OKP in Parry Sound today

One Kids Place
News Release

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PARRY SOUND – Children and youth with special needs and their families will receive services closer to home, as One Kids Place, the new Children’s Treatment Centre (CTC) serving the Districts of Parry Sound, Muskoka and Nipissing officially opened its Parry Sound CTC Site located in the Parry Sound Mall.

Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller and Linda Kenny Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Association of Children’s Rehabilitation Services (OACRS) joined OKP Board Chair, Marg Hughes, Executive Director, Judy Sharpe; Campaign Co-chair Scott Clark; and parent of a special needs child, Dawn Crawford, to cut the ribbon to officially open the new Site.

“The Board is so pleased to have this new clinic in Parry Sound to provide services to children and youth and their families in their home community” states Marg Hughes, OKP Board Chair. “OKP provides specialized therapy services throughout the Region and having CTC Sites in all three Districts means families will have a place to go to ask questions and receive much needed occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy and specialized clinic services for their kids” confirms Hughes.

“This new Centre means more services and access to specialized services that have not historically been available to our families in the Districts of Parry Sound and Muskoka” states Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller. “One Kids Place Children’s Treatment Centre is a welcome addition to the children’s and health service systems in the District of Parry Sound” said Mr. Miller.

Dawn Crawford, parent of a special needs child confirms this and reports “All of the transitions for Alex were made easy; everyone was friendly, helpful and readily available to answer our questions. Having the Centre allowed me to observe and participate in therapy and then go home and help Alex develop the skills that we were working on.”

Linda Kenny, Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Association of Children’s Rehabilitation Services, reinforced the importance of family-centered practice and highlighted the important connections between One Kids Place and other Children’s Treatment Centres in the Province through the OACRS umbrella. “One Kids Place has truly demonstrated its commitment and ability to deliver a regional pediatric service to local communities while fostering strong connections with other specialized pediatric services across the province” states Kenny.

“One Kids Place is constructing a new regional facility in North Bay, which will connect the Parry Sound and Muskoka CTC Sites with North Bay to truly create a specialized regional facility, a Centre of Excellence in pediatric care” states Judy Sharpe, Executive Director of One Kids Place. “This new facility will significantly help us to recruit and retain health professionals to live and work in the North and connect them to specialized services located elsewhere in the Province” confirms Sharpe.

One Kids Place has launched a Capital Campaign with Co-Chairs Scott Clark and Dr. Joseph Madden to engage individuals, businesses and the community to raise the remaining $2.9 million dollars required to build the new facility, which will assist children and youth and their families living in Parry Sound, Muskoka and Nipissing.

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