The Children’s Treatment Center of Chatham-Kent is among several Southwestern Ontario organizations receiving provincial funding boosts for pediatric programming and services.
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The province will spend more than $4.5 million to increase access to such services, part of an additional $330 million a year announced last summer for communities across Ontario.
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“Our government is making record investments in the health and well-being of our children,” Health Minister Sylvia Jones said in a release.
“The pediatric funding provided to services in Windsor, Chatham, and Sarnia will have a tremendous impact on children and their families, ensuring they receive faster access to care when they need it.”
The more than $4.5 million in additional funding will support programs and services at: the Children’s Treatment Center of Chatham-Kent ($519,000); Pathways Health Center for Children in Sarnia ($964,000); Windsor Regional Hospital ($2.6 million); John McGivney Children’s Center in Windsor ($480,000); and Connections Early Years Family Center in Windsor ($66,000.
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The money will be used to:
- Boost access to children’s rehabilitation services, such as speech language pathology, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, at the Chatham-Kent center, Pathways center in Sarnia and John McGivney and Connections centers in Windsor.
- Increase the number of people who can be seen in the emergency department at Windsor Regional Hospital by expanding an after-hours pediatric emergency diversion clinic to seven days a week at its Metropolitan Campus, reducing time pediatric patients spend in the emergency department.
Tina Jamieson, Children’s Treatment Center of Chatham-Kent service manager, said they appreciated the new funding and looking forward to the positive impact it will have on families.
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“This boost will give us the capacity to increase speech and occupational therapy staff and provide more service, which reduces our waiting lists for children, youth, and families in our community,” she said.
The province added that consistent and stable annual funding increases will help ensure facilities have the people, resources and technology to improve access to pediatric care, while preventing backlogs.
“Ontario is putting children and youth first by ensuring they receive the care they need when they need it,” Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa said in the release.
“Our government’s significant investment in pediatric care will reduce waitlists, improve access to clinical assessments, early intervention, and children’s rehabilitation services, such as speech-language pathology, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy.
“This means less time waiting for services, quicker recovery, and better quality of life for children and their families in Southwestern Ontario and across the province.”
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