Eden Mental Health Centre (EMHC) patients and staff have returned to EMHC five weeks after a rain storm in late August forced an emergency evacuation of the in-patient unit.
Since the evacuation, patients have been temporarily located at Salem Home and Eden’s Linden Place housing program.
"The leadership and staff of Salem Home and Linden Place were very hospitable and accommodating over the last five weeks while the EMHC building was assessed and repair work began," stated an EMHC news release.
Over the past five weeks, teams of staff and construction workers have been hard at work preparing a modified patient treatment area. Required assessments and health and safety inspections have occurred, and EMHC received clearance for patients and staff to safely return.
“We are very grateful for the hard work that has gone into preparing our Centre for occupancy. So many people have gone above and beyond to help ensure we are able to provide care for those in our communities who need our mental health services. A special thanks goes to the team at Salem Home! We couldn’t have done this without their immediate and generous assistance.” said Brad Unger, CEO, Eden Health Care Services.
Meantime, the building has several separated construction zones where repair work will continue over the next several months to fix the damage caused by the water breach. The first repairs will be done on affected patient rooms, so that EMHC capacity can return to normal as soon as possible. The second stage of repair work will be done in the kitchen, dining room and activities areas. In the meantime, EMHC will be receiving food services from Salem Home.
"EMHC would like to express appreciation to the patients and their family members for their understanding during this challenging time. Thanks also goes out to Eden’s healthcare partners: Southern Health – Sante Sud, Shared Health and the Provincial Department of Mental Health and Community Wellness."