Board ‘carefully and purposefully’ decided to close Hamilton Mental Health Outreach amid rising costs, staffing challenges

The head of Hamilton Mental Health Outreach says increasing costs and staffing challenges are among the reasons the organization's board carefully and purposefully" decided to close this summer.

Rising costs, the strain on health human resources across Hamilton and our small size present significant operational challenges in today's health-care system," executive director Daryn Kilfoyle wrote in a Feb. 23 statement.

The John Street South organization, a non-profit funded by Ontario Health West, has provided community support to patients discharged from psychiatric hospital units for more than 30 years.

A lot has changed in that time and obviously a great deal of change has come recently," Kilfoyle said.

The organization will cease operations on June 30, a decision made in co-ordination with" community partners and Ontario Health West.

Kilfoyle said patients will be top priority" as they transition to other agencies in the community. Current clients will be transferred to the Hamilton Program for Schizophrenia and Canadian Mental Health Association Hamilton Branch. Wait-listed patients will not lose their place, and will be transferred to a partner organization list.

We recognize that this is a difficult time for our patients," he said. Thanks to our community partners ... there will be uninterrupted and ongoing care for all the people we support."

Partner organizations are hiring additional staff as they accept HMHO clients into their programs, Kilfoyle said, noting that staff would not be transferred with clients.

They are highly skilled professionals in great demand in the health sector today," he added.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com