Sudbury Children's Treatment Centre opens in new location

Sudbury -

Children's Treatment Centre's new location is bright, beautiful and was been designed in consultation with families involved.

The design focused on creating a homey, warm environment.

"This is a rehabilitation program that provides assessment, treatment consultation and education for about 2,000 kids and young adults with motor and communication impairments," said Health Sciences North president Dominic Giroux.

Giroux said what's even more remarkable is the fact the team was able to achieve this within a two-year timeframe and during a global pandemic.

The priority was wanting to ensure young patients are at ease.

"It's completely accessible, it's on the city transit bus line as well," Giroux said. "We have about 30 per cent more square footage than the previous location so it allows more space for clinics, the gym. The rehab gym at the entrance of the Children's Treatment Centre is beautiful."

"The most amazing piece of the Children's Treatment Centre is that it was purpose-built for this purpose," said Anthony Keating, president of the NEO Kids Foundation.

Keating, who just got his tour, said the foundation is proud to support what's happening at the centre thanks to help from donors.

One of the big items being worked on is the construction of a 'snoezelen' room.

"So a snoezlen room is basically a therapeutic space for children who need some support with sensory deprivation or they have stress and anxiety," said Keating.

The facility is expected to serve youth in both the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts. North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins have their own centres.

Giroux said it's not unusual for Children's Treatment Centres to be located outside of the main campus of a hospital. They'll now turn their attention to converting the CTC's old space into 52 new hospital beds as they work to address capacity issues.

This past month, more than 580 patients were admitted in a building that was designed to have roughly 441.