Dec 12, 2025 | Mental Health, Leadership, Community and Partnerships, Faces of HDGH, Road to Recovery – Restorative Rehabilitative Care
As 2025 comes to a close, we find ourselves taking a moment to pause and appreciate just how much has happened at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare this year. From expanding urgent mental health and addictions services to opening new spaces for healing, this year was defined by meaningful progress, powerful partnerships, and moments of impact that will carry us into 2026 with renewed purpose. While there are many achievements to capture in a single reflection, here are just a few of the highlights that shaped our year and strengthened our mission.
A major achievement this year was transitioning the Mental Health and Addictions Urgent Care Clinic (MHAUCC) to be open and available for people to walk-in for service 24/7. This expansion ensures individuals, experiencing mental health or substance use challenges can access immediate, compassionate support at any time of day or night. In addition to this expansion, the MHAUCC welcomes policing and EMS partners to transition voluntary individuals in crisis to subject matter experts, freeing up time to respond to priority incidents and reducing emergency department wait times.
A groundbreaking milestone in 2025 was the introduction of Assertive Community Treatment Team for Children (ACT-C), the first of its kind in Canada. Modeled after the ACT Team for adults, ACT-C is a community-based, recovery-focused model designed to meet the complex needs of children ages 6–12 struggling with severe mental health challenges.
Using a transdisciplinary, family-centred approach, the team collaborates with community partners like the Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society (WECAS) to provide children and their families with a well-rounded network of support. Designed for flexibility, the ACT-C approach removes barriers and meets families where they are—at home and in the community.
This bold new model is transforming how early mental health care is delivered. In its first year, ACT-C has already begun making a meaningful difference for families in Windsor-Essex.
One of the most exciting milestones of 2025 was the opening of the HDGH Bob Probert Tecumseh Campus and the Toldo Outpatient Rehabilitation Centre.
The Bob Probert Tecumseh Campus was designed specifically to support residents of Tecumseh, Lakeshore, and rural Essex County who previously faced transportation barriers and struggled to access outpatient care. This campus helps change that. Now, individuals can receive outpatient rehabilitation, cardiac wellness support, and geriatric services much closer to where they live.
The new Toldo Outpatient Rehabilitation Centre feels different from the previous outpatient rehab space from the moment you enter. Surrounded by natural light, the environment feels warm and modern, and every detail has been thoughtfully designed to support the patient’s rehabilitation journey. Most importantly, it brings together a team of compassionate professionals who help patients rebuild strength, confidence, and independence, one step at a time.
Together, these two new centres reflect our commitment to equity, accessibility, and compassionate care.
This year, the Windsor Police Service and Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) through their collaborative Crisis Response Team (CRT) received a grant from the Ontario Government’s Community Safety and Policing Grant program, ensuring that this critical service will remain operational.
The CRT pairs crisis intervention-trained (CIT) police officers with CIT-trained social workers from HDGH and responds to dispatched calls to individuals presenting with symptoms of mental illness, substance use, behavioural disorders, or people in acute crises. This funding reflects confidence in CRT’s impact and how they de-escalate crisis situations, provide immediate mental health supports, and connect individuals with appropriate ongoing services or community supports.
A proud highlight of 2025 was the premiere of HDGH’s impact film, More than Medicine —a powerful project created to share real stories of recovery, resilience, and the human impact of the care delivered within our walls.
The film brought together patients, clients, families, and staff to capture what happens when healthcare extends beyond treatment plans and into connection, dignity, and hope. Hearing their voices was deeply powerful and a reminder of why we do this work.
Co-led by HDGH, the House of Sophrosyne, and Windsor Essex Community Health Centre (weCHC), the Windsor-Essex Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub is a testament to what we can accomplish when people come together with a shared purpose. It is a collaborative initiative that provides low-barrier, integrated care for individuals aged 16 and older who are experiencing homelessness and are seeking support for their addiction and mental health concerns, while addressing their housing needs. It’s a place built on dignity, compassion, and belief in recovery.
These moments represent only a handful of the many accomplishments, partnerships, and acts of compassion that defined 2025 at HDGH. If there’s one theme that carried through everything we achieved this year, it’s partnership.
As we close out 2025, our hearts are full. Full of gratitude for our staff, physicians, volunteers, donors, and partners who showed up for our community every single day. Full of appreciation for the individuals and families who trusted us during some of their most vulnerable moments. And full of excitement for what lies ahead.
Bill Marra is the President and CEO at HDGH and brings his 36 years of honourable leadership experience in health, public affairs, and community service to the HDGH executive team. Since joining HDGH in 2011, Bill has been steadfast in his goal to make HDGH the safest hospital in Ontario. He created an in-house security team to ensure the safety of patients and healthcare workers. Bill took on the role of President and CEO in January 2022 and in just one year, he led a person-centered model of care change in the Complex Medical Care and Palliative Units, introduced Personal Support Workers to the healthcare unit, established a HDGH Wellness Committee, and formed an EDII Alliance.