Friday, July 19, 2024 – One year after Premier Ford announced an historic $330 million investment in kids’ health and well-being, the children’s health system is expanding services and improving response times to better support the health and well-being of Ontario’s children and families.

With approximately $265 million of this funding allocated and announced to date, kids and families are already seeing the benefits. Improvements include bolstered care for kids with disabilities and developmental needs; expansion of community-based child and youth mental health care; increased number of surgeries, procedures and hospital beds at Ontario’s pediatric hospital centres; retention and hiring of more staff across the province; and the delivery of more programs in partnership. We look forward to the allocation of the remaining $65 million to help even more Ontarians.

Highlights of health care innovations and capacity building enabled by this new funding include:

• CHEO increased access to care with total visits up 25 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels, including 2,733 visits to temporary after-hours and weekend outpatient clinics. Funding for urgent care centres and the Emergency Department resulted in over 30,000 additional visits. A new regional pediatric surgical program was launched across eastern Ontario, bringing care closer to home and cutting wait times. Funding also helped decrease wait times at CHEO’s outpatient clinics and for MRI’s that require general anesthesia. To accomplish this work, CHEO was also able to add 258 new positions, thanks to the funding.
• Children’s Mental Health Ontario has worked in partnership with the Lead Agency Consortium and the Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions to transform the delivery of care and address long wait times for children and youth across the province requiring intensive treatment through the Ontario Intensive Treatment Pathway (OITP). This initiative will better coordinate services and enhance evidence-based, quality, intensive treatment capacity across the province – all so that families can get the mental health care and support they need, closer to home, and when they need it.
• Member organizations of Empowered Kids Ontario that support children with disabilities and developmental differences have begun to stabilize their workforces, including in Ontario’s North, where recruitment and retention of top talent can be particularly challenging. The sector has also increased the number of kids receiving treatment with regulated and other health professionals, and has introduced new programs in some communities such as aquatic therapy for pre- and post- surgery treatment.
• Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital has increased staffing by 10 per cent, enabling increased inpatient capacity with four new inpatient rehabilitation beds, as well as serving 60 per cent more clients in the day patient unit. Approximately 800 children and youth who would still be waiting for a range of outpatient services have been able to see highly skilled developmental health care experts as a result of this investment.
• Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre has enabled even timelier access to care and services for children and adolescents. This includes timelier access to surgical services as reflected in a 25% surgical waitlist reduction; improved access to emergency care through the new Emergency Department Mental Health Team, expanded night emergency clinic and the virtual Emergency Department clinic; increased access to ambulatory clinics through our evening/weekend clinics; and advanced partnerships with community agencies to enable care closer to home.
• McMaster Children’s Hospital has focused on significantly improving access to timely patient care across multiple areas of the hospital and the Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre. In less than a year, over 4,000 additional patients have been cared for in funded outpatient clinics; over 330 additional children have been treated in eight new pediatric medicine beds; 512 additional children received surgeries from October 2023 to March 2024, which is a 27 per cent increase compared to the same period the year prior; the Pediatric Palliative Care Program has expanded to increase support for children and youth with life-limiting conditions across the region; and more. This work was enabled by the rapid addition of over 300 new specialized health care roles, including nurses, physicians, psychologists, physiotherapists, social workers, and other pediatric experts.
• SickKids has continued to work with community partners to address the surgical backlog across the Greater Toronto Area by referring almost 700 cases across the partner sites. As a result, SickKids’ surgical waitlist is now below 6,000 cases for the first time since December 2022. The funding has also made a difference in SickKids’ Virtual Urgent Care Program, developed to help support volumes in the Emergency Department, by enabling over 1300 visits over the past year.

This historic investment in children’s health care has been a critical step towards right-sizing the pediatric health system to meet the growing needs of Ontario’s almost 3 million children and their families. It has alleviated many barriers to care and allowed Ontario’s dedicated pediatric healthcare professionals to better serve kids across the province.

