A $35-million donation — divided between CHEO and SickKids pediatric hospitals — is enabling better, more precise treatment for children and youth with mental illness .

At a time when emergency room visits for young people with mental illness are spiking, the donation from philanthropist Bruce McKean and the Waverley House Foundation will transform the ability of health professionals to target treatments for better outcomes, say researchers.

“Traditional mental health treatments are our best and most current option for children and youth. But for up to half of the kids we see in hospital for these issues, standard treatments just don’t work,” said Dr. Kathleen Pajer, senior scientist with the CHEO Research Institute and director of the CHEO Precision Child and Youth Mental Health C

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