NETWORK E-BULLETIN - MARCH 2007 EDITION

Midland & Georgina Local Team Sites Open in April

Working Together For Kids & Teens with Disabilities …The Children's Treatment Network is a new service delivery model for kids with multiple disabilities in Simcoe and York. It links over 30 healthcare, education, recreation, social and community services organizations so they can take a team approach to each child's care. For the first time, parents have one point of contact for a single plan of care for kids from birth to age 19. The Network coordinates services needed and monitors each child's progress through all the phases of their development. The Network is also expanding and adding services that are critically needed in the community to bring more services closer to home and help reduce waitlists. Parents and professionals can contact the Network by calling 1-866-377-0286 or online at www.ctn-simcoeyork.ca.

NETWORK NEWS AT A GLANCE:

• Lights, Camera, Action! … New Network Video Released
• Midland & Georgina Local Team Sites Open in April
• 10th Local Team Facilitator on Board
• French Brochures Now Available
• “SPOTLIGHT ON Professional Rehabilitation Outreach”

Lights, Camera, Action! … New Network Video Released
One of the Network's goals is to raise awareness about the work we all do together to support kids with multiple disabilities in Simcoe & York. This new 9-minute video provides an introduction to what the Network is all about through interviews with partners, parents and professionals. It also has some wonderful footage from the Simcoe Resource Centre opening last fall, including kids and therapists ‘in action'.
DVD copies will be sent to all partner organizations within the next few weeks. The video will also be posted on the website for easy viewing. It's a great way to introduce the Network to your staff, community groups and families – so we encourage you to preview it with your organization and spread the good word. Many thanks to all the kids, families and Network partners who star in this production! Special thanks to the York Region District School Board Multi-Media Department for creating an outstanding feature. For additional DVD copies, please contact Carolyn Cannon at 1-877-719-4795 or email at Carolyn.cannon@ctn-simcoeyork.ca

Midland & Georgina Local Team Sites to Open In April
We're delighted to announce that the first 2 Network Local Team Sites are scheduled to open in April. The Sites, located in Georgina (York) and Midland (Simcoe) provide much needed additional dedicated therapeutic space and specialized equipment so more services can be provided closer to home. A number of Network partners are based at these Sites, which also provide facilities for families and professionals to meet and discuss each child's single plan of care. We'll keep you posted on special events being planned to commemorate the opening of each Site as well as plans for more Local Team Sites to be established throughout York and Simcoe. In the meantime, here's an overview of the first 2 Sites:

Georgina Local Team Site

• Established in partnership with the York Region District School Board
• Located at R.L. Graham Public School in Keswick on Biscayne Ave.
• A temporary classroom has been equipped for occupational and physiotherapy services until renovations are completed over the summer
• The renovated space will include a number of treatment/therapy rooms, a dedicated physiotherapy gym and specialized equipment to support a wide range of therapies including augmentative communication, feeding, walking and overall mobility functions.
• The Georgina Local Team serves approximately 140 kids with multiple disabilities in the community who will benefit from the additional services and supports provided at the Local Team Site
• Kimberly Thorn of York Support Services Network is the Georgina Local Team Facilitator.

Midland Local Team Site

• Located in the newly constructed “One Roof” building on Aberdeen Blvd.
• Scheduled to open at the end of April
• Building is owned and operated by Community Living Huronia (CLH)
• ‘One Roof' will house other Network partners including CLH's Early Intervention Program, Royal Victoria Hospital's Preschool Speech & Language Program, Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital's Children's Therapy Services, Community Action Program for Children, Behaviour Management Services of York & Simcoe as well as a support group for Autism called Mikey's Place
• Over 120 kids with multiple disabilities served by the Midland Local Team can access a wide range of expanded therapeutic services and specialized equipment at the Site
• Angela Paylor of Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital is the Midland Local Team Facilitator

Professionals interested accessing the Georgina or Midland Local Team Site facilities and equipment can contact Carolyn Cannon at 1-877-719-4795 Carolyn.cannon@ctn-simcoeyork.ca for more information.

10th Local Team Facilitator on Board
Please join us in officially welcoming Vaughan Local Team Facilitator Carolyn James of the Regional Municipality of York's Early Intervention Services.

French Brochures Now Available
We're pleased to announce that French Network brochures are now available. To order copies, please contact Carolyn Cannon at 1-877-719-4795 or email at Carolyn.cannon@ctn-simcoeyork.ca

“SPOTLIGHT ON …

For 10 years, Professional Rehabilitation Outreach (PRO) has been providing client-focused therapy services to children and adults in the Simcoe Region, including children with multiple disabilities. Based in Barrie, PRO team members work extensively with regional schools, recreation centres and other organizations to ensure that these children have the resources in place to let them develop to their optimum potential. As Executive Director Kim Woodland explains, “We not only work with the families, but also with the people and groups who interact with them, whether that's transportation providers, pool facilities, schools, libraries – wherever these families need to go in the community.”

Of PRO's 75 professionals, 40 are devoted to servicing the needs of up to 2,500 to 3,000 children by providing occupational therapy and physiotherapy, dietary, augmentative communications and social work services. Kim reports that to date, 600 children are now being serviced through the Children's Treatment Network.

PRO is a host agency for the Network, and staff member Karen Vanderbrug serves as LocaL Team Facilitator for Collingwood. Two other PRO therapists – Kate Henry and Enid Mackle – also provide local augmentative communications services on behalf of the Network.

“Thanks to the Network's support, we've been able to add eight individuals to complement our clinical team. Our clinicians have also been able to do more for the families in the community and grow their skills by taking advantage of the advanced training offered,” says Kim. “Since working with the Children's Treatment Network, we are able to offer more resources for children with multiple disabilities. There's also more communication between agencies and on the frontline. And although we are in the early stages, we are seeing more services being delivered closer to home. For example, most children needing local augmentative communications services would normally have to link with clinicians in Toronto. That's the real benefit for the families. They don't have to go outside the community to get the help they need.” For more information about PRO visit www.prorehab.ca.