By the end of the pandemic, kids were waiting longer than adults for healthcare across all clinical streams – medical, surgical, developmental and rehabilitation, mental health and diagnostics. During COVID, 440,000 babies were born in Ontario, and we know at least 10 to 20 per cent of children and youth need medical, developmental, or mental healthcare to succeed and thrive. This has significant impact not only on the health of these children, but on their social, educational, and developmental needs. Without urgent action in the early years, when it makes the most difference, children’s overall well-being is negatively impacted now and into the future. We must continue to keep children’s health and well-being front and centre to monitor and respond to this generation’s unmet needs and impact on schools, families and communities.

We must continue to build on the momentum and innovation made possible by this transformational funding with sustained and continued investments to ensure all infants, children, youth and families have timely access to the care and supports they need, when and where they need them.

Kids can’t afford to wait. Early intervention is often the least costly approach and has long-term positive impacts for the child, the family, the community and the economy.

The Children’s Health Coalition represents expertise in pediatric health care and research; developmental health; mental health services, intensive services and acute care; physical, cognitive and communication disabilities; as well as emergency and complex care.

In other words, we deliver every kind of health care a child could need – and we see how the elements of care can work together to support kids if we look at the entire system as a whole.

That’s why we will continue in partnership to advance our goal to deliver integrated children’s health care – so that the entire health care system works better to support kids and their families no matter what challenges they are facing.

About the Children’s Health Coalition
The Children’s Health Coalition is a collective of eight leading Ontario children’s health organizations: CHEO, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, Empowered Kids Ontario, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Kids Health Alliance, McMaster Children’s Hospital and SickKids. 

We represent expertise in pediatric health care and research; rehabilitation; mental health services like targeted prevention, early intervention, short and long-term counselling and therapy, addictions services, intensive services, and acute care; physical, cognitive, and communication disabilities; as well as emergency and complex care. We deliver every kind of care a child could need, and we see how the elements of care can work together to support their families no matter what challenges they are facing.

February 8, 2024

Dear Premier Ford and Deputy Premier Jones,

Thank you for your ongoing recognition of the importance of children’s physical, developmental and mental health, and the historic investments in children’s healthcare your government made this past July. It is in this context that we are writing today, to express our appreciation for your commitment to respect the rights of patients and clinicians to make clinical decisions when it comes to gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse children and youth.

This is a principled and evidence-based position. Effective relationships between a patient and their clinicians are based on trust and confidentiality, and guided by best-available evidence to support physical and mental well-being. Gender-affirming healthcare for children and youth must remain as decisions between the patient, their parents/caregivers, and their clinicians, without intrusion by government.

Our clinicians see firsthand the harm, pain and damage that occurs when transgender and gender-diverse children and youth are outed against their will and are not adequately supported on their journey. Policies aimed at fostering inclusion and representation and honouring the human rights of 2SLGBTQ+ children and youth in all settings are not only critical to their overall health and wellbeing, they are life saving. For example, research has shown that for transgender youth who choose a name or pronoun different from the one given at birth, use of their chosen name or pronoun in multiple contexts affirms their gender identity and reduces mental health risks known to be high amongst this group. A 2018 study found that transgender youth allowed to use their chosen names and pronouns reported a 34 percent decrease in suicidal thoughts and a 65 percent decrease in suicide attempts.

Children and youth who seek gender-affirming care are entitled to timely and equitable access to effective care—whether social, psychological, or medical. As leaders in the delivery of specialized pediatric healthcare in Ontario, we are fully committed to supporting the health, well-being and equitable delivery of care for 2SLGBTQ+ children and youth. Our clinical leaders would be pleased to meet with you to continue to share evidence-based practice and policies that will strengthen current programming and improve outcomes for children, youth and families.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Churchill
CEO, Empowered Kids Ontario

Dr. Ronald Cohn
President and CEO, The Hospital for Sick Children

Lauren Ettin
Executive Director, Kids Health Alliance

Julia Hanigsberg
President and CEO, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Alex Munter
President and CEO, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Bruce Squires
President, McMaster Children’s Hospital

Nash Syed
President, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre

Tatum Wilson
CEO, Children’s Mental Health Ontario

Download a PDF of the letter.

March 23, 2023 – The Children’s Health Coalition welcomes the Ontario government’s commitments to allocate additional funding and work with frontline pediatric health partners to identify more ways to connect children and youth to the care they need.

