Messages from our leadership
Expanding access, hope, and new possibilities
The Royal has a strong commitment to both improving care for people with mental health and substance use health needs and to making it easier for individuals to get the care they need when and where they need it.
This purpose and the people who are dedicated to bringing it to life are what inspired me to step into the role of chair of The Royal’s board of trustees one year ago. Today, I continue to feel not only inspired but also proud of how far we have come.
While the past year has not been without its challenges – the ongoing mental health impacts of the pandemic, staffing shortages throughout the health care sector, and changes in our leadership team – it has also been a year of incredible achievements.
Our physicians, staff, scientists, and volunteers, as well as clients, families, and community partners have worked together to expand access, hope, and new possibilities for people with mental health and substance use health needs. They are truly champions of hope. They have created a new clinic to fill a gap in care for individuals with schizophrenia and support for their families, expanded access to novel treatments for individuals living with severe and difficult-to-treat depression, and opened a new resource hub designed for clients and families by clients and families. These are just a few of this year’s accomplishments; many others are highlighted throughout this report.
As a board, our focus is to ensure The Royal has both the governance and the leadership in place to support its purpose and provide oversight as the organization works towards the goals set forth in its strategy. Over the past year, we have established a set of priorities and moved forward on a number of actions to enhance this work. You can read a summary of our actions and priorities here.
We recently welcomed Pierre Noel as interim president and CEO, and Dr. Gail Beck as interim chief of staff. A search is currently underway to fill these roles permanently. Pierre and Gail are dedicated leaders who are working closely together to help prepare the organization for our future, while keeping focus on The Royal’s top priority, which is always providing excellent client- and family-centred mental health care for our community.
On behalf of The Royal’s board of trustees and our community as a whole, I would also like to express our sincere thanks to everyone at The Royal for all the hard work and dedication they have shown over the past year. We are also deeply grateful for all the clients and family members whose lived expertise has been key to our accomplishments this year and is an essential part of our ongoing work – thank you for sharing your knowledge. I look forward to the future we are building together.
Finally, I want to thank my colleagues on the board of trustees for their valuable contributions of time, knowledge and governance over the past year and their ongoing commitment to excellence.
Sharon Squire
Chair, board of trustees
Laying the groundwork for a bright future at The Royal
The Royal’s greatest strength is its people. Over the past four months, since becoming interim president and CEO, I have had the opportunity to meet many of the staff, physicians, scientists, and volunteer leaders whose dedication and compassion are part of the fabric of The Royal.
While the past several years have not been easy for anyone in health care, and The Royal is no exception, this team has managed to do the most incredible thing: they have continued to create hope for all people with mental health and substance use health needs. Indeed, they are champions of hope.
This hope comes in part from the everyday things our team members do to support their clients along the path to recovery – this is the essence of caring for our community.
Then there are the big things: collaborating with clients and families to build new services and create new treatments that are helping to fill the many unmet needs within the world of mental health.
Even in my short time at The Royal, I have been privileged to see the opening of the new Client and Family Resource Hub as well as the launch of the BMO Innovative Clinic for Depression. These are products of years of dedicated work involving staff, physicians, scientists, clients and families working side-by-side to bring our community what it needs, creating hope for a better tomorrow.
There is still a lot of work ahead of us too. My job as interim CEO is to lay the groundwork for The Royal’s future. I am committed to ensuring our teams have what they need to thrive, to continue innovating, and to fully realize the vision of expanding access, hope and new possibilities for people with mental health and addictions needs.
I feel privileged to do this work alongside an incredible group of leaders, staff and physicians, as well as the members of The Royal’s client and family advisory councils who bring so much wisdom and inspiration to the table.
I am inspired by how much everyone at The Royal truly cares about the communities we serve. It is my great honour to be a part of this incredible team as they prepare to embark on the next chapter of mental health care innovation.
Pierre Noel
Interim chair and CEO of The Royal
Research is care.
This philosophy guides everything we do at the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR). Together with our colleagues throughout The Royal as well as clients and family members, we are integrating research-based treatments and cutting-edge technology with clinical care. Through research, we are improving access to care and bringing hope to those who are struggling.
