Mental Health: Moving into the Community
©Kathy Smith: March 1994 - Health Care News

A model mental health project will soon allow twelve Riverview patients to go home to their Vancouver Island community: a true reflection of the spirit of 'closer to home'.

"Of all the projects I've been involved with, this one gives me the most personal satisfaction," says Wendell Coady, director of the Victoria Mental Health Centre. A number of years ago, it was determined Riverview hospital would be replaced with community facilities around the province, and mental health directors from every region were solicited for their input. Coady was asked to identify patients at Riverview from Vancouver Island, and assess what was needed in order for them to have care in their home community.

The Blenkinsop Project, which addressed every level of community in its formulation, was born in April of 1993: consumers, family members, and mental health professionals were all included in the planning. Many of Coady's colleagues predicted that a program of this undertaking would be two or more years in the making. But after only nine months, the groundwork for his pet project was completed, and by April of this year, phase one will be initiated.

Completion of the first phase entails moving the patients from the security of an institution, which is no easy task. Coady is very aware of the difficulties to be faced. He is determined that this will be a gradual process: the emphasis will be on making the transition as cushioned as possible.

In the weeks to come, the clinical/medical staff assigned to the patients will be travelling to Riverview to familiarize themselves with their new clients. As well, the patients themselves will travel to Vancouver Island to visit their new home before the final move is made.

For the staff involved, the role of caregiver will take on a new definition. Coady is instructing support staff in the bio-psycho-social model, which takes the whole person into account. Instead of caregivers consistently doing for clients, the client will be encouraged to do for him or herself as much as possible. From past experience, Coady has found that this holistic approach, provided within a well-designed living environment, is a very positive influence.

Home for these people will be a semi-isolated, sixteen-acre site in the Blenkinsop Valley. Located near Victoria, it is surrounded by rural farmland. Riverview patients need this kind of setting because they have persistent mental illnesses, and too much contact from others will exacerbate their sensitivities.

Patients will find freedom in this new environment. In an institution, everything is controlled: rooms are locked, meals occur at prescribed times each day, and life is regimented. Not so here. The Blenkinsop site is not an artificial setting. The lodgings are homey, and the atmosphere supportive.

There are two six-bed cottages on site. Inside, the cottages are visually open and accessible, and not as antiseptic as rooms found in a hospital. Patients will be able to observe the basic living skills performed by staff, and become involved as well.

Tailoring this program to the individual is of utmost importance to success. Every effort is being made to help these people increase their functioning as human beings. As part of helping patients to connect with the outside world, the usual amenities are purposely not situated on site. Patients will have to access community services just like everyone else, which will broaden their lives, and increase their confidence.

This project is just the beginning. "I'm proud of the things we've done in mental health," says Coady. "We have the ability to put one of the best mental health systems into operation, connecting all branches of community together, and above all, respecting one another."