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MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release:

May 15 , 2012

LHSC’s PEPP program wins mental health champion award

LONDON, Ontario – London Health Sciences Centre’s Prevention & Early Intervention Program for Psychoses (PEPP) was the recipient of the 2012 Mental Health Champion Award at this year’s Breakfast of Champions event, presented by St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation and the Canadian Mental Health Association.

PEPP is a world-renowned community-based treatment program for young adults with a first episode of non-affective psychoses in the London-Middlesex County. The majority of clients at PEPP are between the ages of 16 and 25 years. The primary goal is early intervention, offering specialized treatment and support for full and meaningful recovery. PEPP also aspires to reduce the stigma related to psychoses through public education and advocacy.

“Research at PEPP has shown that the quicker clients receive treatment, the better their outcome is. Also, good pre-illness functioning and having social supports predicts favourable outcome”, says Dr. Rahul Manchanda, physician lead for the PEPP program.

Realizing early on that recovery flourishes when individual strengths, abilities and accomplishments are valued and fostered within an accepting environment, in 2002 program staff created the now highly anticipated “Creative Minds” bi-annual exhibit, showcasing selected artwork by a variety of individuals whose lives have been affected by PEPP in some way. The next show will take place from October 30 – November 10, 2012 at the ARTS Project on Dundas Street.

It is this innovation and focus on a holistic approach to treatment and recovery that earned the program this distinguished award, and has resulted in approximately 45 to 55 new first episode psychotic clients per year (the general incidence is 15 – 20 people per 100,000 per year) entering treatment and receiving the quality care they need at the earliest moment possible.

“The PEPP program is a team of dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to ensure our patients are receiving the best and most effective care possible in their time of need. This program team epitomizes our vision of exceptional experiences, extraordinary people and engaging partnerships, and I offer my congratulations to them on this distinguished award”, says Bonnie Adamson, President and CEO of London Health Sciences Centre.

About London Health Sciences Centre

London Health Sciences Centre has been in the forefront of medicine in Canada for 137 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, South Street Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute, a joint research initiative with St. Joseph’s Health Care London. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 50 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca

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For media inquiries contact:

Kathy Leblanc

Corporate Communications and Public Relations

London Health Sciences Centre

519-685-8500, ext. 74772

kathy.leblanc@lhsc.on.ca

After-hours assistance:

Call LHSC Switchboard at 519-685-8500 and ask to page the communication consultant on-call