A state-of-the-art unit for children and adolescents with urgent mental health issues opened this May at Surrey Memorial Hospital. The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Stabilization Unit (CAPSU) is home to a Snoezelen™ Room, a multi-sensory environment used to help reduce agitation and anxiety and stimulate and encourage communication, the first of its kind for children and youth in a hospital psychiatric unit in Canada.
CAPSU serves young people from across the Fraser Health region, aged six to 17, who need a five- to seven-day stay in hospital for stabilization. Cloverdale Paint, one of the city’s oldest and most successful family-owned businesses, has contributed $1 million to the new unit through the Surrey Hospital & Outpatient Centre Foundation. The unit is named in their honour – the Cloverdale Paint Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Stabilization Unit.
Over the past 11 months, the space formerly occupied by the hospital’s old emergency department has been transformed into a therapeutic environment for children and adolescents experiencing an acute mental health crisis.
CAPSU provides care to children and adolescents in a more appropriate setting. The specialized care team on this 10-bed unit includes psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, occupational therapists and youth care counsellors. Previously, young people in the Fraser Health region who need urgent inpatient care are admitted to the six-bed unit at BC Children’s Hospital when a bed is available. If not, they either remain in the emergency department or are admitted to a pediatric ward or adult psychiatric unit in their local hospital.
In addition to Cloverdale Paint’s contribution of $1 million to the Surrey Hospital & Outpatient Centre Foundation’s fundraising campaign for CAPSU, the Province has provided $2.2 million and Fraser Health has invested $820,000 in capital costs to create CAPSU, plus $4 million in annual operating costs.
Cloverdale Paint was established in 1933, and the corporate head office is still headquartered in Surrey. The company is the largest Canadian-owned and operated paint and coatings manufacturer, operating in the United States and Canada.
The community has donated more than $2 million to the Foundation to make CAPSU a therapeutic environment that complements the work of the specialized child and youth mental health professionals on the unit.
Today’s announcement supports a number of provincial priority areas that will help better meet the needs of people struggling with mental health and/or substance use issues. Budget 2017, with $165 million provided in targeted mental health and substance use supports and services, is helping government address gaps in the system. It is providing patients and families with better information and ways to navigate the system, and integrating and coordinating services throughout the province. The Ministry of Health invests about $1.45 billion each year to support people in need of mental health and/or substance use services and supports.<
Quotes:
Amrik Virk, MLA for Surrey-Tynehead
“We know that when a child or adolescent is experiencing a mental health crisis, they can feel anxious and frightened. CAPSU will provide a calming environment for them to heal.”
Peter Fassbender, MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood
“It’s great to see our community come together to support CAPSU and the children and youth this unit will help. Designed to be a safe, therapeutic environment, CAPSU will provide an innovative, new way to provide specialized care.”
Stephanie Cadieux, MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale
“CAPSU will provide more space to care for children and youth with urgent mental health issues in the Fraser region. This will also help relieve pressure on emergency departments as children and youth get the care they need, when they need it.”
Gordon Hogg, MLA for Surrey-White Rock
“This state-of-the-art unit will provide the short-term help young people throughout the Fraser region need when they are experiencing a mental health crisis.”
Marvin Hunt, MLA for Surrey-Panorama
“We’re committed to providing the best care for people facing challenges associated with mental illness.”
Michael Marchbank, President and CEO, Fraser Health
“The demand for acute child and youth mental health services is growing. CAPSU will provide a much needed service to children and youth in our region that need short-term support to stabilize their illness.”
Tim Vogel, CEO, Cloverdale Paint
“Cloverdale Paint has supported health care and education in the regions that we operate in for many years. When we heard about the pressing need for a child and youth mental health unit in our community, our family, Board of Directors and Management Group decided it was time to make the largest charitable donation in our 84-year history. These young people deserve the best possible care, and we are proud to be part of CAPSU.”
Ron Knight, Chair, Surrey Hospital & Outpatient Centre Foundation
“Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Foundation has contributed more than $6 million to child and youth mental health programs in the last decade. Building CAPSU in Surrey is a wonderful example of community and government working together to respond to a need. We thank Cloverdale Paint for their $1 million contribution, which inspired many other companies and individuals to give.”
