Building a National Toolkit to Support Parents of Medically Complex Children and Youth

Families with medically complex children face life changing challenges that aren’t just medical. We want to hear from you…
What have you seen that works to support the non-medical needs of parents with a child who has complex care needs? What are your lessons learned that you can share with us? What could hospitals, healthcare providers, government, schools, employers and others do today that would make an immediate difference?

Your ideas will be used to help build a national toolkit for supporting parents of complex children and youth.

Join the #mycomplexlife conversation!

Presenters:

Teresa MacMillan, Parent Navigator

Teresa is well known to CHEO and the community and has a teen daughter that is followed by multiple specialists. Prior to being a Special Needs Mom Teresa worked at a local Community Health Center as a community developer and in the Nursery School system. She will be offering peer-to-peer support to families in the program as well as hosting events/workshops.

Lillian Kitcher, Parent Navigator

Lillian is well known to CHEO. She has an eight year old son who is followed by multiple clinics. Prior to being a Special Needs Mom Lillian worked at the Kurashiki Board of Education in Japan as an Elementary school teacher specializing in EFL. In 2015 Lillian worked as an Instructor Therapist to children with autism. She will be offering peer to peer support to families in the program as well as hosting workshops/events.

Breanna Gibbon, System Navigator Lead

Breanna plays a leadership role in implementing the Navigator model, working in partnership with community organizations and parents to assess the needs and gaps, establish best practices and build community capacity to ensure families are well supported in there their journey as caregivers of children with medical complexities. She is also responsible for providing support and system navigation to parents and caregivers in the Champlain Complex Care Program.

Mélanie Parent, System Navigator/Social Worker

Melanie is the interim System Navigator/ Social Worker for the Navigator program. She has experience offering counselling support to vulnerable populations within the non-profit sector, private sector and in the hospital setting.