• To provide mental health assessment, diagnosis, treatment recommendations, limited follow-up and\or referral for elderly people with mental health problems. Patients will be seen in our office or in the community depending on their needs.
• To collaborate with health care agencies and care-givers (formal or informal) to provide advocacy for patients and their families, to ensure that the mental health needs of the elderly are met.
• To provide consultation and education to community agencies as well as to other health professionals concerned with psychogeriatric problems.
• To prevent hospitalization when possible and to facilitate rehabilitation and reintegration when hospitalization is necessary.

Our Team

The local team consists of a nurse based in Elliot Lake and a psychiatrist providing monthly on-site consultations. The program is affiliated with the Seniors' Mental Health Program at North Bay Psychiatric Hospital.

Admission Criteria

Our target population includes:

• Seniors (e.g. usually over age 65) with one or more of the following:
  • Mental Health problems/illness complicated by age-related medical illness and/or functional needs
  • Severe mental illness and require complex care (e.g. residence in a Long-Term Care Facility and/or have functional limitations)
  • Behavioural problems associated with dementia and/or other mental illness
  • Severe, late on-set mental illness
• Persons under the age of 65, who have an age-related illness, (e.g. a 52 year-old with Alzheimer's disease and suspiciousness).
• Must be medically stable.
• Must reside within the catchment area of Elliot Lake and Thessalon to Webbwood.

Information Needed at Time of Referral

• Demographic information on patient (e.g. name, date of birth, health insurance number, next-of-kin, preferred language).
• Reason for referral: intervention requested; description of problem; onset and severity of symptoms/behaviour.
• Past medical and psychiatric history.
• Current medications and allergies.
• Recent investigations including other speciality consultations and laboratory screen (see below). (Recent results are useful prior to assessment to rule out physical causes for the symptoms/behaviors.)

Suggested Investigations Prior to Referral
(Please endorse with referral form)