(From left) Shana Betz, mother of MSH patient; Tom Barlow, Board Chair, MSH; Dr. Andrew Arcand, Chief of Emergency Medicine, MSH; Jo-anne Marr, President and CEO, MSH; Dr. Mike Apkon, President and CEO, SickKids; Dr. Deepa Grewal, Chief of Paediatrics, MSH; Barbara Steed, Executive Vice President, Patient Services & Chief Practice Officer, MSH
Families served by Markham Stouffville Hospital will have enhanced paediatric services closer to home.
MARKHAM, ON – As the first community hospital to join Kids Health Alliance (KHA), Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH) will enhance the paediatric care they provide to families in their communities. This partnership will improve access to more coordinated, consistent, high-quality care for children, youth and their families with the help from three of Ontario’s largest paediatric health-care providers.
KHA was founded in June 2017 by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario – Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre, the partnership aims to strengthen the paediatric health system with members who share a common goal of improving the health of children and youth in Ontario.
“MSH is continually striving for paediatric service excellence. KHA will help us deliver enhanced quality care to our community close to home.” says Jo-anne Marr, MSH President and CEO. “This partnership will build paediatric clinical capacity by sharing specialized resources and expertise, and through collaboration on research and education.”
The partnership will initially focus on enhancing paediatric care in Markham Stouffville Hospital’s Emergency Department. Then through continued sharing of specialized paediatric expertise and implementation of best practices, the collaboration will extend to the enhancing care in neonatal intensive care units and paediatric inpatient units.
“Each child’s health journey may take them through a complex network of providers that include paediatric and community hospitals, children’s rehabilitation, community paediatricians and home-care providers,” says Dr. Michael Apkon, Executive Chair of the Kids Health Alliance Board and President and CEO of SickKids. “Kids Health Alliance will help facilitate a coordinated approach to care and support a holistic view of each patient’s needs and experiences.”
Kids Health Alliance is good news for families like that of Markham’s Emma, nine year’s old, who started coming to Markham Stouffville Hospital when she was 11 months old for diabetes treatment. At diagnosis Emma went to SickKids in ketoacidosis where they stabilized her and she returned to MSH for follow up care for the last eight years.
“As a parent of young children in Markham, I am thankful for this partnership that will bring more specialized resources close to home.” says Shana Betz, Emma’s mother. “It will also help if my children need to be transferred to SickKids that the transition will be that much easier and seamless.” Families served by MSH will benefit with collaboration efforts in the following areas:
- Ensuring timely access to health care and improving the short- and long-term health of children and youth by embedding best clinical practices and principles
- Improving access to quality care closer to home by building and distributing capacity across Kids Health Alliance
- Enhancing the coordination of health-care delivery by creating consistent approaches to connecting along the continuum of care.
- Making transitions easier when patients are transferred from one health-care provider to another
- Improving access to health records through shared technology platforms
- Driving innovation through collaborative research and education
About Markham Stouffville Hospital
Markham Stouffville Hospital is a progressive, two-site, community hospital with 275 beds, leading diagnostic services and clinical programs in acute care medicine and surgery, addictions and mental health, and childbirth and children’s services. Partnering with other specialist providers, the hospital’s 450 physicians, 2,100 staff, and 1,300 volunteers make it the centre of community care for the residents of the City of Markham and the Towns of Stouffville and Uxbridge.
Having recently completed a significant expansion and renovation, Markham Stouffville Hospital’s is well positioned to serve the needs of the community with an expanded emergency department and diagnostic imaging centre, enhanced childbirth and children’s services program and expanded mental health services. For more information, visit www.msh.on.ca, follow us on Twitter @MSHospital, Facebook @MarkhamStouffvilleHospital and Instagram @mshospital.