By Marie France Langlois, Commander, DCSM 3 (Ottawa)

In the provision of care and support to its ill and injured personnel, the Canadian Forces (CF) are far ahead of where they were ten years ago. As part of an ongoing process to improve the level of services, the CF has established a network of eight support centres to meet the needs of ill and injured personnel from the Navy, Army and Air Force, providing them with an integrated “one-stop service.”  The support centres, known as Integrated Personnel Support Centres (IPSCs), operate under the Joint Personnel Support Unit (JPSU), which is headquartered in Ottawa. The IPSCs will be located as follows:

• Vancouver, British Columbia;
• Edmonton, Alberta;
• Shilo, Manitoba;
• Toronto, Ontario;
• Petawawa, Ontario;
• Valcartier, Québec;
• Gagetown, New Brunswick; and
• Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Locations will open over the coming months. The individual IPSCs will be structured and staffed based on the size and relative needs of the population they serve. Approximately 117 new Full-Time positions will be filled across Canada.

In the near future, the JPSU will be the central military unit to which up to 30 IPSCs will belong. These Centres will be organized within eight regions and located at all larger CF bases, and in smaller communities as demand dictates.

These Centres will cater to both referrals and walk-in clients, to long-term injured personnel and to members considering retirement. It will respond to queries from family members regarding support services and programs for ill and injured personnel, and provide referrals as appropriate.

The services made available through the IPSCs will include the following:

• Return to Work (RTW) Program coordination
• Casualty Support Outreach delivery
• Casualty tracking
• Casualty Administrative and advocacy services
• Support Platoon structure to provide military leadership, supervision, and administrative support for all ill and injured personnel posted to (assigned to) the JPSU
• VAC client and transition services
• CF Case Management services
• Adapted Physical Fitness Managers
• Service Income Security Insurance Plan (SISIP) services
• Liaison with Military Family Resource Centres, local base support representatives and local unit Commanding Officers.

When injuries or illnesses occur to CF members, and while they reintegrate into military or civilian life and employment, IPSCs will provide standardized and consistent care and support.

The CF leadership recognized that the earlier system of care management was complex, and that
simplifying it would benefit personnel in need. In 2008, the Chief of Military Personnel (CMP)
recommended the stand-up of these centres which would provide a consistent level of care for all
CF personnel. The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) accepted this recommendation, and announced the intent to further enhance casualty support by establishing centrally managed centres across the country. This is a good news story for the military community and their families.

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MW Team Updates • Director General Personnel & Family Support Services
May 2009 • Serving Those Who Serve • www.cfpsa.com