Helping all communities with mental health, addictions
MINDEMOYA—The beautifully designed Mobile Wellness van, part of Noojmowin Teg Health Services many offerings, drew lots of attention in the parking lot of Manitoulin Family Resources on July 30. Katrina Wilhelm, mobile wellness client care navigator and Kaitlyn Sorbara, mobile wellness counsellor/navigator were on hand to answer questions and there were many who stopped by with questions.
“We’re a mobile mental health and addictions team that provides services to Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities across the Manitoulin Island district,” said Ms. Wilhelm. “We have a team of diverse individuals. Kait, who is our mobile wellness counsellor/navigator, provides short-term counselling and system navigation support. I’m the client care navigator and I’ve been doing some clinic coordination.” Ms. Wilhelm went on to explain that she does the intake on a client, making sure they are a good fit and eligible to receive services and then pointing them in the right direction within the team. “My work is more internal within the team, whereas Kait’s is more external (to other organizations),” she said.
“We’ve been doing a soft launch this summer,” Ms. Wilhelm shared. “We’ve just been placing communities into the calendar on a first come first serve basis, but as of September, we’ll be promoting the same calendar pretty much every month, with eight communities on the calendar, each with their specific day of the month.”
Other team members include Christen Hanson, wellness promotion facilitator, who leads programs across the Island that promote activities as preventative measures, to support emotional wellbeing. There’s a psychiatry component to the mobile clinic. “We have a psychiatrist we partner with in Sudbury, and he does video conferencing with our clients at our health centre in Aundeck Omni Kaning, considerably reducing the wait times one would ordinarily face,” Ms. Wilhelm said.
Michelle Williams is the nurse practitioner on the team, though only part-time. She provides some support with psychiatry and medication management. In addition, there’s a registered nurse as part of the team.
When asked what kind of response they’ve been getting during their soft launch Ms. Wilhelm said invariably, after each stop they’ve made in various locations, she has gotten phone calls or emails from those seeking help.
The van is set up much like a doctor’s examining room, with cushioned cot, cabinets and shelves. There’s a wheelchair ramp, to make it accessible to everyone. On Friday, August 2, the mobile wellness unit acquired a second van which looks more like a counselling office inside, and better suited to those social workers and counsellors who have no need of the medical setup. “We look forward to each member of the team having adequate space to deliver their services,” Ms. Wilhelm wrote in a follow-up email. The mission statement of the mobile wellness clinic of Noojmowin Teg Health Services is “To provide person-centered, respectful, timely, and optimal mental health and/or addictions care to all communities of the Manitoulin District to address gaps in services.” A valuable, necessary and greatly anticipated addition to the health services of Manitoulin Island. Let us wish them great success.
To register for a visit from the mobile wellness van email MobileWellness@noojmowin-teg.ca
by Margery Frisch
