Adrian Polidano

Dear, Parents/Caregivers of Grandview kids,

Please take a moment to share your experiences with the Impact of Covid-19 with the Infant Mental Health Promotion (IMHP) at the Hospital for Sick Children through this anonymous 5 minute survey.

Pulled from the Sick Kids Website:

Infant Mental Health Promotion (IMHP) at the Hospital for Sick Children, in collaboration with the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health (The Centre), Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN) and Children First would like to hear your thoughts about how our child and youth mental health system can improve the quality of services for children under 6 throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We’d like to invite you complete the survey below, which focuses on understanding:

What information or services you accessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to support your youngest child’s well-being; and
How we could help to improve the quality of this information and services as we continue to move through the pandemic (and perhaps a second wave).

The information we collect from you will help us to strengthen the supports that are available to you and your family. When completing the survey, please keep your youngest child in mind. And please forward this survey to other parents/caregivers in your network, across Canada.

This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete. Your participation is strictly voluntary, and you can withdraw at any time. Your responses will be kept anonymous, and you will not be identified in any way.

Meet 10-year-old Gavin!

Since he was able to make any kind of utterance, he could not be kept quiet! His mother Melanie says, “Gavin was slow to even begin making any sounds at all. When he finally began uttering “mama” or “dada”, he was at least two and a half years old…no one knew what he was saying, including myself or his siblings. Needless to say, strangers could make neither hide nor hair of his utterances”

While waiting for speech therapy at Grandview Kids, Gavin was seeing a private speech therapist, but his apparent lack of progress caused his mother to put an end to it. Melanie describes that Gavin’s first several years at school were tough, “he felt misunderstood at school by his peers, and was sometimes ostracized. He felt that he didn’t belong, and his self-esteem was suffering.”

Due to his severe difficulties with speech and trailing his experiences in private sessions and at school, he was referred to Grandview.

They got the call from Grandview Kids that it was his turn. This is when he met Grandview Kids Speech-Language Pathologist, Erika! Melanie attributes Gavin’s ultimate successes with Grandview Kids to the “hard and dedicated work of Erika”. When asked to elaborate on some of the ways that Grandview Kids has impacted Gavin’s life, his mom states:

“While I did have an expectation that his speech would improve, what astonished me were the other areas of his life that were impacted just as profoundly. Gavin has become a happier, self-assured, confident and incredibly outgoing child. These are not qualities that I would have ascribed to him prior to commencing speech therapy at Grandview Kids. He is a different child now, in all the right ways. Prior to this therapy, he was very shy and reserved and did not speak to anyone outside his circle. Even conversations with his family were strained due to the embarrassment and frustration that would arise when he was not being understood.

After even just a handful of sessions, he developed the confidence to approach people outside his social circle and hold sustained conversations with them. The near-immediate change was breathtaking to witness. My little boy is learning to become more independent and to make his mark in this world!”

A picture of Gavin wearing a Christmas onesie and Santa hat.

Gavin looks forward to his speech therapy sessions. This is the time in his week where he gets to hang out and play games with Erika. She incorporates these games into his learning, and sometimes, he forgets that he’s even learning while he’s playing!

Melanie comments on the chemistry they have built throughout Gavin’s speech therapy sessions, “[Erika] is so incredibly kind and understanding, as well as knowledgeable, and always knows exactly the right thing to say or do to maximize Gavin’s potential”.

When asked about the future, and the goals she hopes to see Gavin reach over the next couple of years, Melanie says:

“What I want for Gavin is what he has always wanted for himself: to be able to communicate without difficulty. This is something that so many people, myself included, take for granted, and yet Gavin struggles with this on a daily basis.

I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and Erika is the one holding the torch! Thanks to Grandview Kids, I can now envision sometime in the not-too-distant future, Gavin in deep conversation with someone, and they are having no clue that he ever had a speech problem.”

HOPE, CELEBRATION, DISCOVERY, BELONGING

These four words guide the planning and development of the NEW Grandview.

Recently during a Zoom project planning meeting, Family Advisory Committee member Marilyn Robitaille had to turn off her camera. “I am sorry I had an emotional moment; I didn’t suspect when I was doing that rally years ago that I’d end up in a meeting planning the layout of the NEW Grandview. I realized just how much work went to get to this meeting, it’s surreal”, Marilyn expresses.

There is so much emotion and passion for the project that is evident when discussing the NEW Grandview Children’s Centre. It could be easy to get caught up in the “work” of all the planning for the new Centre, however, Grandview Children’s CEO Lorraine Sunstrum-Mann says the planning team makes a point to anchor every meeting and conversation to hope, celebration, belonging and discovery. “These words were deliberately selected as they resonate the most about how the children, youth and families we serve are reflected in the work of Grandview and how we intend to bring the strategic plan of Grandview, and importantly the values that have guided Grandview and been cherished by the community for 67 years, forward into the new facility”, Lorraine notes.

