Human Resources committee  I think we can do more, particularly in the mental health field. I think we're better at it in other areas of health care.

Human Resources committee  We have large national and international collaboratives around patient safety and quality, for example, but we don't tend to apply those principles as much to the area of mental health. I think there is great opportunity there. We've come a long way in standardizing approaches f

Human Resources committee  Mental health is a very complex field.

Human Resources committee  I'll start with saying that, but the innovation I think we've seen in our region has been, again, trying to move upstream, more community-based services, and more group services so that we can serve a hundred families at a time as opposed to waiting for an appointment with a psyc

Human Resources committee  I'll maybe tackle the first part, and Dr. Lipman can tackle the second.

Human Resources committee  We know now, and have known for probably over a decade, that most mental illnesses begin in early childhood, so intervening early and aggressively gives us the best outcomes, whether it's in the childhood years or as young adults and beyond. The investment has to happen early. We

Human Resources committee  There are academic institutions or a variety of mechanisms in doing that. To segue into your previous comment about policy, where the federal government can have an impact is providing resources for research, where we can look at best evidence and where our best opportunity is. W

Human Resources committee  I would agree. I think there is a significant role for the federal government to lead in this initiative around child and youth mental health. Of course, the federal government is not the care provider. That is rolled down to the provinces. However, providing “thought leadership”

Human Resources committee  Yes. I think that's a great question. It actually leads back to your policy comment, or question: how do you share best practices?

Human Resources committee  Thank you. Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I am joined by Ellen Lipman by video conference, as you mentioned. I just want to point out that Dr. Lipman is the head of our child and youth mental health program at the hospital, which is one o