2 minute read
Look differently at mental health
In his role as head of Royal Columbian Hospital’s Psychiatry Department, Dr. Anson Koo is part of the team preparing for a new 75-bed mental health and substance use facility. Construction is scheduled to begin next year, and the new centre will replace the aging 30-bed Sherbrooke Centre as part of the redevelopment of the hospital.
Foundation: You’ve described redevelopment as a game changer. Why? Dr. Koo: This expansion of our program is going to allow us to deliver a much more comprehensive range of mental health services. It’s going to allow people anywhere in our health authority to access psychiatric care much faster than they currently are able to. It’s going to allow us to bring our patients from emergency departments into our inpatient units in a much more timely and effective way, and then allow us to transition them much more quickly to effective outpatient care. Another reason this is a game changer is now for the first time in generations we will have a purpose-built mental health facility that has as its core guiding principle the creation of a therapeutic environment for our patients.
Foundation: What does a therapeutic environment look like? Dr. Koo: Our new building will have natural light radiating throughout the units. It’s going to have access to the outdoors. It’s going to allow privacy and private discussions to occur. There’s very abundant literature and research showing the environment has a profound impact on people’s ability to heal. The environment is absolutely key to the work we do, and now for the first time we will have an environment that is therapeutic. Foundation: Also for the first time in Fraser Health, seniors will have their own dedicated unit for mental health care. Dr. Koo: Yes, we realize our seniors have special requirements. Many of them are frailer physically. Many of them are at higher risk of falls, fractures, and they have very unique psychological and physical rehabilitation requirements. We need to create an environment that reduces the risk. This will be the first of its kind in Fraser Health, and I think we are going to see some real advances in the care of our seniors.
Foundation: Where do research and education fit into these plans? Dr. Koo: We will have a dedicated mental health psychiatry research unit and academic unit as part of our new building. Fraser Health has a psychiatry residency program, and Royal Columbian will be the primary academic centre. This will also offer the opportunity for researchers and clinicians to use the centre as a base to conduct their research and really look at issues of mental illness, treatment and recovery in all of our diverse populations.
Wesgroup is a proud supporter of the Royal Columbian Hospital and an advocate to advancing the health care facilities in BC’s fastest growing region.
