Community partners celebrate grand opening of facility for children and youth specialized services in Richmond Hill

Innovative multi-service hub to serve 1,500 families annually

NEWMARKET – June 26, 2007 - The Regional Municipality of York, Markham Stouffville Hospital and the Children's Treatment Network of Simcoe York today celebrated the grand opening of the Multi-Service Hub for Specialized Services for Children and Youth.  This facility will deliver a continuum of integrated services to children and youth, from birth to 19 years of age.

"Integrating York Region services with the services of our community partners represents a giant step in customer service for families who need specialized services," said York Region Chairman and CEO Bill Fisch.  "It helps minimize the administrative coordination that parents and caregivers would normally manage and if that helps to make their family life easier, then we've done our jobs well."

The Multi-Service Hub is the first of its kind in Ontario, bringing York Region's Early Intervention Services, Markham Stouffville Hospital's Preschool Speech and Language Program and the Children's Treatment Network of Simcoe York together under one roof.

"We are delighted to see our community partners join in and make this unique service a reality," said Town of Richmond Hill Regional Councillor Brenda Hogg, Chair of the Region's Community Services and Housing Committee.  "We are also very proud that this innovative service is part of York Region's continued effort to better serve families in the Region."

York Region's Early Intervention Services includes both Infant Development and Special Needs Resourcing programs for children birth to six years.  An in-house pediatric development assessment clinic features an on-staff pediatrician to support service providers and families.

"Markham Stouffville Hospital's programs based in Oak Ridges will also include the Infant Hearing Program and the Blind-Low Vision Early Intervention Program," said Janet Beed, President and CEO of Markham Stouffville Hospital.  "We're really excited to support and administer this newest program that speaks to the commitment of the Region to serve the community."

"This integrated model builds on the strengths of our existing service providers and creates a system that acts as a single point of contact and a single plan of care for children and youth," said Robert Morton, CEO of the Children's Treatment Network of Simcoe York.  "It's an entirely innovative approach."

The 30 on-site professional service providers will work with families in the newly-renovated facility that includes eight speech-language treatment rooms, five multi-purpose activity/treatment rooms, therapeutic playgroups, a medical treatment room and a large gym.

York Region led the development, renovations and improvements to the leased building located in Oak Ridges at 13175 Yonge Street (just north of King Road) in the Town of Richmond Hill.

 Backgrounder
Multi-Service Hub for Specialized Services for Children and Youth

NEWMARKET – The Multi-Service Hub for Specialized Services for Children and Youth will offer an integrated approach in providing a continuum of services to children from birth to 19 years of age. This Hub is a unique community partnership involving York Region’s Early Intervention Services (EIS), Markham Stouffville Hospital’s Preschool Speech and Language Program and the Children’s Treatment Network of Simcoe York.

In 1977, York Region EIS began providing seamless services for children from birth to six years of age through the integration of Infant Development and Resource Teacher Programs.  EIS provides child development assessments, programming and service coordination delivered in family homes, child care centres and local team offices.  In 1998, the integrated service approach was expanded through a partnership between EIS and the York Region Preschool Speech and Language Program administered by the Markham Stouffville Hospital.  This partnership included one point of access to EIS, Preschool Speech and Tri-Regional Hearing through the 1-888-703-KIDS line.  This seamless service has also acted as a model for other municipalities.

The Preschool Speech and Language Program encompasses screening and assessment for speech-language delays and direct speech therapy for individual children.  It also includes the Tri-Regional Infant Hearing Program which assesses hearing identification, a Best Start Community Educator and The Pediatric Development Assessment Clinic, which assess children in order to diagnose autism or developmental delay.  Parents are also provided with continuous support through education groups.

The Children’s Treatment Network of Simcoe York is a new not-for-profit service delivery model for children with multiple disabilities in Simcoe County and York Region.  This unique integrated network model builds on the strength of existing service providers to create a system that provides a universal point of contact and single plan of care for children and youth from birth to 19 who have special physical, developmental and communication needs.

Services provided through the Network to these children and youth include: occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, recreation therapy, social work, psychology, nursing orthotics, audiology, seating and mobility, feeding and swallowing, augmentative communications, as well as additional medical and child development services.

As the population in the Region has grown, particularly in areas across Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan and with increased number of referrals to EIS, there has been a great need to expand further into these communities.  The Oak Ridges location in Richmond Hill is seen as the perfect solution.  The location reduces pressure on programs in the Aurora and north Richmond Hill areas and acts as a home-base for York Region’s Central EIS team.

York Region led the development, renovations and improvements to the leased building and encouraged participation from all three partners to see this unique service become a reality.  The 30 on-site professional service providers will work with families in the newly renovated facility that includes eight speech-language treatment rooms, five multi-purpose activity/treatment rooms, therapeutic playgroups, a medical treatment room and a large gym.

The facility also has the advantage of an in-house pediatrician as part of the Pediatric Development Assessment Clinic, to oversee feeding requirements and support service providers and families.

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Media Contact: Tim Paleczny, Corporate Communications, York Region
 Phone: 905 830-4444 ext. 1238, 416 297-9696 or Toll free 1-877-464-9675
 Cell Phone: 905 251-6413  Email: tim.paleczny@york.ca

 Susan Sheffield, Director,
 Child Development Programs
 Markham Stouffville Hospital
 Phone: 905 472-7039, Pager 416 376-3607
 Email: ssheffield@msh.on.ca

 Robert Morton, Chief Executive Officer
 Children’s Treatment Network of Simcoe York
 Phone: 1 877 719 4795 ext. 2342
 Email: Robert.morton@ctn-simcoeyork.ca

About the Children’s Treatment Network of Simcoe York
The Children’s Treatment Network is a new not-for-profit service delivery model for children with multiple disabilities and their families in Simcoe County and York Region. This unique integrated network model will build on the strengths of existing service providers, including healthcare, recreational, educational, social and community resources, to create a revolutionary new system that provides a single point of contact and single plan of care for children and youth from birth to 19 who have special physical, developmental, and communication needs. The Children’s Treatment Network is funded by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. For further information, please visit www.ctn-simcoeyork.ca

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Extraordinary Conversations
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