Dr. Leslie Roos (CHF Manitoba) and Adam Starkman (Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations) look ahead to a more connected, prevention-focused mental health system. They discuss closing regional gaps, strengthening collaboration between hospitals and communities, and the role of corporate investment in expanding access to care nationwide. 

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National Patient Youth Ambassador Jenna Kedy shares her personal mental health journey, offering a lived-experience perspective on the emotional and practical barriers young people face navigating care. She reflects on what earlier support could have changed and what lessons families and youth can carry forward from her experience. 

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Renée Hopfner (Empire Company Limited) and Adam Starkman (Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations) unpack what early intervention actually means, why it's becoming an urgent priority across Canada, and what happens when children and families don't get support until they're already in crisis. The episode highlights system gaps and the promise of proactive, prevention-focused care. 

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*Please note that this episode contains glitches that we've (unsuccessfully) attempted to fix.

Families navigate fragmented healthcare and education systems while managing invisible labour that systems and professionals often don't recognize: coordinating care, translating information across sectors, and advocating for their children's needs. In this episode, researchers, a clinician, and parent partners discuss how lived experience must become integrated expertise driving system change, not just testimony, and how meaningful family participation in co-design creates solutions that actually work. The conversation highlights that building continuity across sectors and empowering families is essential to creating systems that serve children and youth with disabilities across their lifetimes. 

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Children with congenital heart disease face developmental challenges similar to those born prematurely, yet follow-up care in Canada depends on where a child is born and lacks the systematic approach that exists for other at-risk populations. In this episode, guest Dr. Keiko Shikako and the speakers discuss the Bright Pathways project, which is adapting evidence-based recommendations to establish consistent developmental monitoring across Canada, and highlight how fragmented care forces families to become system navigators. The conversation reveals the urgent need for healthcare and education systems to collaborate and include patients and families in solutions. 

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 Early identification and intervention can transform outcomes for children with disabilities and their families, yet Canada's fragmented health and education systems create barriers that leave parents navigating alone. In this episode, guest Dr. Keiko Shikako speaks with researchers and parent partners about the impact of early identification, current system gaps, and promising approaches like the Childbright Coaching Research Project. This is the first in our miniseries on childhood disability, health system improvement, and family-centered care. 

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Children's Healthcare Canada is proud to bring you SPARK Conversations in a new mini-series format — going deeper on the issues that matter most to children, youth, and their families. Each mini-series is designed to inform and advance healthcare systems that are innovative, accessible, equitable, integrated, and built with children in mind. This is where the conversation starts.

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In this special capstone episode of SPARK: Conversations, host Dr. Katharine Smart speaks with Emily Gruenwoldt, President and CEO of Children’s Healthcare Canada, to reflect on two years of exploring what it means to right-size children’s healthcare systems in Canada. They look back on key themes from the series — from timely access to care, community-based services, equity, partnerships, and family-centred care to workforce and data challenges — and connect these insights to the broader work ahead. Emily shares how these conversations are shaping Children’s Healthcare Canada’s strategic priorities, including advancing a National Children’s Healthcare Strategy and evidence-informed policy solutions that can improve health and wellbeing for children, youth and families across the country. This episode marks both a closing chapter of the right-sizing series and a beginning of new opportunities to inform systems change.

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Children’s healthcare extends far beyond hospital walls. In this episode, host Dr. Katharine Smart speaks with Dr. Vera Etches, President and CEO of CHEO, about how pediatric systems can evolve to better meet children and families where they are.

Drawing on her public health background, Dr. Etches shares how CHEO is redefining its role - not only as a hospital, but as a connected health system anchored in community partnerships. 

Together, they unpack what “right-sizing” children’s healthcare really means: improving access and equity, supporting primary care teams, and reducing the need for families to travel long distances for specialized services. Dr. Etches highlights innovations such as regional virtual mental health supports, expanding pediatric surgery into community hospitals through collaborative models, and using data and patient feedback to tailor care pathways and strengthen capacity close to home.

They also explore emerging opportunities, including precision child and youth mental health, AI-enabled personalization, and how schools, cultural safety, and public health intersect with clinical care.

Through a lens of co-design, continuous learning, and system-wide collaboration, Dr. Etches offers a candid look at how CHEO is leveraging research, data, and community relationships to deliver care in the right place; whether at home, in schools, in primary care, or virtually.

The conversation offers a practical, inspiring look at how “right-sizing” children’s healthcare can create more equitable, integrated, and community-rooted systems.
 
 

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Across Australia, pediatric centres have just come through a challenging respiratory virus season - driven by influenza, RSV, and COVID - with unusually high volumes among infants and young children, shifting viral patterns, and sustained pressure on emergency departments and inpatient units. As Canadian hospitals begin to experience early increases in respiratory illness, pediatric leaders are watching closely for signals of what may lie ahead.

In this “just-in-time” episode, Dr. Lindy Samson, Chief Medical Officer and Chief of Staff at CHEO, speaks with Dr. Sarah McNab, Director of General Medicine at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, to unpack what truly defined Australia’s season. Their conversation explores why influenza surged earlier and harder than expected, how testing strategies and triage pathways evolved, where hospitals struggled to keep pace with demand, and what helped support clinical teams during periods of extreme pressure. Dr. McNab offers practical insights on vaccine uptake, ED flow, inpatient capacity, and communication with families - highlighting which approaches proved valuable and which fell short.

Drawing connections to the early trends Dr. Samson is already seeing in Canada, this episode provides a cross-continental perspective for pediatric leaders preparing for a potentially difficult winter. Whether you are supporting emergency operations, managing inpatient pressures, or monitoring viral activity in your region, this discussion offers actionable, firsthand guidance to help anticipate and respond to the respiratory virus season ahead.

(Recorded December 10, 2025, this conversation reflects the best available insights at a rapidly evolving moment in Canada’s viral season.)

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Developmental healthcare in the community is not just a “nice-to-have” - it is an essential component of children’s healthcare systems. Join podcast host, Dr. Katharine Smart, Jennifer Churchill, President & CEO of Empowered Kids Ontario, and Alison Morrison, CEO of Pathways Health Centre for Children, as they explore the importance and value of community-based developmental healthcare to children, their lives, their families, and children’s healthcare systems. Their conversations will include discussion of the role of family-centered care delivered close to home and how it supports children with disabilities and developmental needs, reduces long wait times, and strengthens the entire healthcare continuum from school to hospital settings. Challenges of underfunding, fragmented care, and human health resource shortages will be discussed along with innovative solutions that make timely intervention possible.

Whether you’re a health system leader, policy maker, or parent, this episode highlights why investing in children’s development today creates lifelong impact - for kids, families, and communities. Tune in to learn why investing in community-based developmental healthcare not only changes the trajectory of children’s lives but also strengthens families, communities, and the healthcare system itself.
 
