Speaker, Janice vandevooren is familiar with Rotary clubs as her father, Lionel “Fuzz” Foster was president of the St. Thomas Rotary Club. Janice spent many summers at the Presqu’ile Rotary Camp. She also remembers selling peanuts “a lot”. Janice spoke about the history, the building and the function of forensic mental health care. In Elgin County, there is a long legacy of mental healthcare. In 1976, the forensic centre came into being and was run out of the main hospital until the new building was opened on June 14^th, 2013. Forensic mental healthcare is a sub-speciality.  Because of mental illness causing legal issues, patients have been court-ordered to attend the mental health centre. They have been deemed “Not Criminally Responsible” (NCR) for their actions.  The definition of NCR is: “At the time of the alleged offence the individual was suffering from a serious mental illness that rendered them incapable of appreciating the nature, quality and consequences of their actions”. The patient is then treated in a hospital rather than being part of the criminal system.

 

In addition to inpatient beds, the Southwest Centre also has outreach services, 2 Elgin County active community treatment (ACT) programs and the Steele St residential treatment and rehab program under its umbrella. There are 5 in-patient units at the Centre. One unit is for assessment, 2 for treatment and 2 for rehabilitation and outreach. All patients are treated using interdisciplinary teams and programs are designed for patients to develop skills while in treatment. Janice stressed that these patients are working with a double stigma -they have a mental illness and they have been given a “forensic” designation, regardless of the severity of their legal issue.

 

Jurisdiction over patients in the system is the prevue of the Ontario Review Board. The Board makes decisions regarding the levels of security and privileges for people, in order to balance autonomy and measure risk. The Board is comprised of 5 people: a chairperson, a lawyer, a psychiatrist , a second psychiatrist /or a psychologist and a public member. The Ontario review board must hold a hearing within 45 days of the ‘not criminally responsible’ designation and annually there after. If there are changes, such as liberty being significantly reduced, the Ontario review board may meet at other times. The review board is a quasi-court but they try very hard to reduce adversity. There are three outcomes of disposition for patients brought before the Review Board. #1 Detention continued in the hospital or community. #2 A conditional discharge in which restrictions or requirements could vary widely. For example, if the deterioration in the person’s mental health has occurred wherein there is an imminent risk of harm to self or others is noted then the person will be brought back to the hospital. #3 Absolute discharge from this system.

The Ontario review board considers the index offence which can vary greatly. They also take into account the person’s present condition, their history, plans for the future and available support. The Ontario Review Boards decisions and disposition of the patient take the least onerous and least restrictive option to protect the public and the patient.

 

The Southwestern Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care houses 89 beds and treats approximately another 89 people in the community. Janice was asked a few questions and one of them was about non- compliance with medication. Janice stated that it is getting easier for patients to comply with medication regimes because there are new developments in medications and increased options. For example, some people are treated with an injection once every three months.  Janice noted that the SW Centre is a provincial resource, one of 10 hospitals in our province. The centre was built with a specific architectural design and input from many staff members patients and former patients. The building emphasizes natural light and calming colour palettes. There are 3 areas in the building: “the downtown” area which is comprised of shops, hair care, gym, cafe and the lobby. There is the “neighbourhood area” which includes 2, Activities of Daily Living spaces and a classroom. The home area includes private bedrooms with private baths for patients, relaxation rooms, Spiritual space, Labyrinths indoors and outdoors, dining and multi-purpose rooms. There is unobtrusive camera monitoring throughout the building. When asked to designate what recovery means Janice stated that it means the patient “getting their life back”. She further commented that this is an individual process taking into account who the person was before their mental illness, what they want for the future and a plan to help them get there.

 

Adriana won the 50/50 draw.

Malcolm was the Fine Master. He treated us to an overview of some of the 19 countries in Africa which have changed names since they gained independence.  He was interested in this topic because of Ron’s help with the shipping containers that are filled by the Grand Bend club and sent to Africa. Did you know that the former Swaziland is now Eswatini? The schools in Eswatini have an opportunity to apply for a share of the school equipment and books in the containers.  One school was as small as 100 students and another as large as 2200 students. 

Trudy brought a newspaper clipping from the Aylmer Express featuring a picture including Malcolm and Donna Rust.  Since 1981 they and 4 other couples have shared a progressive meal, the first Saturday in December each year. Quite an accomplishment!

Malcolm 1 - Rotarian of the day, Ron for his help with container shipments                                                                                                                                   

Adriana 3  - Winning the 50/50, her father's birthday on Sunday- 76 years old, and husband Marco's birthday                                                                                                                                                                   

Nancy 2  - Janice speaking, and Nancy and Paul leaving for Portugal on Sunday for a month. Nancy noted that her father was an occupational therapist at the provincial psychiatric hospital and would often bring home patients with privileges on Sundays.                                                                                               

Ron 3 - the speaker, a cruise in 2 weeks, and his father was born 110 years ago. Ron noted that his mother and aunt also worked at the provincial psychiatric hospital.                                                                     

Trudy 4 - the speaker, a great Spring Extravaganza meeting, Nick got his stitches and staples out yesterday and she will be going to her 1st police conference in Toronto today. Trudy was very impressed when she toured the SW Centre for Forensic Mental Healthcare. Gerry 4 -  the speaker, Lorna attending today and 2 for visits that he plans to make to 2 Rotary clubs in Florida on his vacation                                                                                                                                                      

Lorna 1 - she was privileged to work with teams when she was a kinesiology student on 2 work terms -one at the Hamilton psychiatric hospital and one at Queen Street mental health centre in Toronto. She thanked Barbara for inviting her today                      

Trish 2 - the speaker and Stew’s birthday today