Today, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy tabled Ontario’s 2023 budget, Building A Strong Ontario, which includes this passage:

“Every child in Ontario should be able to get
the care they need, when they need it.”

We agree. We know what needs to be done. We already have the plan. And we are ready to get to work. After decades of underinvestment by successive governments, we have a lot of catching up to do. 

Children’s health service organizations will use increased investments to deliver with accountability and innovation. 

Ontario’s pediatric hospitals and community partners are ready to implement our plan so kids and families see the results quickly.

Quotes

• “Children and youth across the province are waiting too long for vital health-care services. What was previously a challenge has now become a crisis, despite the best efforts of our dedicated teams across the pediatric health system. This commitment to invest from the Ontario government is a good first step in enabling system-wide improvements to ensure children and youth in Ontario receive timely, high quality health care.” – Dr. Ronald Cohn, President and CEO, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
• “The backlogs and wait times for young people to get surgeries and so many other services have ballooned in recent years to unacceptable, and in some cases dangerous, levels. Today, the government made children’s health a priority and we are ready to put funding into action immediately so kids can get back to being kids.” – Bruce Squires, President, McMaster Children’s Hospital
• “Every missed developmental milestone may have long-term, even life-long, effects. Rehabilitation is intrinsically linked to healthy futures that children, youth and families need and deserve. An investment in pediatric healthcare today is preventative medicine for tomorrow.” – Julia Hanigsberg, President and CEO, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
• “As too many Ontario families know, all too well, delaying care to kids puts their development milestones at risk. It impacts whole families and entire communities. We’re ready to put these investments to work for all.”– Nash Syed, President, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre
• “There is a crisis in child and youth mental health and the investments announced in today’s budget will help to stabilize the system and reduce wait times.  Investments across the children’s health system are welcome and we look forward to working collaboratively to continue to improve access to the care that kids need.” – Tatum Wilson, CEO, Children’s Mental Health Ontario
• “Ontario’s child development providers look forward to working with the government to find ways to bring more kids into care at home, in schools and in their communities. We are ready to deliver solutions to improve kids’ health and well-being, and alleviate the stress on healthcare for all Ontarians—at every age and stage.” Jennifer Churchill, CEO, Empowered Kids Ontario – Jennifer Churchill, CEO, Empowered Kids Ontario
• “We are happy to see the government acknowledge and prioritize the needs of our children.  This is a good first step towards reducing wait times so children across our province receive the care they need. We look forward to working with the government to ensure the health and well-being of children and families in our communities.”  – Lauren Ettin, Executive Director, Kids Health Alliance
• “Invest in kids’ health now, save for a lifetime. Every day matters in the life of a child and investing in kids’ health is good for everyone – for the individual and for the system. Today’s commitment to invest is pedianomics in action and will pay dividends for generations to come.” – Alex Munter, President and CEO, CHEO

Key Facts: Pandemic Impacts on Children’s Health and Access to Care 

• 4200+ surgeries cancelled at children’s hospitals March 1, 2020 – May 31, 2021
• 209,000+ non-surgical appointments cancelled at children’s hospitals March 1, 2020 – May 31, 2021
• 90,000 kids are waiting for child development and pediatric rehabilitation services at home, in schools and in the community.
• 2.5x increase in eating disorder emergency visits
• 28000+ kids are waiting for diagnostic imaging
• 31000+ kids are on wait lists for ambulatory services
• 8300+ kids are waiting for surgeries
• 9500+ kids are waiting for ambulatory clinic visits
• 28000+ kids are waiting for mental health treatment
• One in nine kids has a disability.  
• In many regions of Ontario, only 1 in 3 kids receives community-based child development services within the clinical standard time.
• Kids are waiting three years or more for speech and language therapy.
• Before the pandemic, kids were already waiting two times longer than adults for health care. 
• During the pandemic, 300,000 babies were born in Ontario. Without urgent action in the early years – where it can make the most difference – an unprecedented wave of kids will hit the school system in the next few years who have never had the support they needed to succeed and thrive. 
• Every kid who didn’t get help from a speech pathologist, physiotherapist, neurologist or other pediatric professional will arrive at school already behind where they should be. This will hit schools hard – and won’t just affect the kids who, by then, will need extraordinary accommodation from the school system – but every other child and teacher in the classroom.