 

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Pediatric palliative care is so much more than end-of-life support — it’s about walking alongside children and their families from diagnosis through symptom management, grief, and beyond.  In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, Dr. Katharine Smart speaks with Megan Wright (Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice) and Denise Praill (Canuck Place Children’s Hospice) about what it takes to right-size pediatric palliative care systems across Canada, improve equity and access, and support families, and providers, through the most challenging moments of care.

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What does it take to build a truly integrated, child- and family-centered healthcare system? In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, host Dr. Katharine Smart speaks with Lauren Ettin, CEO of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO). Together, they explore how POGO as the leader of Ontario’s Childhood Cancer Care system has become a model for right-sized healthcare - from diagnosis to treatment through survivorship - by combining visionary leadership, strong partnerships, robust data, and diversified funding support. Listeners will learn how Ontario’s childhood cancer system provides supports that wrap around children and families, not only in providing physical and mental health care, but beyond to other supports and programs to help children, youth and families through treatment and survivorship. The system offers valuable lessons for reimagining pediatric care more broadly.


About Lauren
Lauren Ettin is currently the CEO of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), the advisor to government on childhood cancer with accountability for the delivery of care of Ontario’s Childhood Cancer System. Lauren’s career has spanned the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She has proven herself as a strategic and entrepreneurial leader. Lauren has had great success in leadership, partnership, system integration, and advocacy through her work with Kids Health Alliance, the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario, PwC and the Ontario government.

Lauren’s career has spanned the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She has proven herself as a strategic and entrepreneurial leader and is currently the CEO of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), the advisor to government on childhood cancer with accountability for the delivery of care of Ontario’s Childhood Cancer System. Previously, she was the founding Executive Director of Kids Health Alliance. In this role, Lauren forged relationships and formal collaborations with and between children’s and community hospitals, associations, and government. In addition, she was instrumental in the work of the Children’s Health Coalition, bringing together a collective voice for the pediatric sector, which resulted in a historic investment of $330M for programs and services across Ontario.

Prior to her time with Kids Health Alliance, Lauren served as the Director of Policy and Member Relations with the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario, worked in consulting and had leadership roles at the Ministry of Health and Cabinet Office.

She is also a previous Board member of Scientists in School, PACE Independent Living and Daytrippers Children’s Charity, and Vice Chair of Elizabeth Fry Toronto.

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In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, host Dr. Katharine Smart is joined by Rochelle Reid, Senior Lead and Strategic Advisor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre. Rochelle shares insights from the development of the organization’s first five-year EDI plan and emphasizes the importance of community partnerships, equitable policies, and data governance to right-size services for children and families. Don't miss the launch of Children's Healthcare Canada's new National Child Health Equity Practice Network aimed at fostering collaboration across the country.

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In this episode of SPARK Conversations, host, Dr. Katharine Smart, and guest Fabiana Bacchini explore the impact of Family Partnership on children’s healthcare across the country. Fabiana shares her perspective on family engagement in right-sizing the system for children and their families in Canada through involvement in education, research, advocacy.

Fabiana Bacchini is the Executive Director of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation (CPBF), a journalist, and an author.

Her journey as an advocate began in the NICU with her surviving twin, born extremely preterm. During this time, she participated in the Family Integrated Care (FiCare) study, a model that empowers parents to be active partners in their baby’s care. Inspired by its impact, Fabiana became a dedicated volunteer at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and an ambassador for FiCare, sharing her story across Canada and internationally to promote more inclusive, family-centered neonatal care.

Following her son’s diagnosis with cerebral palsy, Fabiana’s advocacy deepened. She has worked to ensure that families are not only heard but are meaningfully involved in research and healthcare decision-making. Through her leadership, she has fostered collaborations with hospitals, researchers, and global organizations, advancing parent-led initiatives and driving systemic change in maternal and newborn health.

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In this episode of SPARK Conversations, host, Dr. Katharine Smart, and her guests explore the impact of the recent Canadian federal election results on children’s health and healthcare across the country. Podcast guests, Danielle Flieler, Manager, Federal Government Affairs at Santis Health, and Jim Armour, Managing Partner with Summa Strategies Canada, share their perspectives on the cabinet composition and government priorities in relation to healthcare, especially for children and their families in Canada. 

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What does it really take to right-size Canada’s children’s healthcare systems? In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we explore the powerful role of philanthropy in shaping accessible, equitable, and innovative care for kids. Featuring inspiring stories and expert insights, our guests unpack how donor dollars fuel breakthroughs, fill critical gaps, and help build a healthier future—one bold investment at a time.

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In this episode of SPARK Conversations, we explore right-sizing children’s healthcare systems from the perspective of Community Hospitals that serve children, youth, and their families. Our guest for this episode, ‘Remi Ejiwunmi, Vice President, Shah Family Hospital for Women and Children, with Trillium Health Partners, shares her perspectives regarding the role and impact of community hospitals play within the Canadian healthcare system to ensure every child, youth and family can feel supported, no matter where they receive their healthcare. 

Special Guest:

‘Remi Ejiwunmi is the Vice President of the Shah Family Hospital for Women and Children at Trillium Health Partners (THP). ‘Remi’s leadership and expertise will help shape the development of the future Shah Family Hospital, a first-of-its-kind facility designed to transform care for women, children and families. ‘Remi’ has been a visionary leader in the field of midwifery through her three decades of service. She joined THP in 1996, becoming Head Midwife in 2001 and the inaugural Division Head of Midwifery in 2013. She has also played an instrumental role in advancing quality at THP through the development of the Perinatal Quality, Safety and Risk Council. Her influence extends beyond THP as she has held leadership roles at the Association of Ontario Midwives, the Health Insurance Reciprocal for Canada (HIROC), the Provincial Council for Maternal Child Health (PCMCH) and the Better Outcomes Registry and Network (BORN). She has a deep commitment to equity, inclusion and anti-racism through training and work within the health system to help shape policies to improve reproductive health and reduce health care inequities including within the Black community. 

‘Remi holds a Master of Science in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety from the University of Toronto, an appointment as an investigator at the Institute for Better Health, is an Adjunct Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and an Adjunct Scientist at McMaster University Midwifery Research Centre.

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In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we explore the role of Ronald McDonald House Charities. Kate Horton, Chief Executive Officer at Ronald McDonald House Charities and Karima Karmali, President and Chair of the Board of Directors at Ronald McDonald House Charities discuss the role Ronald McDonald House Charities plays within the Canadian healthcare system to ensure that every child, youth, and family can feel supported both during and after treatment.