Meetings are occurring regularly and consists of members from Infrastructure Ontario, the Government of Ontario, Expert Consultants from B+H Architects and Colliers Project Leaders and Grandview Children’s Centre. The Project Management Team meetings open with the sharing of a “Grandview Moment”. These moments outline the stories of the children, youth and their family’s life experiences and the impact Grandview has had in their lives. This helps to ground all parties in the reason this new facility dream is so important to Durham Region families.

The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is a very significant milestone. At the end of this RFQ process, Grandview will have selected three teams to receive a Request for Proposal (RFP) and ultimately, one of those three will be selected as the finalist to complete the design and construct the new Grandview. This is a P3 project, which means the building of the new Grandview is guided by Infrastructure Ontario, partnering with the Government of Ontario, Grandview Children’s Centre and ultimately the selected team. Those who have been following the project funding will know the Government of Canada, and of course, many citizens, businesses and organizations across the Durham community and beyond are also key partners and supporters in funding the project.

There are several milestones ahead of us. The first is evaluating all of the potential teams that respond to the RFQ and then narrowing it down to the three most qualified to be able to design, build and finance this project. Those top three teams will then respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) targeted to be released at the end of March 2021. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it is going to take a village to build the new Grandview. There are many people, companies and organizations involved in this project. Grandview has requested that the team awarded the final contract to build the new Grandview source labour locally whenever possible for this project as we recognize the employment needs, and we are so grateful to so many in our community.

To summarize the timeline of this project, the RFP will be released at the end of March 2021 and throughout approximately six months following that, the design teams will put together their bid. Decision for teams will take place in Fall 2021 with this process closing in likely early 2022. Groundbreaking TBD. Fall 2021 will be RFP open period and unless it is purely ceremonial, it should be delayed. Construction is projected to start between January 2022 and March 2022, and that is followed by a two-year construction plan with a substantial completion between January 2024 and March 2024.

Although seemingly a major challenge to face, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided helpful insight regarding any required new infection prevention and control precautions to be considered into the planning of the facility. Lorraine mentions that “[working through a pandemic] has allowed us to review our project and make sure that the new Centre can flex, when we encounter another pandemic or health emergency and can avoid having to interrupt our services where possible”. In addition to flexible space, the new building will provide adequate physical space to do group work and other large gathering activities.

When asked to reflect on this RFQ release milestone in the life of Grandview as the CEO, Lorraine says, “I think that this is one of the most significant moments in Grandview’s journey in terms of watching this project move from a dream to a reality… [this milestone] is signalling to the market that it’s time to let Grandview know if you’re interested in being the team that bids to build the new Grandview… we are getting very close to handing the detailed planning over and asking someone to convert the words and our story into a final design”.

Hope, celebration, belonging and discovery are lifting and guiding us as we inch ever closer to the goal.

On August 24, 2020, the Durham Region Transit (DRT) is changing the way they service areas where routes were temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 shutdown, and where demand is expected to below. This includes the area currently serviced by route 411, the route many clients take to reach our main site at 600 Townline Road South in Oshawa.

In these areas (including route 411), DRT will be offering a new “On Demand” service, which will provide DRT customers with mobility options.

Availability for Urban On Demand Services:

• Weekdays: 0500 to 2400.

• Saturdays: 0700 to 2400.

• Sundays: 0700 to 2200

The instructions for booking a trip are as follows:

Customers will be able to book a trip via a downloadable app, or by calling 1-866-247-0055.

Customers will need to book a minimum of 2 hours in advance, and can pre-book up to a week in advance.

More information, including a new system map and route-specific information, is available on durhamregiontransit.com.

Article updated: March 15, 2021

Foundational family services are tailored to children’s needs and stages of development

TORONTO — Ontario is providing families in the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) with services to support their child’s ongoing learning and development. Foundational family services such as family and peer mentoring, caregiver workshops and coaching will be tailored to the unique regional and cultural needs in different communities. These services will build on existing virtual and remote options introduced during the COVID-19 outbreak. The first phase of foundational family services is part of the ongoing implementation of the new needs-based, sustainable and family-centred OAP.

“Feedback received through public consultations and the OAP Advisory Panel highlighted the importance of having ongoing capacity-building supports available to families,” said Todd Smith, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. “That’s why family supports that put children at the centre of care are a key element of our new needs-based Ontario Autism Program. We know having virtual services as an option during this challenging time has become critical to families and service providers.”

The first phase of foundational family services is launching on August 7, 2020. Services will be offered at no cost in a variety of formats with individual and group supports and virtual and in-person sessions. Options may vary during the first phase of implementation as providers continue to expand their services and as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. For example, families may participate in an online group workshop to learn strategies to help toilet train their child and then receive one-on-one clinical follow-up afterward, or they may access coaching sessions to help with managing challenging behaviours. The services are based on a family’s changing needs over time and their child’s needs, strengths and developmental stage.

