ErinoakKids breaks ground on new Mississauga site

New state-of-the-art facility to provide therapy, medical and support services in one location for children and youth with disabilities and special needs.

MISSISSAUGA ON, May 8, 2015 — ErinoakKids, the largest children’s treatment centre in Ontario, broke ground today on a new Mississauga facility that will bring together, in one location, therapy, medical and support services for children and youth with disabilities.

“ErinoakKids is thrilled today to announce the start of construction on our new Mississauga facility,” said ErinoakKids President and CEO Bridget Fewtrell. “This day marks a milestone not only for our organization, but for the clients and families we serve. Now, more than ever before, children and youth will have access to a range of services in a single location, resulting in better co-ordinated supports and services that will truly enable our clients to prosper and lead healthy, independent lives.”

Located on Central Parkway West, south of Burnhamthorpe Road, the new 103,000 square foot Mississauga facility will house:
 A controlled multisensory Snoezelen room for children with autism or developmental disabilities
 A fully-accessible playground for recreation therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy
 An adapted fitness facility
 A Youth Drop-In Centre
 2 gyms for physiotherapy, group therapy and recreation therapy
 17 treatment rooms
 2 therapeutic playrooms
 A Resource Centre for staff and families
 An audiology area for hearing aid fitting and dispensing
“Our new building gives us the capacity to serve more children and youth, better and faster,” said ErinoakKids Board Chair Meeta Bains. “We are building welcoming, accessible spaces that will help provide medical services, treatment and therapy for future generations of children and youth across the province.”

The Mississauga location is one of three new ErinoakKids sites to be constructed as part of a much-needed and long-anticipated redevelopment project approved in 2011 by the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services. The project will enable ErinoakKids to consolidate its current patchwork of outgrown and mostly leased and retrofitted office and commercial spaces into three larger sites — one in Brampton, another in Oakville and a third in Mississauga. The facilities are designed specifically for the care of children and youth with special needs and will offer a variety of services, including: physiotherapy, occupational therapy, autism services, speech and language services, infant hearing and screening services, vision services, recreation therapy, social work services, and auditory verbal therapy. Initial assessments for assistive devices resource services will also be available at the Mississauga location.

The ErinoakKids project is the largest in the history of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and the first multi-site build of a children’s treatment centre in the province.

“The ErinoakKids’ groundbreaking in Mississauga is a significant milestone for children with special needs in that city. As Minister of Children and Youth Services, I am delighted that the Ontario government is funding three new state-of the-art ErinoakKids facilities which include the one in Mississauga being celebrated today,” said Tracy MacCharles, Minister of Children and Youth Services. “Once completed, children and their families will have better, easier access to the vitally important programs the Centre provides.”

The cost of design and construction for the project is $163.33 million, which will be provided by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. The Ministry is also providing funding to support the acquisition of land, project planning and overall project management. ErinoakKids is raising $20 million – $15 million for therapy/treatment program equipment and furniture, and $5 million to support specialized services through its $20 million In My Dreams capital campaign.

In support of the campaign, a significant donation was also announced today. The Longo’s Family Charitable Foundation will fund family resource centres at each site, known as the Longo’s Family Resource Centre, where families can access resources to support their child’s learning development at home.
The three sites are set to open in spring 2017.

Quotes

Bert Clark, President and CEO, Infrastructure Ontario
“This is an exciting day as we celebrate the start of construction on the ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development project. Soon we will see the project take shape toward the collective vision of a state-of-the-art children’s treatment centre designed to meet the needs of the three communities it will serve.”

Rosanne Longo, Longo’s Spokesperson and Chair, The Longo’s Family Charitable Foundation
“The Longo’s Family Charitable Foundation is delighted to support the children and families of ErinoakKids with the development of the Longo’s Family Resource Centre. By providing caregivers and families with the resources and tools they need to help children and youth with disabilities grow and prosper, we are building a brighter future for thousands of children in Ontario.”

ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development is Ontario’s largest children’s treatment centre, serving nearly 15,000 children and youth annually who have physical and developmental disabilities, autism, communication disorders, blindness/low vision and hearing loss. Our mission is to help our clients achieve optimal levels of independence, learning, health and well-being. Serving Halton, Peel, Dufferin — and, for some services, Waterloo and Wellington — ErinoakKids has approximately 650 staff and 10 sites from which we provide a comprehensive array of assessment, medical, therapy and support services that help children and their families. For more information about ErinoakKids please visit www.ErinoakKids.ca.

For more information:

Julie Saccone
ErinoakKids
Director of Communications
T: 905-855-2690, ext. 4301
C: 416-271-8733
jsaccone@erinoakkids.ca