Speakers:

Kate Horton

As President & CEO, Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada, Kate Horton leads the national foundation of support for RMHC, championing and enabling an essential mission that provides families with sick and injured children with the support and resources they need to focus on what matters most – caring for their sick child. 

RMHC is the only national organization enabling access to Canada’s paediatric healthcare system through the 35 program locations across the country. Since inception in 1981, RMHC across Canada has proudly supported more than 468,000 families during their child’s medical treatment journey.

Kate is a seasoned senior executive with over 20 years’ experience in both the nonprofit and corporate sectors. She is a passionate advocate for building strong communities and a better future by investing in children, youth and families. Over her career she has worked provincially and nationally to deliver meaningful social impact. Having been recognized for achieving excellence in fundraising and nonprofit leadership, Kate is known as a strategic and collaborative people-first leader who inspires high-performance and an inclusive culture.

Karima Karmali

Karima Karmali is a seasoned health care leader with over 35 years of expertise in clinical operations, inter-professional practice, patient experience, and health equity. Recently retired from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), she held the pioneering role of Director of the Centre for Innovation & Excellence in Child- and Family-Centred Care. In this capacity, Karima provided strategic and operational leadership, driving the design and delivery of patient and family-centric paediatric healthcare and advancing clinical practice, education and research in this critical field.

Karima has spearheaded numerous large-scale, multi-million dollar initiatives, fostering transformational change in healthcare. Her work has been published extensively, and she is a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences. Additionally, she has contributed her expertise to global task forces, including collaborations with the World Health Organization.

Prior to her tenure at SickKids, Karima held significant leadership positions at the University Health Network in Toronto and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario.

A dedicated advocate for volunteerism, Karima devotes her time to various causes locally, nationally, and internationally. She is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors for Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada, where she has served on the Board for seven years. Passionate about international development, Karima serves as the Senior Advisor to the Aga Khan Leaders International Forum on global poverty issues, currently supporting poverty alleviation initiatives in 22 countries across Africa, Central and South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. She also recently completed a four-year term as the Vice-President of the Aga Khan Council for Canada.

Karima holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from McGill University and an MBA from Queen's University.

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In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we explore the role of home healthcare. Maureen Charlebois, Chief of Nursing & Clinical Officer at Bayshore HealthCare, discussing the importance of home healthcare within the Canadian healthcare system to ensure that every child, youth, and family can feel supported both inside and outside hospitals.

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In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we explore the role of primary care teams or healthcare professionals in right-sizing children’s healthcare systems. Dr. Tara Kiran discusses the revolutionary OurCare study, its findings, and implications for addressing the current primary care crisis and ensure that every child, youth, and family is assigned and has timely access to a primary care team or provider. Through this webinar we will also explore how other countries have ensured access to primary care for citizens; what this means for children, youth and their families and the healthcare systems that serve them; and how this could be reflected in Canada. 

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In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we explore the collaborative efforts shaping the future of child and youth mental health care in Ontario. The Children’s Health Coalition, a powerful partnership between Children’s Mental Health Ontario, Ontario’s 5 children’s hospitals, and other key organizations, is working to ensure kids and families get the care they need—when and where they need it most. 

Join us as we dive into how this groundbreaking coalition is transforming the mental health system, overcoming challenges, and paving the way for a more integrated and effective approach to care. We’ll discuss the Coalition’s achievements, the barriers they’ve tackled, and the lessons learned in creating a system that works for children and youth across Ontario. 

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Children's Healthcare Canada, its members, and strategic partners have highlighted the need to and catalyzed collective action to right-size health systems for children. Recommendations in the Beyond Bandaids report include a call for the expansion of localized capacity and innovative models for children's healthcare in rural, remote, and Northern communities. Recognizing that it is not feasible to have comprehensive sub-specialized children's healthcare in every community, this podcast will discuss creative strategies/models to deliver better care for kids living far away from urban centres (including, virtual care, rapid transport, and service partnerships).

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Changing healthcare needs and increasing care complexity among children and youth together with HHR challenges have raised concerns about the current and future availability of pediatric subspecialty care and research and the potential ramifications for child health and well-being.

In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, join host Dr. Katharine Smart as she engages in a compelling dialogue with Dr. Meredith Irwin and Dr. Steven Miller surrounding the HHR crisis, especially within pediatrics. How can we work together to ensure the future of pediatric care can be sustainable and achievable? This episode offers listeners insights into the HHR crisis and how partnerships can offer an inspiring future in pediatric care.
 
Guests:
Dr. Meredith Irwin
Meredith Irwin, MD is the Chief of Paediatrics at The Hospital for Sick Children, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Paediatrics at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is the first woman to hold these two roles, which she assumed in April 2020.

Dr. Irwin received her MD from Harvard Medical School and completed her Paediatrics and Oncology training at Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She joined The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) as a Staff Physician (Hematology-Oncology) and Clinician-Scientist in 2002. From 2008-2020 she was the Associate Chair of Paediatrics (Research) and held the position of Solid Tumour Section Head from 2011-2020.

Dr. Irwin’s research focuses on identifying novel genes, treatments, and biomarkers to optimize risk classification and precision medicine approaches for neuroblastoma. She has received funding from the NIH, Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute and CIHR. Dr. Irwin is the Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Neuroblastoma Committee.

As Chief of Paediatrics, she is committed to integrating precision child health approaches to research and clinical care and training the next generation of academic pediatricians. She is also the Vice President of the Pediatric Chairs of Canada (PCC) and co-leads the PCC workforce theme team, which is focused on advancing solutions to address the current and future general and subspecialty pediatric workforce.

Dr. Steven Miller
Dr. Steven P. Miller is Head and Professor of the UBC Department of Pediatrics and the Chief of Pediatric Medicine at BC’s Children Hospital. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, holds the Hudson Family Hospital Chair in Pediatric Medicine and James & Annabel McCreary Chair in Pediatrics, and was previously a Canada Research Chair in Neonatal Neuroscience. Leading a multidisciplinary team, Dr. Miller’s research program focuses on better understanding of how intensive care impacts brain development and injury in the newborn with a focus on those born preterm or with congenital heart disease. The goal of his team’s work is to promote strategies to prevent brain injury and to promote recovery with the ultimate goal of improving the lifelong health of children and their families. He is passionate about supporting the career trajectories of child-health researchers and served as President of the Society for Pediatric Research.

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Through visionary leadership, health systems focus, population-based approaches, trusting relationships, and creative partnerships, systems-focused Children’s Hospitals create integrated delivery networks purposefully designed to meet the unique needs of children and families. This serves to improve healthcare access, system navigation, and efficiency, and children’s experiences of care and outcomes. 