The Children’s Health Coalition

The Children’s Health Coalition is a network of partners committed to advancing excellence and expertise in pediatric care – leading to better outcomes and a high-quality, consistent and coordinated approach to healthcare that is centered around children, youth and their families.

The Coalition includes:

• CHEO
• Children’s Mental Health Ontario
• Empowered Kids Ontario
• Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
• Kids Health Alliance
• London Health Sciences Centre Children’s Hospital
• McMaster Children’s Hospital
• SickKids

The coalition developed the Make Kids Count Action Plan representing a detailed analysis from the 115 cross-sectoral organizations that are represented within the Coalition. This analysis identified a need for an annual investment of $357 million each year for the next four years to ensure timely access to health care as part of system recovery, to ensure hospital capacity, and to ensure community providers can meet the urgent needs of Ontario’s children.

May 2, 2022– With the start of the provincial election campaign, the Children’s Health Coalition (CHC) is calling on leaders and candidates of all political parties to make kids’ health across all sectors a priority by adopting the 100 Day #MakeKidsCount Commitment.

“Children and youth have had vital care delayed and have experienced devastating impacts. Delaying access to care will have lifelong effects on tens of thousands of children across the province and their families,” said Dr. Ronald Cohn, President and CEO of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). “The pandemic increased the pressure the children’s health care system is facing and has also shone a light on the immediate need for government support to enable system-wide improvements. We need action now.”

To #MakeKidsCount the Children’s Health Coalition wants the next government to commit to the following within the first 100 days in office:

1. Invest $1 billion over four years in the Make Kids Count Action Plan.
2. Convene a cross-sectoral children’s health summit with government, specialized children’s health care organizations, and health care providers to agree on principles for a long-term provincial Children’s Health Strategy.
3. Develop and release Ontario’s first-ever Children’s Health Strategy.

“Every day matters in the life of a child when it comes to their health and development. Sadly, over the course of the pandemic we’ve seen surgeries and rehabilitation services get repeatedly cancelled, further delaying the care children need,” said Julia Hanigsberg, President and CEO of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. “A generation of children and youth is at risk of significant long-term health problems without immediate action.”

“Children need early interventions aligned with their developmental milestones to optimize physical, psychological, and social development,” said Alex Munter, President and CEO of Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. “Missing key opportunities to assess, care, treat or rehabilitate a child severely impacts the life of that child.”

The Make Kids Count Action Plan is a solution for a children’s health system that is in need of care. Kids should be made a priority. Children’s health is not a partisan issue. The Coalition is asking candidates and leaders across the political spectrum to be committed to building an Ontario where children and youth have timely access to the care they need by implementing the Make Kids Count Action Plan.

QUOTES:

“Today, only one in three kids receives community-based rehabilitation services within the clinical standard while the majority wait almost three years to access care. These numbers are significant; each patient is a child at risk of missing treatment during critical care windows.”

–Jennifer Churchill, CEO of Empowered Kids Ontario

“Kids across Ontario have taken the brunt of the pandemic, far too much has been asked of them. Now more than ever, it is imperative we have strong provincial support so that our children can access the timely care they critically need.”

–-Tatum Wilson, CEO of Children’s Mental Health Ontario

“Our kids have been waiting too long and the time for action is now. Our Children’s Health Coalition looks forward to collaborating with government to give our kids the investments they deserve and need.”

–Bruce Squires, President of McMaster Children’s Hospital and VP Women’s and Children’s Health at Hamilton Health Sciences. 

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About the Children’s Health Coalition: The Children’s Health Coalition is a collective of children’s health organizations made up of CHEO, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, Empowered Kids Ontario, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Kids Health Alliance, McMaster Children’s Hospital, and SickKids.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Nicole Helsberg for the Children’s Health Coalition

nhelsberg@cmho.org

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March 9, 2022 – With today’s announcement, we want to thank everyone, including students and education staff, for your commitment to and diligence with public health measures throughout the pandemic. We know that masking, daily screening, cohorting and distancing have been tough, but adherence to these measures has allowed schools to remain open. 

