Welcome to Grandview Children's Centre!
Executive Director's View
December 2012
Thank you for visiting our website. Please accept my warmest Grandview welcome!
As 2013 begins I am reminded of a quote by Marie Baynon Ray:
“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in an eternity, we only have this moment sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake.”
The quote captures the essence of what is underway across Grandview Children’s Centre. Guided by our Strategic Plan: Inspiring Possibilities 2012-2017, we continue to build capacity for the future.
2013 will mark Grandview’s 60th year of building for the future. We resolve to use each and every “moment “ and opportunity to meet the present and future demand/need for our service across Durham Region.
Read about our strategic imperatives in our Strategic Plan. These imperatives include:
- Service Delivery, Quality, Safety and Performance
- Transformation and Integration
- Innovation and Knowledge Exchange
Enabling goals associated with the strategic imperatives build upon strong foundational elements in place at Grandview. Our enabling goals are:
- People
- Technology
- Governance
- Facilities and Space
We continue to be in urgent need of new facilities and space.
Our main Oshawa location was built in 1986 to serve 400 children. Grandview now serves close to 5,000 children, youth and families.
Not only have we seriously outgrown our space but the “type” of space we require has changed as well. Increasingly evidence is showing the effective use of group intervention and parent/caregiver/provider education in assisting families to meet the goals they set for their children and youth. Due to space limitations, our capacity to offer these kinds of interventions cannot be maximized.
In 2009, Grandview submitted a capital development plan to the Government of Ontario for a new facility. Economic times have resulted in no funding being allocated to the project to date.
We continue to advocate for the plan, and are currently reworking it to have the facility “fit” on a smaller parcel of land. That means building up instead of sprawling. We are hopeful this will result in a decreased overall cost to build.
We are also signalling to government that we will do what is needed to reduce the overall financial burden and undertake local fundraising should we get the green light to proceed.
We are also examining our role as a centre for training the next generation of rehabilitation providers. Our expert clinicians already do a significant amount of education and training and we are examining how this focus can be built into our plans.
We are “doing what we need to do now" ... we know that the potential of the children youth and families must not melt like a snowflake in our hands; we must continue to do everything we can to ensure the services and supports are available for families in Durham Region so that we can give every child the chance to access life in a vibrant, accessible community.
We will keep you updated with our progress on our website and through our newsletter and social media channels, so be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
May 2013 bring you and your family health, happiness and inspired possibilities.
It remains an honour to lead this organization and the dedicated professionals who provide expert care here.
Best,
Lorraine Sunstrum-Mann ECEDH, R.N., B.A., M.B.A.
Executive Director