Adapt, Persevere and Grow – A Pandemic Tale of Resilience and Courage

Mar 9, 2022

Reflections from our CEO Dr. Valerie Grdisa

On the day the Canadian Mental Health Association, Simcoe County Board announced Feb. 4, 2020, that Valerie Grdisa would become its new chief executive officer; there were three confirmed cases in Canada of what was then called the “novel coronavirus.” By the time Dr. Grdisa officially assumed her post on March 23^rd, 2020, the Government of Ontario had declared a state of emergency, the worst pandemic in a century was shutting down economies, threatening health care systems and COVID-19 was well on its way to infecting more than 120 million people and causing more than 2.6 million deaths worldwide.

But while the global threat was unprecedented, the local response by CMHA rose to meet it, preserving essential services, boosting supports to keep clients and staff safe, and creating innovative ways to serve, many of them with community partners. “We had to triage CMHA clients to determine their service needs like the emergency department and then we really focused on client and staff safety,” said John Henderson, the branch’s lead on quality improvement and risk management.

Upon Grdisa’s arrival, changes were put in place with all but the most critical essential services being provided virtually from home.  While the coming wave of infection was swift, the management team soon realizes other dangers lurked beyond.  “At first we were very reactive, anticipating a sprint,” said Lynne Cheliak, director of clinical services, who teamed with Grdisa in leading the response. “Now we realize (it’s) a marathon.”

The Senior Management Team met daily during the first wave, to learn of the latest developments and best guidance from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Public Health Ontario, and with the state of scientific knowledge being a ‘work-in-progress.’

The ability to be nimble was critical, so the management team worked closely with team leaders, staff, volunteers and community partners to adapt. Their core mission was to look after the most vulnerable clients, collaborate with community partners to improve access to essential services and reduce strain on a health care system burdened by the pandemic.  “We wanted to support community partners as these are our shared clients,” said Rebecca Harris, a research, evaluation and quality improvement analyst. The pandemic placed so much strain on the community but its members gained a deeper sense of the importance of mental health and well-being, harm reduction and lived experience that “should strengthen the bonds between area residents and CMHA Simcoe County”, said Sheri Scaini, manager of safety, security and facilities. “It has elevated awareness and understanding,” she said.

Grdisa directed the senior management team to create an inclusive and collaborative approach to co-create a way forward with staff representing diverse perspectives from across the agency.  The COVID-19 Prioritization Committee was launched with a core steering committee and four working groups focused on the emergency response: (1) Clinical, (2) Corporate, (3) People, and (4) IT/Virtual Care.  The initial goal was to create a pandemic plan but this evolved into a comprehensive operational plan.  More than 40 staff rose to the challenge, joining the four working groups and putting their expertise and energy into our coordinated response.

The plan was designed to be flexible so that strategies could be amended to meet the demands of a pandemic that has already delivered two waves and might bring a third.  “CMHA-Simcoe County Branch recognizes that evidence, information, and directives related to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Provincial State of Emergency and Ontario’s Action Plan is emerging and evolving continuously and our operational plan must follow a parallel fluidity,” the introduction of the plan states.

The voices of and solutions from the staff came as Dr. Grdisa engaged them through discussion, emails, surveys and virtual town halls; building a sense of teamwork and drawing upon the resources of each to build better ways to serve clients and keep them and staff safe.  Those efforts and that support empowered people across the organizations to adapt and innovate, their efforts reflected in this winter newsletter, which details creative and courageous efforts by staff and volunteers, including Youth Shine Fundraising, Crisis Services, Peer Support, the RSVP program, Assertive Community Treatment Teams, and collaborative efforts with paramedics and partners who operate shelters.

That frontline work was made possible by an information technology team that had to quickly find ways to shift so service could continue remotely or from new locations. Crisis phone lines needed to be re-routed to the hotel that became the adopted home for crisis services to adhere to public health measures, and that meant doing so in a way that preserved security and privacy, said Amit Dhaka, director of information technology.  The shift to remote work was made easier because in the prior year CMHA-SCB had changed to web-based email, he said.

Those changes also came with price tags and new staff, said Christina Liikane, chief operating officer and head of human resources.

“It’s changed immensely. We’ve never seen this amount of money made available, most of it one-time emergency funding,” she said. “It’s just been an unimaginable ride.”  From supplying PPE to securing funding at the start of the calendar year to hire security in the parking lot of the hotel now housing crisis beds, the branch has worked tirelessly access new funds and train new staff.  While the effort has been exhausting, Liikane said, it has also been enlightening.

While the switch to working from home for a portion of the workweek was forced by the pandemic, it turns out that virtual connections, in some circumstances, enhances productivity and services. “I think people are working more than (ever before),” Liikane said. That sort of effort and flexibility was also critical as the branch wrote its COVID-19 Operational Plan, and its importance has grown with the appearance of a second pandemic wave and concerns that a third might emerge. That ability to adapt has actually enhanced some programs services, and management, staff and volunteers alike believe some of the innovations will continue even as the scourge of the pandemic fades.

“We commend each of you on your adaptability, resiliency, and your unconditional commitment to your clients, team, and community during this period of uncertainty,” Dr. Grdisa wrote to the unwavering CMHA team.

Written by Jonathan Sher