford, Board Chair, CKHA; Christine Mitchell, President & CEO, CKHAF.
Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) is pleased to unveil new and enhanced Quiet Rooms in its inpatient psychiatry unit. The newly created Quiet Rooms will provide a therapeutic space for patients where outside stimulus and exterior stressors are eliminated. The rooms are designed with features that ensure patient and staff safety.
“We’re pleased to offer modern, refreshed Quiet Rooms in the inpatient psychiatry unit. This project aligns with our Strategic Plan and specifically speaks to our goal; Reduce preventable harm through a focus on increased risk management and safety. These enhanced Quiet Rooms also support our goal to improve access to evidence-based mental health and addictions care,” said Lori Marshall, President and CEO, CKHA. “Along with our new Withdrawal Management Service and co-located Rapid Access to Addiction Medicine Clinic, we continue to make significant strides in regards to quality mental health and addiction services in our community.”
The construction of the Quiet Rooms in a new area on the unit will provide better visibility to monitor the occupants of each room, improving security and safety for both patients and staff. The two enhanced rooms each contain a bedroom with one shared ante room, controlled entry and a shared washroom space. A Gold Medal Safety® wall and floor padding is contained in both rooms to ensure a safer environment for patients, protecting them from injury in a safe and humane manner. Additional features include an enhanced bed model, improved HVAC systems and new windows that will provide patients with a clearer view of the outdoors. The new Quiet Rooms are located in the unit’s former patient dining room. The new location of the Quiet Rooms allowed the inpatient psychiatry unit to keep its existing Quiet Rooms open during construction. The former Quiet Rooms will be renovated to create a new multi-purpose group/activity room for the unit.
This project was made possible thanks to significant support from local donors and organizations, enabled by Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation (CKHAF). This support included a $10,000 grant from the Chatham Kent Community Foundation, an additional $10,000 donation from an anonymous donor, as well as a total of $63,579.32 in funds raised through the Music for the Mind community event.
“Our donors and community members have shown that they recognize the pressing need for enhanced mental health services here in our community, and we are so grateful for the significant financial support that we have received for our Mental Health & Addictions Program over the past couple of years,” said Christine Mitchell, President and CEO, CKHA Foundation. “We feel very privileged to be able to contribute to the completion of these new Quiet Rooms, and we know that these therapeutic spaces will have a real impact on the safety and care delivered to local patients who need it.”
“The safety and wellbeing of patients on the inpatient psychiatry unit has always been near and dear to my heart, so it means a lot to me that funds raised through Music for the Mind have made this project possible,” stated Elisha Banks, founder and organizer of the Music for the Mind fundraiser. “So many people have supported the fundraiser over the years, and it is very exciting to get to witness the unveiling of these Quiet Rooms and the other enhancements on the unit that this support has enabled. When we work together towards a shared goal, we can accomplish so much.”
Additional funding for this project was received from CKHA’s capital budget and the provincial Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund (HIRF).