In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, join host Dr. Katharine Smart as she engages in a compelling dialogue with Alex Munter, CEO of CHEO. Alex shares insights from his extensive experience, highlighting innovative strategies and collaborative initiatives aimed at enhancing healthcare access and quality for children across Canada. This episode offers listeners a deep dive into transformative healthcare leadership, inspiring action towards a more equitable and sustainable future for pediatric care.

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In this episode of the SPARK: Conversations podcast, host Dr. Katharine Smart engages with Dr. Leigh Chapman and Rebecca Earle in a compelling discussion on nursing retention and the role of the nursing workforce in right-sizing healthcare systems for children. They explore challenges faced by new nurses in children’s healthcare, including post-pandemic burnout, and emphasizes the importance of retention strategies, as described in the newly released Nursing Retention Toolkit.

The conversation highlights the need for accessible, equitable, and connected healthcare systems designed specifically for children, youth, and families. Rebecca and Leigh share practical insights on the implementation and impact of the Nursing Retention Toolkit, focusing on how it can ensure a competent and adequate nursing workforce for children’s healthcare. They also discuss the opportunities to spread and scale the toolkit for other healthcare professions and across the continuum of children’s healthcare systems, underscoring its potential role in right-sizing healthcare systems serving children.

Join us as we uncover actionable steps that healthcare organizations can take to meaningfully support nursing staff, reduce turnover, and ensure the highest quality of care for our youngest patients. Whether you're a healthcare professional, policymaker, or simply interested in the future of children's health and healthcare, this episode offers valuable perspectives and practical solutions. Tune in to hear our guests share their passionate and optimistic views on addressing these complex healthcare challenges and right-sizing children’s healthcare systems to meet the unique and growing needs of children, youth, and their families.
 
Special Guests:
Rebecca J. Earle, RN, MSc(A), CpedN(C), CCMP (Prosci)
Lead, Health Human Resources Initiative - Health Transformation; Nova Scotia Health 

Rebecca Earle is a highly experienced Registered Nurse specializing in pediatrics, notably serving at IWK Health in Halifax with leadership roles in advanced practice nursing, research, and operations management. She spearheaded the development of a Nursing Strategy and established a Nursing Council focused on shared governance and decision-making within nursing. As the former President of the Canadian Association of Paediatric Nurses (CAPN), Rebecca advocated for child health nationwide and collaborated on advocacy campaigns with Children’s Healthcare Canada. She co-founded "Maritime Children’s Hospice" to establish Atlantic Canada's first children’s hospice, aiming to provide equitable access to pediatric palliative care and medical respite services.

Currently, Rebecca is contributing strategic leadership to Nova Scotia Health's Health Workforce Initiative. Rebecca holds a master’s degree in nursing from McGill University, certification in Paediatric Nursing, and is a PROSCI certified Change Management Practitioner. 
 

Dr. Leigh Chapman, RN PhD
Chief Nursing Officer, Health Canada
Dr. Leigh Chapman has nearly 20 years of experience in nursing, including roles in clinical leadership across various healthcare settings. Her expertise spans critical care, community care, education, and professional associations such as the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario. Recently, she served as the Director of Clinical Services at Inner City Health Associates in Toronto, overseeing nursing programs for people experiencing homelessness during COVID-19. Dr. Chapman holds a Master of Science in Clinical Health Sciences from McMaster University and completed her doctoral work at the University of Toronto, focusing on competency assessment practices in academic hospital settings and the intersection of health professional regulation with organizational priorities.

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Season 5, Episode 1 | Episode released on May 6, 2024

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Description: Children’s Healthcare Canada, together with our members and strategic partners, is on a mission to right-size children’s healthcare systems, which are “accessible, equitable, evidence-informed, connected healthcare services” purpose-built for kids.

Two years ago, Children’s Healthcare Canada embarked on this journey, engaging children’s healthcare leaders, clinicians, and researchers; family and youth partners; advocates and policymakers; researchers and data analysts; and educators to co-create recommendations to achieve “right-sized” healthcare systems for kids.

In this podcast episode, Children’s Healthcare Canada Board Chair, Julia Hanigsberg, describes this ideal future state, the work undertaken to date, and the next steps. She’ll invite you to join forces to Right-Size together.

Episode Guest:
Julia Hanigsberg joined Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital as its President and CEO in 2015. She has spent her career in government, post-secondary education and healthcare as a champion for transformation, innovation and excellence. 

Prior to joining Holland Bloorview Julia spent 9 years at Toronto Metropolitan University prior to which she worked in the Ontario government including roles as Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, Counsel and Special Advisor to two Secretaries of Cabinet and Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of Ontario. 

Julia has degrees from McGill University and the Columbia Law School. She is a four-time Women’s Executive Network Most Powerful Women Top 100 honouree and was inducted into the Women’s Executive Network Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame. 

Julia has served on numerous boards, has completed her ICD.D. and currently Chairs the Boards of Directors of Children’s Healthcare Canada and Solutions for Kids in Pain. She is a Vice Chair of the Ontario Hospital Association and sits on the boards of OECM, the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation and the Kids Health Alliance. In addition, she serves on the CEO Committee of the Toronto Academic Health Sciences Network and she was appointed by the Ontario Ministry of Health to the Governing Council of the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health.

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Season 4, Episode 5 | Episode released on February 26, 2024

Description: Right-sized children’s healthcare systems provide timely access to integrated healthcare services and require a stable supply of sufficient numbers of appropriately skilled health human resources (HHR). HHR shortages have been long-standing and were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. They have produced long, frustrating, and potentially dangerous wait times, adverse events for children and families, and untenable working conditions for healthcare professionals. In this podcast, we learn of a model that tackles some of the HHR challenges (e.g., lack of pediatric focus in pre-licensure education/experience of some healthcare professional groups), which involves a Pediatric Student Led Clinic. This clinical model provides hands-on experience for physiotherapy students and encourages them to explore pediatric opportunities. Listen in as Dr. Smart chats with Kiersten McMaster, who leads this initiative in collaboration with the BC Centre for Ability and the University of British Columbia. Together, they will discuss this clinical model, its impact on children’s access to healthcare, health outcomes for children and families, and HHR; as well as the potential for its spread and scale to contribute to right-sizing health systems for children.

