FUNDRAISING -
The Mental Health Facility at BC Children's Hospital
The Dennehy family has experienced the terrible effects of mental illness in a most personal, tragic way. Kelty Patrick
Dennehy was 17 years old when he took his own life. He lived in Whistler with his parents, Ginny and Kerry Dennehy, and
sister Riley. Everyone thought he had the world by the tail. He was an avid golfer, all-round athlete, and a high school
honour student with plans to go to law school. Sadly that didn't happen for Kelty as he was suddenly overtaken by depression.
His suffering was so extreme that his life became unbearable.
The Dennehy's took the pain of their devastating loss and channeled it into something positive. "Although his family,
friends and doctors couldn't save Kelty, we now have a mission through our Foundation to save others suffering from depression,"
says Kelty's mom, Ginny. The Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation aims to help remove the stigma and ignorance associated with
mental disease through education, treatment and research.
Out of tragedy comes hope for youth suffering from depression and other mental illnesses.
The Kelty Resource Centre at BC Children's Hospital
In January 2007, the Kelty Dennehy Foundation pledged $450,000 to the Kelty Resource Centre - a Child, Youth, and Family
Knowledge Exchange Resource Centre.
The new Child & Adolescent Mental Health Building, situated on the 3rd floor of the Mental Health Building at BC Children's
Hospital in Vancouver, allows for an expansion to existing programs and to institute new programs. One of these new programs
is the Kelty Resource Centre. This knowledge exchange resource centre creates numerous opportunities to vastly improve
upon the quality of programs and care for children and youth experiencing mental health issues throughout BC. The
Centre provides new and current information resources to families, children, youth and communities, increases the consultation
and assessment capacity to all youth in need of help throughout BC through Tele-Mental Health, and facilitates knowledge
in care and health promotion/prevention among health professionals through Tele-Mental Health.
Information resources focus on health promotion and encompass the distribution of mental health information and materials,
mental health screening at selected locations, and the development of accurate reading materials for youth and teens on
understanding mental illness.
Benefits of this health promotion initiative include early detection and intervention opportunities, increased understanding
of the signs and symptoms, greater awareness of the availability of help and where to find it, and the positioning of mental
health and physical health as inextricably connected.
It is comprised of a Child, Youth and Family Mental Health Promotion Program area and the Tele-Mental Health & Professional
Education/Knowledge Exchange Program Area. The Program includes:
- The ability for families to access information by calling, viewing the website or visiting the Resource Centre in
person;
- Mental Health and addiction screening days;
- Development of culturally sensitive and accurately translated reading materials for kids on understanding mental illness;
- Interactive web-based self assessment modules.
This initiative will connect a number of educational approaches and ensure that all efforts are linked to an integrated
provincial strategy being developed by BC Mental Health & Addiction Services in consultation with Regional Health Authorities
and the Ministries of Health and Children & Family Development.
The Tele-Mental Health & Professional Education Knowledge Exchange Program will utilize the newly established tele-mental
health suite. This suite will be used for communication, patient and family assessment and clinical teaching.
This program will provide tele-mental health assessment for clients within the Ministry of Children & Family Development
mental health centres all over the province and enable the sharing of knowledge and information on mental illness.
The Kelty Resource Centre will significantly improve the quality of and accessibility to care,
programs and services throughout the province of BC for those suffering with mental illness.
New Mental Health Building at BC Children's Hospital
In November 2006, the Kelty Dennehy Foundation fulfilled a commitment of $1 million to BC Children's Hospital to support
the construction of a new Child and Adolescent Mental Health Building on the grounds of BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver.
The Foundation was the primary private donor of this facility.
This building, which opened in January 2007, is the only freestanding facility totally dedicated to youth mental health
in Canada. It is located in the former Shaughnessy Hospital site, which was decommissioned in 1992 and sat vacation prior
to its transformation. The building has been completed renovated internally, while its external heritage façade is
preserved.
The modernized 4-story facility serves children and adolescents with serious mental health challenges from all across the
province. Services such as emergency care, long term psychiatric care, an outreach program, as well as a significant
area for assessment and training are provided -- all helping to speed up the backlog of patients needing assessment and provide
facilities to train the nurses, doctors, medical students, and other mental health professionals in BC.
"The images that most likely come to mind when people think of BC Children's Hospital are of our tiniest babies in the
special care nursery, seriously injured children, or kids with critical illnesses. Many people are surprised, even shocked,
to know that the number one medical problem for children and youth in this province is mental illness," says Sue Carruthers,
President and CEO of BC Children's Hospital Foundation.
Recent studies suggest that more than 20 per cent of adolescents have emotional problems and nearly 14 per cent of children
will experience an episode of clinical depression before they reach age 15. Sadly, many of these young people remain undiagnosed
and receive no treatment for their illness. But BC Children's Hospital Foundation, its community partners and donors worked
to change this by raising $6-million from BC Children's Hospital donors for the construction of the new Mental Health Centre
(an additional $13 million was provided by the provincial government). This urgently-needed centre is the hub of a province-wide
network of mental health services that will address the specialized needs of more than 140,000 children in British Columbia
suffering from brain and behaviour disorders. One of the goals of the mental health program at BC Children's Hospital is
to remove the stigma of mental illness and have it regarded in the same way as other medical conditions.
"The Dennehy's $1-million gift is a significant investment toward this initiative which truly reflects the Kelty Patrick
Dennehy Foundation's core values - care, education, and research. This contribution will go a long way toward improving
the lives of children affected by mental illness, including depression," says Carruthers.
ABOUT BC CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
BC Children's Hospital is the province's only hospital dedicated exclusively to children. From clinical treatment and care
to education and research, the child health specialists inside the walls of this world class facility are dedicated to
providing the best possible medical care. This year, BC Children's Hospital will see more than 168,000 patient visits from
around the province, including 750 cancer patients. It will also perform close to 200 open heart surgeries, 15 kidney transplants
and receive over 35,000 patients in its 24-hour emergency room. Visit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation web site at
www.bcchf.ca
ABOUT THE KELTY PATRICK DENNEHY FOUNDATION
Its mission is:
Prevention of depression related suicide in young people by taking a leadership role in education, effective treatments, and research.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephen Forgacs, Director, Communications - BC Children's Hospital Foundation
Kerry Dennehy, President - Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation
Ginny Dennehy, Director - Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation
|
