CanReach
PROGRAM INFORMATION
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation (ACHF) funded a Mental Health Literacy initiative through Alberta Health Services, resulting in programs MORE, SMILES, and CanREACH joining the AHS portfolio CAAMHPP (Child and Adolescent Addiction, Mental Health and Psychiatry Program) in 2014. Of these initiatives, CanREACH was specific to pediatric mental health literacy for primary care providers. As one component of the CanREACH program, CanREACH is a licensee of The Resource for Advancing Children’s Health (REACH) Institute PPP training. CanREACH is a REACH approved site to independently offer this training, and has adopted the training into the Canadian context. The evidence of success that CanREACH had in its first five years, led CanREACH to receive a Health Innovation Implementation and Spread (HIIS) fund to adopt and measure a provincial strategy. Further, CanREACH has supported initiatives in other Canadian provinces, has received national accolades, and has published evidence of success.
Awards
2019
Children’s Healthcare Canada – Organizational Leadership Award
2019
President’s Excellence – Outstanding Achievements in Innovation and Research Excellence Award
2018
College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) – Continuing Professional Development Program Award
2016
Alberta Health Services, Department of Psychiatry – Excellence in Systems Transformation Award
Medical Journal Publications
Write Ups
CanReach Faculty
CanREACH is led by Calgary based Course Master Dr. Sam Chang (Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist) and Course Facilitator Dr. Eden McCaffrey (Medical Education/Clinical Therapist), with the support of Program Administrator Elizabeth Belyea.
Physician Faculty include:
- Dr. Abdul Rahman – Psychiatrist (Calgary, AB)
- Dr. Geraldine Farrelly – Paediatrician (Calgary, AB)
- Dr. Roxanne Swiegers – Family Physician (Medicine Hat, AB)
- Dr. Blair Ritchie – Psychiatrist (Calgary, AB)
- Dr. Tina Nicholson – Family Physician (Cochrane, AB)
- Dr. Roxanne Goldade – Paediatrician (Calgary, AB)
- Dr. Deb Putnam – Family Physician (Calgary, AB)
- Dr. Alice Leung – Psychiatrist (Edmonton, AB)
- Dr. Paul Soper – Psychiatrist (Edmonton, AB)
- Dr. Beren Hollins – Family Physician (Vegreville, AB)
- Dr. Suzanne Squires – Family Physician (Edmonton, AB)
- Dr. Yeng Chang – Family Physician (Edmonton, AB)
- Dr. Branda D’Souza Singh – Paediarician (St. Albert, AB)
- Dr. Leigh Wincott – Paediarician (Edmonton, AB)
Program learning outcomes/goals
The learning outcomes of the CanREACH Program are :
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Primary care providers will improve their mental health knowledge and skills, as well as self-efficacy.
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Primary care providers will improve their mental health services for children and families by:
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Formulating accurate and comprehensive mental health diagnosis
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Accurately identifying child and family strengths and risks
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Effectively moving research into practice settings by providing appropriate evidence-based treatment
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Practicing collaboratively with other relevant community professionals when formulating a diagnosis and treatment plan
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Actively engaging the child and family in all aspects of treatment
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Providing ongoing mental health care tailored to the child and family’s individual needs
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Appropriately referring children and youth for further mental health treatment when necessary
