L to R: Sarah Downey, President and CEO, MGH; Lauren Ettin, Executive Director, Kids Health Alliance; Dr. David Naylor, Interim President & CEO, SickKids; Julia Hanigsberg, President and CEO, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
(Nov. 12 2018) Toronto – Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) has officially joined Kids Health Alliance (KHA), a not-for-profit network of partners working to create a child and family-centred approach to high-quality, consistent, coordinated paediatric health care.
MGH’s Emergency Department – one of the busiest in the City of Toronto – sees nearly 80,000 visits per year, with one fifth of patients being children and youth. For more than a decade, MGH has partnered with The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) to deliver the highest level of quality, paediatric community care to East Toronto families closer to home.
The hospital is proud to build on this legacy of exceptional care in partnership with KHA which includes founding member hospitals – SickKids, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital (Holland Bloorview) and CHEO – and current community hospital partners – Markham Stouffville Hospital, Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, Pembroke Regional Hospital and Humber River Hospital.
“At Michael Garron Hospital, partnerships are an essential ingredient to achieving our vision of creating health and building community,” says Sarah Downey, President and CEO, MGH.“Together with our KHA partners, we will ensure that the highest standards of care are provided to our youngest patients.”
As part of the Alliance, MGH will collaborate with fellow partners to advance excellence and expertise in paediatric health care and work toward a common goal of improving the health of children and youth, starting in the Emergency Department, and in the future, in the neonatal intensive care and inpatient units.
“On behalf of the KHA Board and community hospital partners, we are excited to welcome Michael Garron Hospital to Kids Health Alliance,” says Dr. David Naylor, Board Chair of Kids Health Alliance and Interim President and CEO of SickKids.”SickKids and Michael Garron Hospital have a longstanding, shared commitment to providing better access to paediatric emergency care services closer to home for children living in East Toronto. Through joining Kids Health Alliance, Michael Garron Hospital will be joining a network of healthcare organizations that collaborate to make tangible improvements in care for children and youth within and beyond the Emergency Department – further accelerating and spreading the commitment to delivering excellent paediatric care.”
MGH looks forward to both benefiting from and contributing to the KHA partnership through its continued efforts to deliver first-rate paediatric services to the East Toronto community. MGH is proud of its breadth of services available to children and families, which include:
- Advanced Level 2 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which provides care to infants born at 32 weeks gestation or more
- Paediatric inpatient services that treat newborns and children up to 18 years of age with a variety of health conditions and cares for children before and after surgery
- Paediatric surgical services, including: general surgery, orthopaedics, urology, plastic surgery, gynaecology, ophthalmology, ear, nose and throat (ENT) and dentistry
- Child and teen clinics ranging from asthma, cardiology, healthy lifestyles, complex care and more
- Breastfeeding clinic which is staffed by lactation consultants and public health nurses who have received advanced training in breastfeeding
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health program that includes six inpatient beds and a number of clinics and a day program in partnership with the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
MGH is also an official designated site for the paediatric training of residents and medical students and provides placements to many trainees in paediatrics, family practice medicine, nursing and other disciplines.
KHA plans to grow the network to include organizations across the continuum of care to provide patients and families with a more seamless transition between health care providers. KHA partners will always strive to provide consistent, high-quality care in the communities they serve.
“A child’s health journey may take them through a complex system that includes specialized paediatric hospitals, community hospitals, community paediatricians, mental health services, children’s development and rehabilitation services, and homecare services,” says Lauren Ettin, Executive Director of Kids Health Alliance.“We believe that by working together to improve access and health outcomes for children and youth, our best can be even better. We look forward to working with Michael Garron Hospital.”
About Michael Garron Hospital
Nestled in the heart of East Toronto, Michael Garron Hospital is a vibrant community teaching hospital serving more than 400,000 people in 22 distinct neighbourhoods. For more than 89 years, MGH has delivered high-quality, patient-centred healthcare services to families along the continuum of care, from welcoming a new life to facing end-of-life. MGH has continually renewed its commitment to community by adapting its programs and services to meet the evolving needs of the diverse population it serves. Located in the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network, MGH is a respected full-service hospital with strong community and research partners, including the University of Toronto.
About Kids Health Alliance
Kids Health Alliance (KHA) was founded by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital (Holland Bloorview) and CHEO in June 2017. KHA is a not-for-profit network of partners working to create a child, youth and family centred, high quality, efficient approach to pediatric health care. Our goal is to make tangible improvements in the delivery of pediatric health care, thereby improving the patient experience and health outcomes, and generating greater value. KHA will create value by growing collaborations across the continuum of care to include community hospitals, community pediatrics, home care services, child development and rehabilitation services, mental health services and other sectors. We are actively exploring opportunities in several of these sectors.
Media Contacts
Erica Di Maio, Acting Manager, Corporate Communications
Michael Garron Hospital | Toronto East Health Network
Phone: 416-469-6580 ext. 6019
Email: Erica.DiMaio@tehn.ca
Ashley Cruz, Senior Media Relations Specialist
Communications and Public Engagement
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Phone: 416-425-6220 ext. 6409
Cell: 647-406-3567
Email: acruz@hollandbloorview.ca