Speaker: Kiersten McMaster
From a young age, Kiersten had a strong desire to pursue a career in physiotherapy, driven by her interest in human movement and her own active lifestyle as a dancer. Recognizing the importance of physical literacy for overall health, she completed a double major in Kinesiology and Dance at York University before obtaining her Masters in Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland in Australia. She now lives, works and plays in Vancouver, BC. During her studies, Kiersten’s courses in human development sparked a passion for working with children, particularly those with disabilities. She brings her expertise to working with children of all ages, including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, developmental delay, and sport-specific injuries. Working from a client-centred model, Kiersten collaborates with families and children to set individual goals, emphasizing the importance of equitable access to healthcare. Through her clinical work, she developed a passion for advocacy, particularly for children with disabilities, leading her to pursue a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Victoria to elevate national standards of pediatric patient care and promote empowerment and positive change. Kiersten is currently leading the first Pediatric Student Led Clinic in partnership with the BC Centre for Ability and the University of British Columbia. This innovative clinic aims to offer physiotherapy students hands-on experience with children and gives them the confidence to pursue future pediatric opportunities. Taking the lead in this initiative has allowed Kiersten to seamlessly integrate her interests in pediatric care, mentorship, and leadership.In her free time, Kiersten enjoys exploring the North Shore mountains, spending time with loved ones, and cuddling with her cats.

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Tune in to our first-ever live SPARK: Conversations podcast; recorded live at Children’s Healthcare Canada’s 2023 Annual Conference.  

In this compelling episode, healthcare leaders, Drs. JC Cowden and Nel Weiman, join host Dr. Katharine Smart to unravel the intricate health equity landscape. Drawing from their extensive experiences, the trio explores tangible strategies, real-life stories, and crucial mindset shifts necessary to foster equitable healthcare practices. Listeners will be inspired to adopt a curiosity-driven approach, engage in collaborative efforts, and embrace humility in their pursuit of creating a more equitable and inclusive healthcare system. From practical tools to poignant narratives, this episode provides invaluable insights for healthcare professionals, policymakers and anyone passionate about dismantling healthcare disparities. 

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In this podcast, Dr. Javeed Sukhera discusses child and youth mental health, emphasizing the challenges faced in accessing timely and appropriate mental health services in both Canada and the United States. He highlights the underfunding of mental health services, the need for a collaborative approach, and the importance of trauma-informed care. Dr. Sukhera also touches on the differences between the healthcare systems in the two countries and the potential for improving access to care through innovative models.

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This podcast features an insightful conversation with Dr. Justine Cohen-Silver, a pediatrician who is making a significant impact in children’s health and healthcare through an innovative school-based program that addresses the social determinants of health. The Model Schools Pediatric Health Initiative (MSPHI) at Unity Health Toronto aims to improve health outcomes for children in under-served communities. 

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In this podcast, Dr. Katie Birnie discusses pediatric pain management, focusing on the newly developed National Pediatric Pain Management Standard, the first of its kind in the world. A collaboration between Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP) and the Health Standards Organization, the new standard establishes a set of guidelines for the delivery of pain management for children from birth to 19 years. It provides guidance to healthcare organizations on how to deliver equitable and quality pain management across hospital settings serving children and youth. This standard sets the stage for improving pain management in children and youth across the continuum of care.

Overall, this podcast highlights the ground-breaking work being done in Canada to improve the management of pain in children and youth, with a strong emphasis on equity, patient partnership, collaboration, and implementation.

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Description:  

Health systems serving children and youth face numerous challenges and complexities. At the intersection of these challenges, health leaders recognize that the answers are not simple and they must be effective in seeing beyond these complexities and leveraging connections that will help them to intentionally drive their system. As health care becomes more integrated, the capacity to create connectivity and working with shared interests among stakeholders is key to building influence and creating active change. This is particularly important in health care due to the inter-twined responsibilities, interconnected decisions, and critical outcomes that are involved. 

On this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we sit down with Dr. Michael Gardam to discuss how health system leaders can effectively mobilize stakeholders and resources to transform complex health systems and how to motivate and sustain large scale change. From the SARS outbreak to the current COVID-19 pandemic, infectious diseases physician Dr. Michael Gardam has been on the front lines of Canada's health emergencies.As the Chief Executive Officer at Health PEI, Dr. Gardam brings with him a distinguished track record of health system leadership and insight, both in Canada and internationally. 

Speaker Names: Dr. Michael Gardam 

Speaker Bio: 

Michael is the Chief Executive Officer at Health PEI, the health authority that delivers publicly funded healthcare in Prince Edward Island.  He is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of HealthCareCAN, the national voice for healthcare organizations and hospitals across Canada.  Michael is a pioneer of using complexity science-based approaches to improve patient safety, system transformation, staff engagement and other complex challenges.  He has advised organizations in Canada and internationally, including the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, Hand Hygiene New Zealand, the Irish Health Services Executive and the Maryland Patient Safety Center, the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, as well as numerous hospitals across Canada. 

His interest in physician leadership and organizational culture led him to become Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee at UHN (2015-2017) and Chief of Staff and Humber River Hospital in Toronto (2018-2020).  He is also currently the Program Director of the York University Schulich School of Business Healthcare Leadership Development Program, and an instructor for the Physician Leadership Institute of Joule (Canadian Medical Association). 

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Description:  The news media shapes our collective mindsets about key issues and what needs to be done to address them. The unprecedented viral surge in the demand of young patients seeking emergency medical care faced by hospitals and healthcare systems serving children and youth across Canada highlighted the immense amount of pressure placed on the pediatric health system. Additionally, long wait times are another issue which can have lifelong impacts on children and are promoting a larger national conversation about how we need to rethink and reprioritize investments in children’s health. Other concerns include erosion in trust of health officials which may be spilling over into lack of routine vaccine uptake.

Recognizing the media’s impact on addressing children’s issues is essential in shifting mindsets and building support for the actions necessary to ensure the wellbeing of children. This podcast will address the role of the news media in influencing public thinking about children’s issues and its effects on the pediatric health system.

Carly Weeks

Carly Weeks is an award-winning national reporter who has been covering health for The Globe and Mail for more than a decade. Carly helped lead the paper's coverage of COVID-19 and its effects on the health system. She also writes about the intersection of misinformation and health.

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In a recent op-ed published in the Ottawa Business Journal, Dr. Jason Berman spoke about the importance of research innovation and cross-industry collaborations in tackling today’s healthcare crisis. “To improve healthcare meaningfully, we need the business community, the hospital community and the academic community to break down traditional silos and press fast-forward on promising innovations. The CHEO RI established a new Innovation Core, the purpose of which is to create a rich support ecosystem designed for healthcare innovators who aim to improve the lives of children and youth by actively working to expand the innovation core and its services at the CHEO RI.

This podcast will address how research and partnering with stakeholders across the spectrum- from high tech to business partners to patients could be an important aspect of reshaping tomorrow’s health care. Additionally, the importance of involving patients and families in research initiatives at the RI and how any type of reform needs to be informed by the patients and families involved will be discussed.

