Geriatric Mental Health Outreach Team (GMHOT)

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare’s (HDGH) GMHOT works to enhance the mental health and well-being of older adults living at home in the community, in long-term care or retirement homes, who exhibit significant mental health issues and/or behavioural expressions. A focus will be on individuals living with significant mental health diagnoses, where their experiences in the past year have caused a functional impairment that substantially interferes with or limits their daily functioning. The goals of GMHOT are to improve the health and well-being of older adults experiencing symptoms of mental health, in order to reduce the need for psychiatric admissions and visits to hospital emergency departments, and to enhance the knowledge and skills of care partners and staff in various community settings.

The program is time limited and consists of comprehensive psychogeriatric assessment, psychoeducation, counselling and psychiatric treatment.

Goals

The goals of GMHOT are to:

• Improve the health and wellbeing of older adults experiencing symptoms of mental health.
• Reduce the need for psychiatric admissions and visits to hospital emergency departments.
• Enhance the knowledge and skills of formal or informal care parterns.

Reason for Referral

You may be referred to GMHOT if you are experiencing any of the following: anxiety, depression or mood disorders; behaviours usually associated with cognitive changes such as wandering, screaming, yelling and swearing; changes in behaviour such as physical or verbal aggression, sleep, appetite and interest; delirium; increased confusion; paranoia psychosis including hallucinations or delusions, resistance to care, sexual inappropriateness or disinhibited behaviours.

Referrals

All referrals to GMHOT must be submitted by a physician or Nurse Practitioner. Patients with an existing community psychiatrist will be eligible for a second opinion should their community psychiatrist facilitate the referral.

Cost

Services at HDGH are funded by the Ministry of Health. Services are provided without direct costs upon presentation of a valid OHIP card. 

Central Registration

Upon arrival to HDGH please present to the Central Registration Department, prior to proceeding to your appointment. Central Registration is located within the main entrance, across from the Courtyard Café.

Please arrive 15 min before your appointment in order to allow enough time to register.

Contact

Geriatric Mental Health Outreach Team

2nd Floor Casgrain Building

1453 Prince Road

Windsor, ON  N9C 3Z4

Phone

519.257.5125 ext. 3 OR 519.257.5105

Fax 

519.257.5197 

Hours

Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 

Families’ and Friends’ Role in Promoting Safety

Family members and friends play an important role in patient safety.  Encouraging
attendance of appointments, taking medications and asking to be involved in
understanding and facilitating treatment plans is recommended among family
members and friends.  If family members and friends have serious concerns
about a loved one’s safety and well-being please utilize emergency (911) or
crisis hotline (519-973-4435) services or locations (nearest emergency room or
crisis centre) as needed.  You are always allowed to provide us with
information however we may not be able to relay information/feedback to you
directly.  For any important messages the hospital contact information is
provided on this website under the Contacts link.  
Thank you for your role in promoting safety.