NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
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Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital’s (OSMH) Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centre (SADVTC) recently celebrated their 25th Anniversary. The SADVTC team has been providing treatment to the women, men and children of Simcoe County and Muskoka for the past 25 years.
“We are thrilled to be celebrating this impressive milestone,” said Cheryl Harrison, OSMH Vice President of Regional Patient Programs “Each year this centre provides services to hundreds of people across Simcoe and Muskoka.”
Since its inception in 1993 more than 5,000 persons have utilized the specialized care offered by the SADVTC. When the program first opened its doors the team initially saw sexual assault clients (adolescents and adults) only.
In 1998, the program expanded its services to see women over the age of 16 who were experiencing domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence. The program again expanded its services in 2002, to see paediatric sexual abuse clients and again in 2005, to include paediatric physical abuse and neglect.
At this time, the Regional Centre for Suspected Child Abuse & Neglect (RCSCAN) was established. More recently, the care team consults on cases of elder abuse and human trafficking cases.
As the regional center the SADVTC partners with police services, the Child Advocacy Centre, shelters, victim services, and community counselling centres and together this enhances our service and has established our program success in meeting the needs of our community.
But the true success of the program would not have been realized without the dedicated and resilient staff who have worked hard over the years to expand the scope and breadth of services we provide to those in need within our region
SADVTC employs 4 registered nurses, 2 social workers and a manager, and work in collaboration with several other hospital departments. On average SADVTC sees 250 emergent clients per year.
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