Our goal is that every client of The Royal will have the opportunity to participate in research. This is entrenched in our strategy. As of March 2023, there were more than 156 research studies underway at The Royal. They span major depression and suicide prevention research; schizophrenia and other tertiary conditions; PTSD in members of the military and veterans; vulnerable populations; social determinants of health; sleep; and substance use and concurrent disorders. Interprofessional and interdisciplinary teams conduct each study with the clients at the centre of our work.
Clients can participate in research that leverages new knowledge and technologies, including human brain imaging (PET/MR) and neuromodulation, as well as multi-modal approaches. This enables clients to receive innovative care today, while we create the treatments of the future. This year alone, we provided more than 200 treatments in our esketamine clinic. In addition, thanks to our research-based and personalized approach, our neuromodulation research clinic achieved a treatment response rate of 75 per cent, versus the average of 55 per cent.
In the past year, the IMHR board of directors established an Integrative Research Committee that will guide research excellence, and the development of a new Strategic Research Plan. Working with clients, their families and other organizations providing care in the community, we will develop a collaborative and ecosystem-based Strategic Research Plan that will include client- and family-oriented research, clinically informed cutting-edge research, and translation of research into care to improve client outcomes.
A notable element of that plan will be our research on personalized interventions – in other words, how to determine the best course of treatment for each person from the outset of their care. This requires precise and objective diagnosis – something we do not have today (there is no blood test to diagnose mental illness, for example), but thanks in part to significant new funding and partnerships across the research community, we are making progress.
Our progress includes using AI-powered approaches to develop and refine our diagnostic capabilities, as well as treatment response prediction. Our Clinical Brain Research Centre (CBRC) is central to this work; it will bring together our neuromodulation, esketamine and brain imaging clinics and research. You can learn more about the CBRC here.
Research grants play a significant funding role for our research, and in the past year, our grant application success rate was almost 56 per cent, the highest it has been in at least five years. Our external grant awards total $7.3 million (up from $6.8 million last year). Many of the government grants we receive require institutional matching funds, which means that we would not be able to do what we do without the support from our generous donors.
Everything that we have accomplished in the last year is the product of collaboration, rigorous and challenging discussions, and deep dedication. Thank you to our talented team – 18 scientists, 48 clinical investigators and 74 students, along with our research staff and management team – and to our board of directors as well as all our client, family and community partners. Your commitment to improving the lives of those living with mental illness truly makes you champions of hope.
Steve West
Chair, IMHR board of directors
Florence Dzierszinski
President, IMHR; VP Research, The Royal
A message of gratitude to our partners in philanthropy
As we look back on the past year at The Royal, we are filled with gratitude for all the ways our community of donors and volunteers have helped us bring hope to those struggling with mental illness and substance use disorders.
Philanthropy has played a crucial role in our success, allowing us to accelerate groundbreaking discoveries and advancements in care, and enhance access to effective treatment for people not only in Ottawa but also across the country. Your generosity has been essential in our ability to achieve this goal – thank you!
In this report to the community, you will read about the establishment of the Ozerdinc Grimes Family Regional Psychosis Clinic and the BMO Innovative Clinic for Depression as just two examples of how visionary philanthropic support has helped us bring more informed and effective care to those in need. Additionally, the new donor-supported Client and Family Resource Hub will be a transformative resource for clients and their families in navigating the mental health care system and discovering innovative pathways for recovery and healing.
We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the many individuals, families, and organizations who have supported The Royal through their attendance at events, buying a Mindfull gift, becoming a monthly donor, raising money in honour of a loved one, or by making a direct donation. The impact of our fundraising events, including The Royal's Leaders for Mental Health Breakfast, The Royal Open Golf Tournament, and over 65 community fundraisers, including the Shoppers Drug Mart Run for Women and many DIFD-inspired events, has been immense. Together, our supporters have helped many more people access personalized recovery-oriented care, and we are so incredibly grateful for their contributions.
As we look to the future, we know that there is still much work to be done. Mental health and substance use health are among the most pressing issues facing our society today, and The Royal is determined to continue leading the way in research, innovation, and breakthroughs in care. Your support is critical in helping us achieve these goals and bring hope to those who need it most.
It is through your kindness and generosity that The Royal is able to continue its work and make a real difference in the lives of so many. Thank you for your unwavering support and for all that you do.
Sincerely,
Jane Duchscher
Board chair, Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health
Chris Ide
President, Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health