Objectives:

• Discuss and illustrate how research can be leveraged to bring much needed, innovative change to the health care system and Canada requires further investment in research to be a leader.
• Talk about how we need to start thinking “outside the box” of what a traditional research institute does and how we can collaborate with stakeholders across the spectrum – breaking down traditional silos between the research, hospital and business communities.  We need to work across sectors and form partnerships to find creative solutions and close healthcare gaps.
• Promote the work of the innovation core at the CHEO Research Institute. 

Speaker Name/Bio: Dr. Jason Berman is the CEO and Scientific Director of the CHEO Research Institute and the Vice-President Research at CHEO. He is also a Full Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa. Previously he served as Associate Chair, Research, Department of Pediatrics, and Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology & Immunology and Pathology at Dalhousie University and interim Vice President Research, Innovation and Knowledge Translation for the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has overseen the pediatric leukemia program for the Maritimes since 2005 and chairs an international clinical trial for children with Down syndrome and myeloid leukemia. He is internationally recognized for pioneering research using zebrafish to study childhood cancers and rare inherited diseases.  His laboratory has served as the Atlantic node of the Centre for Drug Research and Development and a national hub for zebrafish modeling of orphan diseases. He has been co-chair of the C17 Childhood Cancer Network Developmental Therapeutics Committee and Director of the Clinician Investigator Program and Medical Research Graduate Program at Dalhousie. He is president of the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation, vice president of the Canadian Hematology Society and a founding member of the Canadian Rare Disease Models and Mechanisms Network.

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Description: January’s SPARK: Conversations monthly podcast is on Indigenous child health with our podcast host, Dr. Katharine Smart in conversation with special guest, Dr. Cindy Blackstock. As an internationally recognized First Nations scholar and child welfare expert, Cindy has been the driving force behind promoting reconciliation to ensure culturally based equity for First Nations children and families. Cindy is the Executive Director and co-founder of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada, Associate Professor & Director of First Nations Children’s Action Research and Education Service at University of Alberta and Professor in McGill’s School of Social Work. In this podcast, Cindy will be exploring the utilization of Jordan’s principle and the Spirt Bear Plan to achieve culturally based equity for First Nations Children. She will be providing guidance to non-Indigenous system leaders and health care professionals working in pediatrics to support them in promoting reconciliation within their practice to better serve Indigenous children, youth, and their families.

Speaker Name/Bio: Cindy is the Executive Director and co-founder of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada, Associate Professor & Director of First Nations Children’s Action Research and Education Service at University of Alberta and Professor in McGill’s School of Social Work. As a nationally and internationally respected advocate for the rights of Indigenous children and a member of the Gitksan First Nation, Cindy has 25 years of social work experience in child protection and Indigenous children’s rights. Further, her research spans the identification & remediation of structural inequalities affecting First Nations children, youth & families. An author of over 50 publications & a widely sought after public speaker, Cindy has collaborated with other Indigenous leaders to assist the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in the development and adoption of a General Comment on the Rights of Indigenous children. Recently, she also worked with Indigenous young people, UNICEF & the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues to produce a youth friendly version of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child. Her promotion of culturally based and evidence informed solutions has been recognized by the Nobel Women’s Initiative, the Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. Frontline Defenders and many others. 

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December’s SPARK: Conversations monthly podcast is on health systems transformation with our podcast host, Dr. Katharine Smart in conversation with special guest, Helen Bevan. Helen is a Strategic Advisor and leader of large scale change within the National Health Service (NHS) in England, the largest public healthcare system in the world. Helen will be discussing her experiences and expertise in large scale change and providing guidance to system leaders in health care on addressing complex issues in child health and how to redesign and strengthen our child health systems in Canada to better serve children and youth.

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October’s SPARK: Conversations monthly podcast is on child health in the community with our new podcast host, Dr. Katharine Smart in conversation with special guest, Alison Quigley. Alison is the Senior Vice-President, Patient Care Services & Master Plan Clinical Lead at Trillium Health Partners. Alison will be discussing her experiences at Trillium Health Partners, systems consideration for community-based hospital services, leveraging virtual care supports, and how her front-line experiences have shaped her current leadership role.

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Description: 

The Canadian healthcare system is currently unable to meet the demands of the people who need it. Children and adults alike are seeing extended wait times for emergency rooms, ambulances and surgeries as well as closures of essential rural emergency centers due to staffing shortages. Dr. Katharine Smart, the current president of the Canadian Medical Association, has previously warned that Canadian healthcare is on the brink of collapse. She joins us as she nears the end of her presidential term to discuss the current state of Canadian healthcare, speaking to the importance of provider well-being and the nuances of collaborating and advocating both as individuals and organizations to bring about systemic change.

This is Part 2 in a two-part series. To hear Dr. Smart speak on the impact mis and dis information has on our population and how we rebuild trust in healthcare, listen to Part 1 of this series “Getting the Facts Straight: Tackling mis/disinformation through patient-provider relationships”.

Note: This interview was recorded in July, 2022, prior to Dr. Smart’s transition to CMA Past-President.

Speaker Bio: 

Dr. Katharine Smart is a pediatrician in Whitehorse, Yukon and Past President of the Canadian Medical Association. Her work is centered on developing collaborative partnerships with community and government services to serve marginalized children using a model of social pediatrics. She works primarily with children who have experienced trauma and adverse childhood events, and she witnesses the broad and lasting impact these events have on children and their development daily. She is passionate about improving services for marginalized children in an effort to change their life trajectory.

In addition to her community-based work, Dr. Smart enjoys acute care and provides on-call services to the hospital. Before moving to the Yukon, she was a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Dr. Smart is the past president of the Yukon Medical Association.

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Description: 

COVID served as a catalyst for the spread and uptake of mis- and disinformation, threatening the trust Canadian citizens have in vaccines and, frankly, putting lives at risk. Further, the extra disease burden on the healthcare system exacerbated pre-existing problems, including in the area of health human resources (e.g., staff burnout and shortages). Some may ask, So what? Why are these problems so concerning? How do we go about rebuilding trust in healthcare and science? Dr. Katharine Smart has been tackling these problems as President of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). As she transitions to the role of Past-President, Dr. Smart joins us to reflect on these issues, speaking to the importance of the longitudinal patient-provider relationship and innovative ways that clinicians can meet people where they’re at.

This is Part 1 in a two-part series. To hear Dr. Smart discuss staff burnout and bringing our healthcare system back from the brink of collapse, listen to Part 2 of this series, “Healing the Healthcare System: Staff burnout, honest leadership and collaboration”.

Note: This interview was recorded in July, 2022, prior to Dr. Smart’s transition to CMA Past-President.

