Page 4 - GBGH Foundation - Mental Health Case For Support

A new beginning starts with YOU

Mental health challenges affect all of us—parents, children, neighbours, colleagues, and friends.
Whether it’s a new mother facing post-partum depression, a teen in crisis, a senior struggling with

dementia, or a neighbour overwhelmed by anxiety—we see them. These stories are part of our
community.

Mental health is health. And right now, our region is in crisis.

At Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH), we care for more than 1,700 mental health patients every year.
That’s about three people in crisis every single day. But despite the growing need, our hospital isn’t equipped or

funded to provide acute mental health care.

Instead, patients in crisis must be transferred to hospitals in other communities including Royal Victoria Regional
Health Centre (RVH), Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (Soldiers), or Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care (Waypoint),
and when those beds are full – sometimes even further away.

But here’s the reality: those beds are often full. That means patients are left waiting at GBGH, sometimes for days. Not

getting the care they urgently need. Not in the environment they deserve. And not with the dignity or compassion that
every person in crisis should receive.

This delay is heartbreaking. It’s time for change.

With your support, we can bring acute mental health care to GBGH so no one in our community has to face a mental
health crisis alone, or wait to be seen.

4 • MENTAL HEALTH CASE FOR SUPPORT