Ontario Breaks Ground on New Children’s Treatment Centre in Ottawa

New CHEO Integrated Treatment Centre will protect provincial health care by connecting more children and youth to specialized care

OTTAWA — The Ontario government is celebrating the groundbreaking of the new CHEO Integrated Treatment Centre. This new, fully accessible and state-of-the-art children’s treatment centre will provide integrated and coordinated care under one roof to better serve children and youth living with complex medical, developmental and behavioural needs, connecting them to the care they need, closer to home.

“Every year, thousands of families from Leeds & Grenville and across Eastern Ontario travel to Ottawa to access programs and treatment at CHEO. Consolidating them into this modern, innovative facility makes care more convenient for families and can also lead to better outcomes for kids. Thank you to CHEO staff for the incredible life-saving and life-changing care you provide every day!” said MPP Steve Clark, who was at today’s event.

“Today’s groundbreaking is another step in our commitment to protecting Ontario’s provincial health care by improving services for children and youth with developmental needs,” said Michael Parsa, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. “We are deeply grateful for the work of CHEO, the CHEO Foundation’s Board of Directors and all the community advocates, organizations and local MPPs who have helped make this new facility a reality.”

The new CHEO Integrated Treatment Centre will consolidate services and programs across eight locations under one roof. Once completed, the state-of-the-art centre will better serve approximately 13,700 children and youth with special needs, along with their families, in eastern Ontario. The centre will be connected to the CHEO hospital, allowing for more convenient and connected care for children and their families.

The new centre will house a team of professionals who will provide a range of programs and services conveniently under one roof, including:

• On-site rehabilitation services, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech-language pathology, recreation therapy, and support therapies.
• Coordinating care for children and youth with multiple and/or complex special needs.
• Rehabilitation services at schools.
• Services for children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders, including, for example, services offered under the Ontario Autism Program and the Extensive Needs Service, which connects families to a multi-disciplinary team of professionals, including physicians, social workers and behavioural consultants to provide tailored supports based on the individual needs of the child or youth and their families.

“CHEO’s Integrated Treatment Centre is a key piece in our transformation to better meet the needs of children and youth,” said Dr. Vera Etches, President and CEO, CHEO. “This initiative will lead to better care integration and enhance the experience for children and youth dealing with complex medical, developmental, behavioural and mental health needs.”

The construction of the new, approximately 200,000 square foot site is a multi-year project funded by the Ontario government and CHEO and will be built by EllisDon Infrastructure OCH Inc, with completion expected in 2028.

Construction of this new facility is part of nearly $600 million in recent investments to build modernized facilities at children’s treatment centres across Ontario, including construction on the new Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent, planning for the new Lansdowne Children’s Centre in Brantford, successful completion of Grandview Kids in Ajax, and the successful relocation of Health Sciences North Children’s Treatment Centre in Sudbury.