Click on the accordion below to learn more about the 5 big questions that are guiding our work and what we have learnt from the more thank 200 clients, families, staff, volunteers, students and external partners that attended our Campfires.
Between December 1 and January 31, clients, families, staff, volunteers, students and external partners will have the opportunity to share their voice in a variety of quick, easy and accessible ways called Sparks. Click here to learn more about Sparks opportunities and how you can participate.
Co-leads
- Vera Nenadovic - nurse practitioner Brain Injury Rehab Team (BIRT), NP practice lead, vice chair research ethics board
- Kim Jones Galley - student coordinator, academic affairs
- Sally Lindsay - senior scientist, Bloorview Research Institute
- Lorraine Thomas - IDEA manager (interim)
- Cheryl Peters - family leader
Our co leads are experts in this work and bring experience, passion and their unique perspective to the conversation. Please feel free to reach out to anyone on the team if you have any questions about the topic, or would like to share your thoughts or feedback.
What we will cover
Inclusion, equity, diversity and accessibility (IDEA) have been priorities at Holland Bloorview for many years. There is a deep commitment to IDEA, and it also is clear that making changes that truly make a difference for our staff, and our clients and families is not always simple. Many people within our system still tell us that they have yet to see enough concrete action that translates into a lived experience of inclusion and equity.
The recommendations and actions generated by key working groups will identify concrete actions that we can take in the next few years to accelerate our IDEA work. We want to create change that can be seen and felt, for clients, families, and the Holland Bloorview team.
Co-leads
- Geeta Thomas - manager, talent, acquisition & engagement, people & culture team
- Tamara Milicevic - clinical pharmacy services coordinator
- Angie Sweeney - manager, administration support services, people & culture team
- Laura Thompson - team lead & occupational therapist, transitions team
Our co leads are experts in this work and bring experience, passion and their unique perspective to the conversation. Please feel free to reach out to anyone on the team if you have any questions about the topic, or would like to share your thoughts or feedback.
The workforce at Holland Bloorview is deeply committed, capable, inventive and caring. And – like our clients and families and our community partners – many of us are tired.
Over the last almost three years, we have supported our children, youth and families, many with incredibly complex needs, through a time when they (and we) were more vulnerable than ever, all while navigating significant system pressures.
This question focuses on how we can all create the most restorative, re-energizing environment for our workforce and for everyone who touches Holland Bloorview.
Co-leads
- Melanie Penner - clinician scientist, BRI
- Kathryn Parker - senior director, academic affairs and simulation lead
- Darcy Fehlings - developmental paediatrician, medicine, interim vice president, research
- Joanne Maxwell - senior director, collaborative practice & clinical education, and interim director, quality, safety & performance
- Ivona Novak - family leader
Our co leads are experts in this work and bring experience, passion and their unique perspective to the conversation. Please feel free to reach out to anyone on the team if you have any questions about the topic, or would like to share your thoughts or feedback.
Learning and adapting our work based on feedback, data and new research have always been an important part of continually improving our care and services at Holland Bloorview. Over the next few years, we will be continuing to make our programs more inclusive, equitable and accessible, and will keep expanding our partnerships. To make sure that programs and services for kids and families meet their needs, we will need even better ways to use data, to learn from new research quickly, incorporate feedback and adapt.
Co-leads
- Azadeh Kushki - senior scientist, Bloorview Research Institute, associate professor
- Laura McAdam - physician director, medicine
- Julie Chiba Branson - interim director transitions, client and family integrated care (CFIC) & community partnership
- Jessica Reid - social worker, child development program & clinical lead, family navigation hub
- Joanne Downing - family leader
Our co leads are experts in this work and bring experience, passion and their unique perspective to the conversation. Please feel free to reach out to anyone on the team if you have any questions about the topic, or would like to share your thoughts or feedback.
Holland Bloorview serves a wide range of clients and families. Through our electronic health record and our programs, we collect some data on our clients, their experiences, and outcomes, but we have yet to fully optimize and translate this information into insights that could transform our care and services. Imagine if we could leverage our understanding of the full physical and psychosocial needs of our clients, and the impact of various treatments and approaches on outcomes for clients and families. What impact would we have if we had a stronger sense of who we are serving and who is falling through the cracks to inform models of care, service design, and our advocacy agenda.
Co-leads
- Adila El-Korazati - physician, medicine
- Shannon Scratch - clinician scientist, BRI & clinical neuropsychologist, BIRT
- Anthony Danial - interim clinical operations manager, neuromotor, selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) and music
- Andrea MacDonald - clinical operations manager, spina bifida, feeding and lifespan
- Carolyn Wilson - clinical resource leader, complex continuing care
- Adrienne Zarem - family leader
Our co leads are experts in this work and bring experience, passion and their unique perspective to the conversation. Please feel free to reach out to anyone on the team if you have any questions about the topic, or would like to share your thoughts or feedback.
For many years now we have been speaking about addressing needs beyond physical function by looking at other dimensions of child and family life that impact their quality of life and wellbeing, but we know that getting those needs addressed can be complicated. Many of our clients and families must navigate multiple paths which require referrals and a lot of advocacy to bridge offerings available through research, clinical programs, and fee for service, both within our walls and in the community.
At the same time, in our in-patient environment we are more frequently being asked to provide care for clients with increasing acuity, medical and psycho-social complexity, but we are not yet fully set up to do so.
