Ontario Shores faces three-month waits as 23% of first responders live with PTSD
407 ETR is directing $2m to the Ontario Shores Foundation for Mental Health to expand trauma and post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) treatment for first responders, healthcare workers, and others in Ontario.
The funding will increase clinical staffing, strengthen peer-support collaborations with paramedic services and support province-wide awareness efforts encouraging earlier treatment.
407 ETR said demand for trauma and PTSI treatment continues to outpace available capacity.
The Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment puts the share of first responders living with PTSD at 23 percent.
Average wait time for trauma care at Ontario Shores runs three months, and more than 1,800 patients access its trauma and PTSD services annually.
Ontario Shores’ coordinated model ranges from in-hospital treatment for serious PTSI to community-based programs for mild to moderate needs, and is designed to reduce wait times, improve access and direct clinical resources to areas of greatest demand.
Sanaz Riahi, executive vice-president, transformation, clinical services, practice and CNE at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences in Whitby, said in the announcement the 407 ETR investment will help the hospital’s coordinated care model reduce wait times and allow earlier intervention for first responders and others affected by trauma.
Jose Espinosa, president and CEO of 407 ETR, said in the announcement that the company relies on first responders to keep the highway moving safely and to support customers.
He said the partnership builds on 407 ETR’s investment in Runnymede Healthcare’s first responder programs and reflects its commitment to “expanding access to specialized trauma and PTSI care.”
The announcement said 407 ETR committed $14.5m to health care investments across the Greater Toronto Area in 2026.
That includes $5m to Runnymede Healthcare Centre for two treatment facilities in Toronto and Caledon and for PTSI rehabilitation programs for first responders.
Runnymede houses Ontario’s first Post-Traumatic Stress Injury Centre for First Responders.
Another $7.5m went to the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine.
The TMU Integrated Health Centre, which 407 ETR supports and which is attached to the school, is expected to provide primary care to more than 14,000 Brampton residents without a family doctor.
CPP Investments holds 44.20 percent of 407 ETR and PSP Investments holds 7.51 percent, alongside other institutional investors with non-controlling interests.