“In these unprecedented times, the needs of children and youth on the autism spectrum and their families are greater than ever,” said Marg Spoelstra, co-chair, OAP Advisory Panel. “It is encouraging to see the new foundational family services being implemented province-wide as recommended by the panel and now through the sustained efforts of the OAP Implementation Working Group.”

Families can contact select Ontario Autism Program service providers to learn more about the types of supports currently available in their community.

“Ontario’s publicly supported providers are ready to increase their offerings for this essential component of the new OAP,” said Jennifer Churchill, CEO of Empowered Kids Ontario – Enfants Avenir Ontario. “Building on the system that is in place aligns with the recommendations of the OAP Advisory Panel. The government is responding and that’s good news.”

Since announcing the new needs-based Ontario Autism Program in December 2019, the ministry has:

launched a variety of interim early years supports focused on younger children on the waitlist to help build skills in social communication, engagement, speech and language and emotional regulation;
made it easier for families to receive funding by streamlining and reducing administrative steps;
begun development of a new user-friendly family website, the future one-stop-shop to register for the OAP, apply for funding and get updates on status in the program.

“We are working extremely hard to implement an Ontario Autism Program built by the community, for the community that supports the needs of families and their children,” said Minister Smith. “This significant transformation will lead us to a sustainable, needs-based program that will provide all families access to supports and services no matter where they live in Ontario.”

QUICK FACTS

Foundational family services are one of many service pathways that families will have access to in the new Ontario Autism Program.
These pathways include accessing: Core services like Applied Behaviour Analysis, speech language pathology, occupational therapy and mental health services; Early intervention and school readiness services to help young children access critical services when they will benefit most, and to prepare them to enter school; and Urgent and complex needs services to support children and youth who are in service, or are waiting for service, and have significant and immediate needs.
In July 2019, the Ontario Autism Program budget was increased from approximately $300 million to $600 million annually to help ensure it is both needs-based and sustainable moving forward.

LEARN MORE

July 27, 2020

Architectural firm and project manager named for new Grandview Children’s Treatment Centre Redevelopment Project

The site for the new Grandview Children's Centre in Ajax, Ontario

The Grandview Children’s Treatment Centre Redevelopment Project has taken an important step forward with the selection of B+H Architects as the planning, design and conformance (PDC) team and Colliers Project Leaders as Grandview’s project manager.

B+H Architects will prepare project documents, including output specifications that will form the guidelines and performance requirements that the successful building team must meet when preparing the design. The team will also monitor construction progress and provide coordination and oversight during commissioning, completion, and transition to the new facility.

Colliers Project Leaders will support the management of the project on behalf of Grandview Children’s Centre by providing advice on the output specifications, procurement, contract administration and post-occupancy stages.

The vision for the new Grandview Children’s Centre is to support the seamless and coordinated provision of family-centred care for children and youth with physical, communication and developmental needs and their families. It will be an open, welcoming and inclusive community-based paediatric facility supporting an integrated mix of rehabilitation, medical and clinical services, education and research activities.

The new Grandview Children’s Centre will include:

Centre-Wide Therapy Services: occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech-language pathology, recreation therapy, audiology, infant hearing, blind low vision, social work;
The Ontario Autism Program and services
Developmental Paediatric Medical Services including specialist medical clinics,
Campbell Children’s School
Family resources services,
School-based rehabilitation services, and,
Preschool outreach program.

Once complete, Grandview will consolidate the existing main site in Oshawa and multiple satellite locations into one purpose-built site at 1465 Harwood Avenue North, Ajax. Grandview will maintain three satellite locations to reduce extensive travel times for some clients and their families

Grandview Children’s Centre will be working closely with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and Infrastructure Ontario to deliver the project under the public-private partnership model.

As the next major step, Grandview Children’s Centre and Infrastructure Ontario will issue a request for qualifications (RFQ), inviting teams to submit their credentials to design, build and finance the new facility. The RFQ is expected to be released in late summer 2020.

For more information, visit: https://infrastructureontario.ca/Grandview-Children%E2%80%99s-Centre-Redevelopment/.

About Grandview Children’s Centre:

Grandview Children’s Centre provides expert paediatric assessment, treatment and rehabilitation services to children and youth with physical, communication and developmental needs. Grandview’s main facility in Oshawa was built in 1983 to serve 400 children. Grandview’s demand has now reached over 19,000 kids with more than 11,000 waiting for services. As the only children’s treatment centre in Durham Region, Grandview’s work has broad impact in our community, changing lives daily.

For more information about Grandview Kids, visit: http://grandviewkids.ca/.

For updates, follow @GrandviewKids on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Media Contact:

Avori Cheyne
Director, Strategic Communications, Partnership and Engagement
905-728-1673 ext. 2240
Avori.Cheyne@grandviewkids.ca