MMW – North-Western Ontario Clinical Videoconferencing Program

Until recently, access to specialized clinical services was scarce for adults in Northwestern Ontario living with developmental disabilities, dual diagnoses and challenging behaviours.  Clients and staff at agencies often had to travel hundreds of kilometers for the services they required.

Now, through Videoconferencing technology, clients and staff at agencies in Northwestern Ontario participate in clinical sessions with staff at Surrey Place Centre.  Surrey Place Centre is the lead organization for this program in partnership with the following program partners:

• Community Living Dryden and Sioux Lookout 
• Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
• Griffin Centre
• George Brown College 
• Geneva Centre for Autism
• Bob Rumball Associations for the Deaf
• Community Living Toronto  

Videoconferencing

Video Conferencing is like a telephone call with the added feature of having a television screen to see who you’re talking to. It’s all made possible by high-speed telecommunication lines and satellite technology that can link people in distant locations. All participants can see and talk with one another as if they were together in the same place. Video Conferencing lines are completely confidential.

Who We Serve

The program focuses on serving people living with developmental disabilities who have one or more of the following issues:

• Mental Health Issues
• Challenging Behaviours
• Complex Needs that require Specialized Clinical Assessment

The Videoconferencing Program also provides services to professionals, clients’ families and caregivers. Much of the region’s population is First Nations, and the Videoconferencing Program also has an Ojicree name: Mashkikiiwininiwag Mazinaatesijigan Wichiiwewin.  Through our partnership with the First Nations Health Authority, we can provide service to many individuals who speak Ojicree. 

We have recently expanded our range of service to include seven access sites up north not including the many nursing stations in remote communities. These sites are located in:

• Dryden
• Sioux Lookout (2)
• Fort Frances
• Kenora
• Red Lake
• Atikokan

Surrey Place Centre is the designated clinical provider for the North Network of Specialized Care in Northwestern Ontario. 

Please click here to view the information card