VCH staff will have a great resource for young patients with mental-health and substance-use issues

A new hospital unit dedicated for youth with mental health and substance use challenges is going to be built at the HOpe Centre at Lions Gate Hospital.

The 10-bed unit is for youth aged 13 to 18 who reside in the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) region. The unit will focus on assessment and stabilization of patients with short stays of 14 to 20 days.

“Having youth working towards recovery in an adult or pediatric environment can be really challenging,” says Elizabeth Stanger, director of Coastal Mental Health & Addiction Services. “Not only is it difficult for adolescent patients to feel comfortable in certain circumstances but having specific services and being able to design the environment to support this age group will make a big difference in the timeliness and quality of their outcomes.”

A generous donation

West Vancouver philanthropists Jack and Leone Carlile donated $2 million of the $5 million capital cost to build and furnish the unit. The couple and members of their family were on hand at an event yesterday (March 30) to kick off further fundraising efforts by the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation. The unit is expected to open in about a year’s time.

“We thank Mr. and Mrs. Carlile for their generous gift. The new unit will allow us to provide improved care to youth so teenaged patients will be better served at a crucial time in their lives when some life-long mental-health and addiction challenges are first diagnosed and respond well to treatment.” said VCH President and CEO Mary Ackenhusen.

Higher ratio of staff

It will have a higher ratio of staff than an adult unit, and will be designed to be a welcoming and safe space, rather than a traditional hospital setting. It will have private bedrooms, with natural sunlight, as well as spacious recreation and treatment areas, access to a gym, private spaces to reflect, read or play guitar, and areas where family members can spend time with their child or talk with staff. Patients will be able to continue with school work to normalize their schedules and support their recovery journeys.

The unit will be located on the fourth floor separate from adult inpatient beds on the third floor of the HOpe Centre, which opened in 2014.

The Jack and Leone Carlile Centre

The youth unit will be called Jack and Leone Carlile Centre and will add to existing provincial supports to address the needs of youth living with addictions and/or mental illness.