While she joined Holland Bloorview in 2017 as a therapeutic recreation specialist, Meghan’s journey at Holland Bloorview actually started when she was a child. Meghan would attend appointments with her younger sister, who has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal. Growing up as the sibling of an individual with a disability, and receiving orthopedic treatment for multiple injuries herself, Meghan’s approach to care and leadership is shaped by her lived experience.
“My younger sister Hayley is my hero and my inspiration,” she says. “Growing up with her, I also learned a lot about client-and family-centred care and the importance of helping families to feel heard, valued and respected.”
Meghan always knew that these experiences would one day lead her to Holland Bloorview and her dream career in pediatric health care. With an educational background in therapeutic recreation and social work, Meghan has held a number of positions since joining Holland Bloorview, including therapeutic recreation specialist, family support specialist and social worker.
In early 2023, Meghan transitioned from her counselling role and is now the clinical lead for inpatient access and flow, appointment services. She supports the timely transitions of clients from rehab to their home, school and community. To achieve these timely transitions, Meghan reviews inpatient referrals while liaising with acute care partners, families, schools and child protection agencies. “It feels pretty special to get the opportunity to ensure families receive the inpatient care and support they need, all in the right place and at the right time,” she shares.
Read on to learn more about Meghan:
Can you tell us more about the collaborative aspect of your role?
Collaboration and communication are at the heart of this role. Often the transition from acute care to rehabilitation, and from rehabilitation to home can feel scary or overwhelming for families.
I coordinate acute care transitions by notifying teams of new referrals and collaborating on admission dates. For discharge planning, I help assess referral needs and support discharge planning. I also meet with clients and families early on in their admission to discuss potential referrals, answer questions and ease their transition to community services.
Working primarily in the Specialized Orthopedic Developmental Rehabilitation unit (SODR), I often navigate complex discharges for clients whose diagnoses fall outside standard outpatient categories. I actively seek community partnerships to ensure safe transitions home. I’m so grateful to hospital teams for their ongoing collaboration – their responsiveness to my calls, meetings and e-mails makes timely transitions possible!
What key initiatives are you currently working on?
I am currently leading an exciting new project which will transition all the Ontario Health at Home (OHaH) forms from paper referrals into electronic referrals. This will streamline the referral process for all involved while reducing the margin of error. This project will be launching in early October and training sessions are already underway.
Also, to address the challenge of triaging and prioritizing admissions in a timely manner, I continue to have discussions with referring partners and medical teams to find solutions to reduce wait times.
Can you share a moment or success story where you witnessed the meaningful impact your work has?
I recently collaborated with a local health unit, children’s treatment centre, Ontario Health at Home branch and school to increase a client’s therapy access. After several meetings and calls, we arranged for community-based therapy three times a week, enabling an earlier discharge. The client and family were thrilled as going home sooner gave them more time to adjust to their normal routine prior to the start of school.
How do you stay grounded and motivated in a role that requires both strategic thinking and deep empathy?
Remembering that you are supporting clients and families in accessing one-of-a-kind, specialized care is a true motivator for me. I have also witnessed the positive impact that Holland Bloorview has on children and youth from the family member’s point of view, and I think having this perspective has made me a better clinician. Given my sister was admitted to the SODR unit on previous occasions, I truly feel like I’m giving back by helping clients receive the same quality of care she did many years ago!
I’m also very fortunate this role gives me the opportunity to work with so many great people. Whenever I have too many things going on at once, it’s important to prioritize and lean on colleagues for support. We truly work as a team within our small (but mighty) department.
What are some interests and hobbies that you have?
I’m incredibly active – I was a national level varsity swimmer, and now I enjoy teaching indoor cycling classes as a lead instructor at Cyclebar Leaside!
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