Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre and Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada announce groundbreaking affiliation agreement
In a Canadian first, the two major paediatric hospitals join forces to offer orthopaedic care closer to home and develop innovative teaching and research initiatives.
NEWS RELEASE
LONDON, Ontario, Friday, August 30, 2024 – Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada (SHC Canada) have announced a first of its kind affiliation agreement to improve care, research and education. Patients and families in southwestern Ontario will now have access to specialized paediatric orthopaedic care closer to home, while Canada Shriners Hospital will continue to support – and improve access to – complex cases. This affiliation will also focus on advancements in paediatric research, further improvements in clinical care, and educating the next generation of health-care providers and researchers.
“Children’s Hospital and Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada have long worked together through informal clinical collaborations and referrals, but today we’re excited to enter into a formal affiliation agreement that will have significantly more impact,” said Nash Syed, Vice-President, Children’s Hospital and Women’s Program. “This is an exciting opportunity to create something unique and special for the patients we serve and their families, as well as for the staff, physicians, researchers and students vital to delivering this care.”
“This affiliation is a dream come true developed in the true spirit of collaboration with the goal of improving paediatric orthopaedic care in Canada. It will not only improve the lives of patients and their families, but will also advance research and teaching,” said Jacques Boissonneault, Administrator, Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada. “This affiliation has allowed us to create an exceptional framework that has opened the door to more such collaborative projects across Canada.”
A Canadian first, the affiliation is based on three core pillars: clinical care, research and education.
- Clinical care: A new highly specialized monthly clinic at Children’s Hospital called the Shriners Rare Bone Disease Clinic will offer treatment to children with complex bone disorders, such as osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) and limb anomalies. This clinic will provide patients and families in southwestern Ontario, who in the past have had to travel hours to SHC Canada in Montreal, an opportunity to receive some of their care at LHSC instead. This will make management of these complex disorders significantly easier for patients and their families. In addition, as of next year, Children’s Hospital plans to work with SHC Canada to expand the program throughout the Children’s Hospital catchment area, meaning SHC Canada specialists will provide care at outreach clinics within regional hospitals throughout southwestern Ontario twice annually.
- Research: This fall, scientific teams from both hospitals will come together in a Joint Quarterly Conference to discuss ongoing research developments and future collaborative projects. In addition, a research grant will be awarded through an evaluation process to support innovative projects involving researchers from both hospitals. The proposed projects will need to show potential in improving the treatment of paediatric bone disease.
- Education: Joint Quarterly Education Rounds are already underway allowing surgical teams – including medical students, residents and fellows – to present, discuss, and find solutions to complex cases. Beginning in the summer of 2025, both hospitals will offer a two-year Joint Fellowship. The fellow will gain invaluable experience at Children’s Hospital in trauma care, and experience at SHC Canada in specialty orthopaedic care with complex and rare bone diseases.
The affiliation is funded by a $1.5 million grant over five years from Shriners Children’s, which will be administered by Children’s Health Foundation in London and the Philanthropy Office at Canada Shriners Hospital and will be divided between both hospitals to improve clinical care, research and teaching.
Patient/family story: Reiko’s story: How Children’s Hospital at LHSC and Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada are bringing care closer to home
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For media inquiries contact:
Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre
Celine Zadorsky
Senior Media Relations Consultant
1.226.927.2309
Celine.Zadorsky@lhsc.on.ca
Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada
Caroline Phaneuf
Caroline Phaneuf Communications
1.514.778.5092
caroline@carolinephaneuf.com
After-hours assistance:
Call LHSC Switchboard at 519-685-8500 and ask to page the communication consultant on-call. https://www.lhsc.on.ca/about-lhsc/media-room
