Supporting families together with the Extensive Needs Service
Since the Extensive Needs Service (ENS) program launched in April 2023 at hospitals including Hamilton Health Sciences’ McMaster Children’s Hospital (MCH), it has supported more than 2,000 of Ontario’s children and youth with urgent and complex needs, and their families. The program’s accomplishments include successfully decreasing the number of in-hospital stays, missed school days and overall family stress.
On Dec. 6, ENS teams from system leads MCH, CHEO, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, together with their community partners, gathered in-person and virtually at the inaugural ENS Symposium to celebrate the program’s impact and develop priorities for the year ahead.
“This celebration of the Extensive Needs Program highlights the incredible and collaborative work across the three organizations, our associated partners, and the Ontario government,” says Karen Margallo director of child and family community integrated care at MCH. “With positive early outcomes supporting kids and families with complex and extensive needs, there is still important work to build, refine and expand the program to meet ongoing needs. Together, with continued support, we can create a brighter future for families.”
“I can’t wait to see how we can grow this program to support even more families in the future.”
Roy Averion, parent of 12-year-old, Isaac, who has been receiving services through ENS since last summer, shared the program’s impact on his son and their family. Thanks to the support they’ve received, Isaac is staying longer in school and his family can go on outings and feel less stressed, Roy shared.
ENS wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) and the Ministry of Health. At the symposium, MCCSS Minister Michael Parsa provided a video greeting after Holland Bloorview’s president and CEO Julia Hanigsberg gave a warm welcome to delegates. Representatives from both ministries were also in attendance.
“I am so proud of the work our entire ENS multidisciplinary teams at Holland Bloorview and our system partners across the GTA have accomplished to provide kids and families the right kind of support where and when they need it,” says Kathryn Decker, senior director of ENS and inclusion programs at Holland Bloorview. “We have come so far in developing new models of care that are trauma informed and grounded in evidence. I can’t wait to see how we can grow this program to support even more families in the future.”
“The ENS has really filled a gap in the system for some of Ontario’s highest-needs families,” adds Taylor Johansen, director of neurodevelopmental health at CHEO. “This customized treatment is what these families needed and every day, we learn more about how to support them best. In future years, ENS will bring even more precise care, interdisciplinary practice, and cross-sector solutions to Ontario’s neurodiverse children.”
During the day-long conference, delegates heard from Dr. Melanie Penner, senior research scientist and developmental pediatrician at the Bloorview Research Institute, Jordan Edwards, postdoctoral and CES fellow from MCH, and Amedeo D’Angiulli, scientist from CHEO Research Institute, on how data collected from clients and their families has informed clinical care, program evaluation and research.
Toni Lui, ENS team lead on clinical integration and Trish Wilson, a clinical manager with ENS from MCH, shared their journey of how regional partnerships were developed as part of the ENS program to meet the unique and diverse needs of local communities.
McMaster Children’s Hospital has launched 14 critical ENS community partnerships across the region, including CONTACT’s Hamilton, Niagara and Brant branches, REACH Haldimand-Norfolk, Niagara Children’s Centre, De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre, Pathstone Mental Health, Bethesda, Niagara Support Services, Lansdowne Children’s Centre, Six Nations Department of Wellbeing, Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services, Willowbridge Community Services, and Brant Home and Community are Support Services. These partners provide the individualized care that children and families need. This has been vital in reaching more families – hundreds in southwestern Ontario who have accessed the ENS program to date.
The audience also gained new insights from John Clarke, interim program director from Mackenzie Health’s Centre for Behaviour Health Sciences, and Tracy Johnson, director of service from Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions, on how they are adopting a collaborative approach to support children with challenging behavioural needs within the child welfare system.
After a network and lunch break, clinicians, researchers, family partners, provincial government representatives, child welfare advocates and other groups gathered in a breakout session to share insights and co-design priority future directions for ENS. The session was facilitated by Lisa Lachance of Wisdom2Action, a social enterprise and consulting firm.
The Symposium was then closed off with Jennifer Churchill, president of Empowered Kids Ontario.
