Creating Primary Care Access for Mental Health Care Clients using a Shared Care Approach by Tamison Doey, MD, FRCPC, Program Coordinator, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The University of Western Ontario SWOMEN, Windsor, London, Ontario

Successful support of persons living with a mental illness in the community is challenged by an increased demand for community mental health services and lack of primary care physicians. Believing that provision of holistic care was critical to achieving wellness for clients, the Canadian Mental Health Association--Windsor Essex County Branch (CMHC-WECB) created a shared care clinic at the Branch office serving families impacted by mental illness, utilizing a nurse practitioner and a family physician; one of the first of its kind in Canada. Client data demonstrated fewer emergency room visits, fewer hospital admissions and high client utilization and satisfaction.