Waypoint Wrapped: Reflecting on our 2024 accomplishments

by Dr. Nadiya Sunderji, Waypoint President and CEO

What an incredible year it has been at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. Our team, collaborating with our patients and partners, has consistently delivered exceptional and compassionate care. We have embraced innovation, initiated groundbreaking research studies, and demonstrated leadership in mental health, addiction and seniors care.

These achievements are not only transforming lives, but also reinforcing a health care system that is more responsive to the needs of the individuals and communities we serve. I am incredibly proud of the impact we have every day for our patients and their families.

Below are some of our most noteworthy 2024 accomplishments:

1. Innovating with Waypoint At Home — This year saw Waypoint become the first hospital in Ontario to offer an at-home program focused on the unique and specialized care needs of people experiencing mental illness and addictions. This leading-edge program is designed for individuals who no longer need the level of service provided in the hospital, but still require additional care to safely return home or to a community setting.
2. Launching Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) program — Bringing specialized care closer to home, in partnership with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Waypoint launched the first publicly funded rTMS program in Central Ontario. This is a cutting-edge treatment for people with severe depression and other mental illnesses whose conditions have not responded to other medications or therapies, and we are already building the infrastructure to help spread publicly funded rTMS more widely across the region.
3. Playing, thanks to Smilezone spaces — In May, Waypoint and the Chigamik Community Health Centre opened five Smilezone spaces at the Community Health Hub in Midland. These are specially designed areas that provide children with a safe, engaging and supportive environment where they can play and feel at ease while getting the care they need. This is vital to reducing stigma and anxiety for kids and families accessing mental health care.
4. Supporting staff with the Canada Award for Excellence — In October, Waypoint was one of 15 organizations recognized by Excellence Canada for outstanding commitment to continual improvement and the pursuit of excellence in workplace well-being. Waypoint received a gold-level award in the category Mental Health at Work, further encouraging us in our ongoing journey to support our staff. Along with investing nearly $200,000 in tuition support and graduating 52 staff from our Emerging Leaders and Frontline Leadership Development programs, this recognition reflects our ongoing commitment to creating a Waypoint where everyone can develop and thrive.
5. Engaging community support — Generous sponsors, donors and auction supporters helped raise a record $208,000 at An Evening to Shine the Lighton Nov. 22. Proceeds will support the Breakthrough Fund to make research discoveries possible, and a new Emergency Fund to help patients who have nowhere else to turn and are at risk of having their recovery disrupted. Another fundraiser, the Tim Hortons Holiday Smile Cookie campaign, brought in more than $16,000 for Waypoint’s child and youth mental health programs.
6. Recognizing staff achievements and honours — January saw Senior Research Scientist Dr. Zoe Hilton announced as our new Research Chair in Forensic Mental Health. Later that month, Dr. Bernard Le Foll, Vice-President, Research and Academics, and Chief Scientific Officer, was appointed to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research governing council. I myself was humbled to be recognized in May with a Tomorrow’s National Leaders Award from the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada. Finally, in October, North Simcoe Muskoka Specialized Geriatric Services Director Sandra Easson-Bruno was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing.
7. Meeting regional needs with new acute beds — We began construction in July on a new 20-bed inpatient unit that will address the growing need for specialized mental health and addiction care throughout Simcoe Muskoka and the surrounding area. It will also include the first psychiatric ICU beds in Central Ontario, making care safer for those with the most severe illnesses. Together with leading the launch of a new digital system to manage bed access and flow collaboratively, this enables us to support the emergency departments of eight hospitals.
8. Enhancing care for seniors, shortening hospital stays — Waypoint’s North Simcoe Muskoka Specialized Geriatric Services is leading the Behaviour Success Agent program in partnership with hospitals across the region. By supporting hospitalized older adults with dementia and behaviours, the program is enabling them to return to their homes and to do so sooner. In addition, Dr. Katie Bingham has received a three-year $750,000 CIHR grant to study the impact of the program, with an eye toward expanding it to other hospitals.
9. Building a sweat lodge — Working under a hot July sun, members of the Spiritual Care Team constructed a sweat lodge in the Spiritual Care Courtyard. Waypoint was the first Ontario hospital to have a sweat lodge, and we’ve been thrilled to reinstitute this after the pandemic, as it provides patients access to a form of therapy based on the sacred values, beliefs and traditions of Indigenous peoples.

    

10. Committing to outstanding care in the hospital — The Model of Care with Six Core Strategies project is one of the largest and most complex quality initiatives ever undertaken at Waypoint. After launching on two units in March, it has since gone live on all of our high-secure forensic mental health care programs. Hundreds of staff have participated in training and patient care is being transformed. This has been well received by patients and staff alike — a huge achievement that required the contributions of many team members.