May 1 moving day for Willow Chest mental health program

A new era of mental health at VGH: Demolition of Willow Chest Centre is expected to begin this Fall to make way for the new Joseph & Rosalie Segal Family Health Centre pictured here.

Further to our announcement that the adult tertiary mental health rehabilitation program in Willow Chest Centre is moving to Willow Pavilion, I can now confirm that May 1, 2013, is moving day.

I’m pleased to say that the program’s clients, staff and families have responded enthusiastically to the news of moving. Clients and staff are eager to settle in at Willow Pavilion – where they’ll have better access to the tertiary programs, services and resources on the first floor of that facility – and we want to facilitate that happening sooner, rather than later.

Because Willow Chest Centre and Willow Pavilion are next-door neighbours on the VGH campus, we plan on completing the move within the day.

Demolition of Willow Chest is expected to begin this Fall to make way for construction of the Joseph & Rosalie Segal Family Health Centre (JRSFHC). The new 100-bed facility will replace the Health Centre on the VGH campus and consolidate inpatient, outpatient and outreach mental health and addiction services to provide an enhanced continuum of care. Our aim is to open the doors to the JRSFHC in early 2017.

To share our vision for the JRSFHC, the provincial government, VCH and our very own VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation held a news conference on March 15.

The VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation has also launched a public fundraising campaign — “Make Mental Health Matter” — to raise the last $10 million for building the JRSFHC.

If you or someone you know would like to support a new era of mental health care at VGH, visit givetomentalhealth.ca