Speaker Bio: 

Dr. Katharine Smart is a pediatrician in Whitehorse, Yukon and Past President of the Canadian Medical Association. Her work is centered on developing collaborative partnerships with community and government services to serve marginalized children using a model of social pediatrics. She works primarily with children who have experienced trauma and adverse childhood events, and she witnesses the broad and lasting impact these events have on children and their development daily. She is passionate about improving services for marginalized children in an effort to change their life trajectory.

In addition to her community-based work, Dr. Smart enjoys acute care and provides on-call services to the hospital. Before moving to the Yukon, she was a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Dr. Smart is the past president of the Yukon Medical Association.

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Infancy is a developmental period when children are most vulnerable and when they present with the greatest potential. Infant and early mental health (IEMH) involves the social, emotional, cognitive wellbeing of infants and young children. IEMH care aims to ensure every child has the best possible start in life.

Research tells us that:

• Infant and early child development sets the stage for later development and functioning.
• Babies and young children who experience adversity are at increased risk of poorer health and social outcomes in childhood and later in life
• Such adverse childhood experiences influence development of the baby’s brain, the number and type of connections between brain cells, how they respond to stress, and even their DNA
• Young children are the most vulnerable with the least access to mental health services and supports
• The development of infants and young children is strongly affected by the quality of their relationships with adults (parents or other caregivers)
• Love and nurturing can protect against some of the negative experiences of young children

We know what to do. We have the evidence and practice and policy requirements are clear. Changes are required to training and education of healthcare practitioners. Early intervention services must be accessible in a timely manner and responsive to the needs of the child and family. Policy change is required to support at-risk families and involves partnership between families, healthcare, community services, and child welfare. Listen while Dr. Chaya Kulkarni discusses leadership, evidence-informed practice and policy, resources, and educational opportunities to increase Canadian capacity to ensure all babies get off to a great start.

This session will be of interest to:

• Healthcare professionals
• Families & Caregivers
• Social service providers
• Legal services

Speaker Bio

Dr. Chaya Kulkarni is the Director of Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion (IEMHP). This national organization, at The Hospital for Sick Children, also known as SickKids, aims to improve outcomes across the lifespan through translating and promoting the science of early mental health into practice with families during pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood. Chaya is also an advisor to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a member of the Strategic Advisory Committee at the Ontario Centre of Excellence on Child & Youth Mental Health, and a member of the Board at Family Day Care Services. Prior to joining IEMHP, Chaya was VP, Parent and Professional Education at Invest in Kids, and has also served as Senior Policy Analyst and Researcher for the Office of the Official Opposition, Queen’s Park. 

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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons, including best practices for immunizing populations efficiently. To retain what we have learned, and continue to improve vaccine confidence and uptake, the Canadian population will rely on experts like Dr. Manish Sadarangani to lead robust infectious disease and prevention research. On this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we sat down with Dr. Sadarangani to discuss natural and vaccine immunity to COVID-19, approaches to combatting new variants, and how we can improve vaccine and science communication. We explore the possibility of the COVID-19 vaccine becoming a routine vaccination, and how to best promote the importance of keeping up with those routine childhood immunizations.

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Guest:
Susa Benseler, MD, PhD; Director, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine; Strategy Lead, Child Health and Wellness Research Strategy; Husky Energy Chair in Child and Maternal Health; Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation Chair in Paediatric Research; University of Calgary

Children’s Healthcare Canada’s strategic priorities include informing the development of innovative and integrated health systems and advocating to improve children’s health and health systems. The SPARK: Conversations podcast series is a new solutions-focused podcast that connects the child health community with system leaders who tackle wicked problems and discuss ideas to inform the development of innovative and integrated systems serving children and youth.

Dr. Benseler has completely re-organized and improved the research environment for basic and clinical research. Dr. Benseler has strengthened the relationship between the Department of Paediatrics and the research institute with transparency, inclusiveness, and teamwork. This has led to remarkable new research partnerships between basic scientists and clinical researchers. Dr. Benseler has been able to develop a new level of community engagement which is extra-ordinary. Dr. Benseler has successfully stewarded the Child Health Research Platform as one of two winning submissions for the Cross-Cutting multi-million dollar initiative at the University of Calgary. ACHRI is the only research institute with a clear focus on research within the University, across campus, and in our community. These developments have all been the brainchild of Dr. Susanne Benseler and her team at ACHRI.

Summary:
Children are the foundation of Canada’s future, and as such, research in child health is research on the future of our nation. Conducting health research with children is an ethical imperative to understanding treatment and prevention effectiveness, relative costs of child healthcare, and tactics to advance equitable healthcare. We had the opportunity to sit down with groundbreaking child health researcher, Dr. Susa Benseler, to understand the current landscape and trajectory of child health research. Dr. Benseler explains the need for an ongoing, national conversation, outlines why a cross-sectoral approach is impactful, and gives advice to others hoping to ‘scale up’ their child health research plans. She sheds light on her interdisciplinary vision to advance children’s healthcare in a positive direction. 

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Children and their family members have unmatched, dyadic impacts on each other’s health. This is especially prominent in children and families that, due to unfortunate circumstances, are frequently connected with hospitals, researchers, and health systems. As such, it is imperative that we engage families in healthcare processes, and recognize their stories, experiences, and input as the valuable forms of knowledge that they are. We recently had the opportunity to sit down and discuss family partnership with Rachel Martens. Rachel provides a unique perspective on this topic as she has seen child healthcare from the lenses of both a parent and a professional. On this episode of SPARK: Conversations, Rachel helps us dig into best practices in family engagement and the importance of the human aspect in child healthcare. She also offers advice to practitioners on the balancing act between involving family partners, while avoiding causation of potential burnout and discomfort.

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Misinformation and even disinformation are not new concepts in science. This has been evident during the COVID-19 pandemic while the world has monitored, shared, and re-shared information on the spread of the virus, public health restrictions, and immunization. Recently, the COVID-19 discussion has become even more emotionally charged with a vaccine available for some children in Canada. Unfortunately, we can see that the skills required for critical consumption of evidence appear lacking in many areas. We live in a world driven by metrics, and unfortunately, headlines are often misleading, and people share information without reading the full text or confirming the accuracy of the information. Uncertainty, discomfort, and mistrust are lingering as Canadians are having difficult, divided conversations with their loved ones around the dinner table, on the phone, and on Zoom. To combat this, Dr. Krishana Sankar and the team at ScienceUpFirst focus on the clear and accurate distribution of scientific evidence. On this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we sit down with Dr. Sankar to discuss the importance of simple, clear, and up-to-date evidence distribution, and how to do so effectively.

