Careers within Health PEI: Acute and Complex Care for Mental Health and Addictions

Leslie Warren, Director of Acute and Complex Care for Mental Health and Addictions, says her own personal career journey in the mental health and addictions field has been very rewarding. “Looking back, I never would have thought that my whole career would have been in this field, but I could not imagine myself anywhere else.”

Leslie leads the mental health units at Prince County Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and King’s County Memorial Hospital.

As director, her responsibilities also include the Hillsborough Hospital, the Provincial Addictions Treatment Facility (PATF) and the new Mental Health and Addictions Emergency Department at the QEH in Charlottetown. This department, which opened on February 27, 2024, is the first of its kind in the province and in Atlantic Canada.

“The new Mental Health and Addictions Emergency Department is certainly a welcome addition to our services,” says Leslie. “As a result, we do not have clients needing this type of care sitting in the QEH emergency department for hours waiting for treatment. Clients can now come to a designated area that is very welcoming and focused on their needs. It is quite a privilege to be involved in the whole reorganization of the division.”

Further advancements and plans in motion

In 2018, a Mental Health and Addictions Master Program vision document was created. The overall vision is “All people living on PEI will have equal opportunity to achieve and maintain the best possible mental health and wellbeing throughout their lifetime.”

The document focuses on future capacity needs for the next 10 years and on the development of an innovative, world-class model of care for the entire mental health and addictions care continuum.

As part of a capital redevelopment project, the current Hillsborough Hospital will be replaced by the new Mental Health and Addictions Acute Care Facility and Life Skills Centre.

“It is so exciting because the new building will be aesthetically very pleasing to the eye and offer a comfortable environment. It will have a lot of windows and natural light, with rooms facing the water. Our staff will have the space and support to be able to expand the programming. This development has been a long time coming.

“QEH Unit 9, which was an acute care mental health unit, will be transitioned into a child and youth unit.”

Careers, recruitment efforts, and expansion of scope of practice

The new Mental Health and Addictions Emergency Department provides 24/7 access for people experiencing a mental health, addiction and/or substance use crisis.

The department is staffed by a multi-disciplinary team of trained healthcare providers who assess, stabilize, and manage urgent care needs.

The new 8,000 square foot facility has seven assessment rooms, a family room, consult rooms, and a central workstation for the healthcare team.

The adjoining Short Stay Unit will open in the coming months. The Short Stay Unit has four rooms for people who require a brief hospital admission of 72 hours or less, and two transition rooms for those awaiting transfer to an inpatient mental health bed.

“That unit is not open yet only because we have not been able to get our full staff complement. We are continuously working on trying to fill those positions.”

Team members include Psychiatrists, Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Social Workers, and Clerks.

About 600 staff work within Mental Health and Addictions across PEI. Leslie’s team consists of the following:

“Recruitment is ongoing, and we are creating new positions because we are seeing shortages with the frontline staff and psychiatry.

“We are enriching psychiatry services by working to expand the role of Nurse Practitioners. Their scope of practice is evolving all the time, so we are working on how to harness these expansions to support the psychiatry group.

“Psychology is another discipline we have expanded upon. For years acute mental health went without psychology professionals, and now we have two Psychologists. They are a crucial part of the teams and give clients a richer experience with us. They really dig down into the testing to confirm a diagnosis. This add-on has been worth its weight in gold.”

Recent legislation added a new nursing profession, Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN). That designation can be earned by allowing Registered Nurses (RNs) and RPNs who possess advanced education to apply for a special authorization to prescribe, dispense, and administer certain medications.

Career opportunities in healthcare on PEI

Physicians – PEI has many opportunities for physicians in family practice and in a variety of specialty areas such as Emergency Room Physicians, Psychiatrists, Anesthetists, Physiatrists, and Internists, to name a few. Also, opportunities are available for Associate Physicians and Physician Assistants.

Nursing – Many nursing positions are available across PEI in areas such as Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nurse, and Licensed Practical Nurse.

Also, there is a demand for Patient/Resident Support Services including Resident Care Worker (RCW), and Patient Care Worker (PCW).

Allied health professionals are also in demand. Those careers include Social Workers, Social Service Workers, Behavioural Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapist Assistants, and Physiotherapists, Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, Clinical Chemists, Medical Laboratory Technologists, Medical Physicists, Psychologists, and Registered Midwives.

Leslie’s career journey

Leslie has worked in the field of mental health and addictions for 33 years.

“I was a 21-year-old graduate from an RN program in Ontario and moved to PEI right after graduation in 1989. My mother was an Islander. At that time, nursing jobs were not plentiful like they are now, and it was a struggle to find a job.

“I fell into mental health, which was not my choice at the time, but it was my start. I went from one temporary position to the next, and I absolutely fell in love with that area of healthcare.”

Her journey began with frontline work in acute care. She moved into community work with community mental health in behaviour therapy and then into mental health crisis response nursing and the emergency department.

The opportunity came up for a nursing supervisor position in the justice system. “For five years I worked as a nursing supervisor for the three custody sites on PEI, working with clients with mental health and addiction issues.

“Every five years I found different career opportunities. I was awarded the position of nurse manager in the inpatient withdrawal unit at PATF and did that for five years. I then moved into the administrator role at PCH, overlooking the addiction services within that hospital. Five years later, I was offered a position as acute care manager for mental health, which evolved into my current position.”

Leslie furthered her education by earning a master’s in health management from McMaster University in the spring of this year. “There is always opportunity for personal growth.”

How to apply for a position with Health PEI

All positions are posted on Jobs PEI.

“The hiring manager, along with someone from mental health and addictions and the Public Service Commission, sit in on the job interviews,” says Leslie.