March 2024

This month's brainbuzz™ features reflection on the recent groundbreaking for two new CAMH buildings (the Discovery Centre and the Secure Care and Recovery Building); the launch of CAMH's new Connected CAMH strategic plan; and information about the first-ever CAMH womenmind™ conference this April.  Please reach out if you have any questions or feedback.

Aristotle Voineskos
VP Research, CAMH
 

Breaking ground on a brighter future
for mental health

New buildings will inspire hope and transform mental health care and research

On February 29th, Ontario Premier Doug Ford celebrated breaking ground on two new buildings at CAMH, alongside key provincial government officials and other project stakeholders.

Premier Ford was joined by the Hon. Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, the Hon. Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure, and the Hon. Michael Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions at a special ceremony on CAMH’s site at the corner of Queen Street West and Ossington Avenue. 

When complete, the new buildings will transform CAMH’s ability to provide care and carry out research. With the Discovery Centre, CAMH will gain a state-of-the-art facility where researchers can make new strides in their understanding of mental illness. The Secure Care and Recovery Building will provide a safe haven where some of the hospital’s most vulnerable patients can recover with dignity.

Construction on the buildings is going ahead thanks to generous contributions from CAMH donors through the bold No One Left Behind campaign, alongside support from the Government of Ontario.

“The physical transformation of our Queen Street West site is turning what was once a walled institution into a symbol of hope for the future of mental health care,” said Sarah Downey, CAMH President and CEO. “With the construction of the Secure Care and Recovery Building and Discovery Centre, we will continue to provide the highest quality care to our most complex patients and accelerate research discoveries and developments that will improve the lives of those living with mental illness, because mental health is health.” 

This is the fourth phase and final phase in two decades of redevelopment at CAMH. As well as improving care and creating hope, the work is addressing the stigma surrounding mental illness by breaking down the physical barriers that once separated CAMH from the community.

For more information about CAMH’s redevelopment plans, click here.
 

Connected CAMH
CAMH Strategic Plan 2024-2030 

In 2023, CAMH turned 25 years old. Over the last two decades, we have changed mental health in profound ways. We have transformed our Queen Street site in the heart of West Queen West, where we provide care to tens of thousands of people every year. We have taken on prejudice and discrimination, and influenced public policy. We have trained mental health professionals and inspired hope through discovery.

Progress has been rapid, and the work ahead demands more from all of us. This strategic plan reimagines mental health.

It calls on us to aim even higher.

As CAMH looks ahead to 2030, our vision of health redefined means that we must reckon with the impact of mental illness at all stages of life. We need to recognize critical windows of development and change across the lifespan that present valuable opportunities to prevent mental illness and intervene early to reduce suffering and improve quality of life.

Strategic Directions:

• Advance care with patients and families through discovery and learning
• Get upstream to prevent and change the course of mental illness
• Lift societal health through action in mental health justice

CAMH's strategic plan is powered by:

People and culture
At CAMH, we have a healthy, inspired team that is safe, physically and psychologically. We invest in our people and support them to envision and be excited about their future at CAMH. We develop our leaders. We foster a culture of innovation, quality improvement, collaboration and inclusion. We continuously aspire to better understand, reflect and support the diverse communities that we serve. We empower team members to improve how we work and what we do. We are all teachers and learners. We are an employer and educator of choice.

System-building and partnerships
We are intentional, accountable and genuine system builders. We work with partners in new ways to improve access and equity, accelerate discovery and create a seamless continuity of care. We lead and we follow. We embed patient, family and community voices into decision making, planning, research, education and program design. We put the interests of those we serve ahead of our organizational self-interest. We understand that we have work to do in building capacity to collaborate with partners. Our patients and communities trust us.

Data and technology
We harness the power of new and emerging technologies to amplify the skills of our teams and to help more people access high-quality care in the ways that suit them best. We advance high-quality data collection, integration and mobilization, and leverage advanced analytics to enable precision care.

Access the full version of the Connected CAMH Strategic Plan here.
 

CAMH womenmind™ Conference 

Women, girls and gender-diverse individuals are disproportionately affected by mental illness. Yet, less than 3% of studies in neuroscience and psychiatry are devoted to understanding female or women’s health. 

Through this first-ever CAMH womenmind™ conference, we aim to better understand how unique biological and social experiences from puberty through menopause influence risk for - and manifestation of - mental illness and the implications for treatment to create a healthier society.

We have much to discover in the world of women’s mental health - join us to learn more.

Register for our conference, where we will:

• explore breakthrough science and research opportunities in women's mental health across the lifespan;
• learn more about the power of data in discovery;
• discover why we need to unite in advocacy to advance this field of research.

Accreditation - this event is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by the CAMH Simulation Centre. You may claim a maximum of 15.5 hours (credits are automatically calculated).

Location: Pantages Hotel, 200 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON

REGISTRATION

Download the Conference Agenda here.
 

Buzz-worthy News

• CAMH is proud to be part of the CIHR Rare Disease Research Initiative. The Sex & Gender Sub-platform led by Dr. Meng-Chuan Lai will integrate sex, gender, and mental health lenses with pediatric health to better diagnose and treat pediatric rare diseases.
  https://twitter.com/CIHR_IRSC/status/1763197461605007601

• Centre for Youth Bipolar Disorder is celebrating World Bipolar Day on March 28th with our annual public education evening event (6-9pm)! Open to anyone with an interest in learning more about youth bipolar disorder! Learn more & register: http://cybdwbd2024.eventbrite.ca

• Dr. Daisy Singla's new commentary in the journal, Nature Medicine, highlights the need for further research to improve perinatal mental healthcare. Emphasizing trauma exploration, family engagement, treatment comparison, + understanding mechanisms.
  https://twitter.com/CAMHResearch/status/1762182937921909142