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While COVID-19 has resulted in a global health crisis with considerable negative health impacts affecting children and youth, climate change has been an evolving and escalating global threat to child health for even longer. The global mean temperature warming is escalating and will have lasting momentum for centuries to millennia. However, immediate action can mitigate future warming in the next two decades and will immediately improve air quality. Unfortunately, the impact of climate change on child health and the healthcare system is multifaceted and today’s children are expected to bare disproportionate burden in their lifetime. The health impacts span the full pediatric age-range and can affect almost any organ system through acute illness and injury or chronic, complex stressors, including both mental and physical aspects.  In sum, climate change can have negative effects on long-term neurodevelopment, alters the social and environmental determinants of health, and can potentially amplify burdens for children with pre-existing medical conditions. Join us for an evidence-informed discussion with pediatric intensive care doctor, Dr. Anna Gunz, in which we explore the impact of climate change on child health, healthcare systems, and beyond.

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This podcast focuses on patient partnership for child health research, practice,  and systems. Listen in as Dr. Katie Birnie shares her perspective on patient partnership and Partnering for Pain, an award-winning research program which she leads and which integrates patient and family partnership and multi-stakeholder engagement to improve the prevention, assessment, and management of pain experienced by children and their families. At the time of the rollout of a COVID vaccine for children, this initiative has many resources available to ensure #ItDoesntHaveToHurt (https://partneringforpain.com/2020/12/12/resources-and-strategies-for-managing-fear-of-needles-and-vaccination-pain/). We discuss terminology  (engagement, partnership, family- and child-centred care), the value of patient  partnership to child health research, clinical care, and system planning. Dr. Birnie also shares practical advice to help embed patient partnership into the routines of children's healthcare.

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Health inequities are “unfair, avoidable, and remediable differences in health status between countries and between different groups of people within the same country” (WHO, 2013, p 3). 

COVID has revealed inequities that many in healthcare, some more than others, already knew existed. We’ve noted differences in who is exposed to and infected by COVID, who ends up in hospital or ICU, and who is able to or choses to follow public health guidance (masks, social distancing, vaccines). For example, Ontario data show a higher risk for COVID exposure and infection among racialized and low-income communities. As well, vaccine uptake is lower, and hesitancy higher among these same groups for whom there has been a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 outcomes, and in whom vaccination will prevent more infections and severe outcomes. Vaccine passports have been implemented to incentivize vaccination and reduce COVID risk in our communities. But does this public health intervention have the potential to further disparities? How do we reap the benefits while reducing the inequities?

Listen into this SPARK: Conversations podcast as we discuss COVID, Kids, and health equity with Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng.

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Due to its federated nature, Canada does not have a national structure for the governance of child health or health care. Joined up governance (or a ‘whole of government’ approach) has been touted as an important tool in tackling “wicked” problems in children’s health and healthcare, which involves multiple ministries responsible for health, social services, and the social determinants of health. 

Integrating child health systems and services is such a wicked problem because, many services, for children with medical complexity, for example, are delivered through various healthcare “systems” (hospital, home care, respite, other community-based care) and other systems (e.g., social services, education, justice, finance, Indigenous affairs).

Join Children’s Healthcare Canada and special guest, Dr. Eyal Cohen, in a discussion about Joined up governance. He explains how it works, why it is important, and how its structure could positively impact the lives of all children, including those with medical complexities.

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COVID vaccines have been approved in Canada for youth and adults 12 and older. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI, 2021) recommends that (with very few exceptions) that a complete series with a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine should be offered to individuals 12 to 18 years of age. While Pfizer recently announced a COVID vaccine trial involving children aged 6 months to 11 years, most children younger than 12 are not likely to be vaccinated in Canada until late winter or early spring 2022 (Dailey, 2021; Global News, 2021). Studies are underway to develop and test vaccines for those younger children.

We will hear from our guest, Dr. Jim Kellner, about the status of, prioritization of, and plan for the delivery of safe and effective COVID vaccines to children of all ages. 

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When children, youth, and their families visit a children's hospital of the future,  what will have changed in their experiences of care, their health outcomes, and community health? What will it be like to work there? How will the hospital serve its community? How will it adapt to changing demographics, emerging technology, a focus on care delivered closer to (or even in) home, public demands, or new pandemics? How will the training of health professionals have changed?

The purposeful design of children’s hospitals of and for the future focuses on the physical environment and so much more. It involves the meaningful engagement of children, youth, families from diverse backgrounds, and community services; the use smart technology and design thinking; public and private partnerships; and evidence-based decision making.

Join Children’s Healthcare Canada and special guest, Dr. Ronni Cohn, in a discussion about the future of children’s hospitals and healthcare and how SickKids is forging new paths to provide quality care in the ever-changing world of children's health and healthcare. 

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During this episode we learn of a decades-long journey to bring a children’s hospital to a province that had none - but the story is about so much more than building a hospital. It is about Canadian health system improvement for children and families. It involves:

• Developing and maintaining partnerships with like-minded organizations locally and across the country
• Engagement with government and health system leaders
• Open, transparent, tailored communications
• Listening deeply to and serving your constituents, whoever they may be
• The use of technology for, for example, knowledge sharing and donor management
• The role of philanthropy as catalysts to child health system change

 Success enables broader health system improvement, lessons learned for other health system leaders, attracting varied and specialists locally provinces to ensure that children and their families receive quality, specialized pediatric care (as children are not just little adults).

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If you ever needed healthcare (or if you work in healthcare) for kids you probably know how fragmented the system is, how long some waitlists are, and how the quality of care often depends on where you live and even who you are. In this episode we discuss how creating a Learning System in Child Health can help begin to address some of these issues at a regional, provincial, and national level. 

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Children’s Healthcare Canada and our members have called for a national, evidence-informed formulary of medications for children and funding for related pediatric drug research and development. In the most recent Speech from the Throne, the federal government reiterated its commitment to a national, universal pharmacare program to ensure that all Canadians can access the medications they need. 

Children and youth have unique drug needs, which have long been neglected. Approximately half of Canadian children and youth require at least one prescription in any given year. Children and youth rely heavily on compounded and off-label prescription drugs, which impacts safety, efficacy, palatability, and cost. Reimbursement decision-making bodies do not appropriately value the unique benefits of pediatric drugs, including child-friendly formulations, improved quality of life for children and families, and cost-savings outside the healthcare system. 

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The UNICEF 2020 Report Card revealed that while Canada ranks among the countries with the strongest economic, environmental, and social conditions for growing up, it ranks 30th of 38 countries in measures of children’s mental and physical health, education, and social wellbeing.  As well, existing inequities have worsened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The time to make children a priority is NOW!

Working in collaboration and partnership with passionate stakeholders, we are co-designing a bold cross-sector framework to improve the health and wellbeing of children, youth, and families. This ambitious but achievable framework will be used as a roadmap to organizational, community, and governmental action to improve our global standing and create a Canada fit for children.

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To come...

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