Hanover and District Hospital will be housing a satellite office of Keystone Child Youth and Family Services.
A joint media release from the hospital and Keystone shares that the new office location will serve as an additional point of care for young people and their families.
Keystone's Director of Programs and Services Stephen Hendriks says the partnership with the hospital made a lot of sense not only for Keystone, but also the people they serve.
"A lot of folks in the region wind up in the hospital when they're having difficulties, so we decided that the closer of a connection to the hospital where people are already heading, the better the bridge. As opposed to having referrals sent, being closer would be the way to go," Hendriks explained.
Keystone provides a wide range of programs including counselling, crisis response, early intervention, and family support.
Hendriks notes that Keystone has a goal of offering their services in a wide range of settings.
"We're trying to kind of get a good and even spread across Grey and Bruce. We're kind of starting in Hanover but the goal is to try and have a presence in key areas of the counties that we see a lot of need from," added Hendriks.
On top of being able to help more youth and families find easier access to mental health resources, Hendriks says the partnership with the hospital made a lot of sense not only for Keystone, but for the hospital and its staff.
"How do we help kids that are actually coming out of the hospital or kids that are showing up there, that may or may not need to be seen in the emergency department or other areas of the hospital but didn't know where else to go?" said Hendriks. "Maybe we can make this a little easier and a little less heavy when it comes to having to deal with hospitals and the hospitals having to deal with people that may or may not need to be there. So we're hoping and the hospital's hoping that this winds up diverting people to where they really need to go."
"This collaboration is an excellent example of health system partnership that ensures that services for children, youth and their families will have access to the care that they need as close to home as possible," said Dana Howes, President and CEO of Hanover and District Hospital.
You can learn more at https://www.keystonebrucegrey.org/.