Keeping schools open has been the most important goal, and we have been pleased to see the decline in school absenteeism, outbreaks, and pediatric hospitalizations over the past eight weeks. The disruption to in-person schooling, due to illness or school closures, has certainly had a negative impact on kids’ learning, development and mental health. 

Since we know that most cases of COVID-19 identified in schools originate outside of school, we would have preferred to see masks kept in place for two weeks after March Break so we could have assessed the impact of the broader re-opening of Ontario. Masks remain an important layer of protection as the pandemic continues and may be needed in communities with low vaccination rates and where there is a surge in cases. Masks also protect those most vulnerable, including high-risk, immunocompromised and fragile children. 

With the removal of the indoor mask mandate today, for now, we encourage everyone to continue masking in schools, if they are able, to reduce absenteeism and support sustained in-person learning as a precautionary and phased approach as we come out of the Omicron wave. We are pleased that the Chief Medical Officer of Health is continuing to encourage masking as well and that the government is making rapid tests broadly available. We may have to, and would encourage, a return to universal masking when there is a surge in cases that put children and their families at risk.

As a group whose commitment is to the health and well-being of children, we all want the pandemic to be a memory for our kids, not part of their day-to-day. But we’re not quite there yet, and we ask everyone to continue to be thoughtful of those around them and their needs and choices when it comes to masking.

About the Children’s Health Coalition: The Children’s Health Coalition is a collective of children’s health organizations made up of CHEO, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, Empowered Kids Ontario, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Kids Health Alliance, McMaster Children’s Hospital, and SickKids.

Learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine for children at parenthomework.ca.

March 3, 2022 – The school safety plan has been effective. From mid-January onwards, COVID wastewater monitoring indicators, pediatric hospitalizations and school absenteeism have declined. Before making any decision on the removal of masks in schools, we would prefer that decision-makers look at what core indicators say—things like a stabilization or reduction in case counts, hospitalizations, and ICU numbers. Given Ontario’s reopening and March Break, it makes sense to wait until at least two weeks after the end of the break to review those indicators and make a decision for Ontario’s schools. 

COVID in schools tends to reflect COVID in the broader community. Let’s wait until we better understand the impact of a broader re-opening before we change measures that have successfully kept schools open since January.

About the Children’s Health Coalition: The Children’s Health Coalition is a collective of children’s health organizations made up of CHEO, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, Empowered Kids Ontario, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Kids Health Alliance, McMaster Children’s Hospital, and SickKids.

February 28, 2022 – As leaders in children’s health, we know that masking is an important layer of protection to prevent COVID-19 and has prevented widespread transmission in school settings. While there have been recent calls to remove this public health measure, now is not the time. Masking in indoor school settings is still required to protect children and their families.  

Case counts and hospitalizations while on the decline, remain high. Many children remain unvaccinated. Young children are still ineligible. The evidence is clear: Masking helps prevent transmission not only at school but prevents kids from then spreading COVID at home to unvaccinated siblings, family or community members.

While we remain optimistic that this measure can be adjusted soon, we ask that the government continue to require masking in schools to protect children’s health. An increase in vaccination rates for children aged 5–11 and boosters for 12–17, which remain lower in Ontario than in most of Canada, would be one way to do this. As soon as the evidence suggests otherwise—and we rely on evidence to make our recommendations—then alternatives can be considered.

For now, let’s ensure kids remain as healthy as they can in schools by keeping their masks on.

About the Children’s Health Coalition: The Children’s Health Coalition is a collective of children’s health organizations made up of CHEO, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, Empowered Kids Ontario, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Kids Health Alliance, McMaster Children’s Hospital, and SickKids.

February 9, 2022 – As leaders in children’s health, we are pleased that additional Rapid Access Tests (RATs) are being made available to Ontarians. In the absence of widespread PCR testing, RATs are an important tool to continue to monitor and prevent COVID-19 transmission. We urge the government to ensure that every school, child care and health care setting continue to be prioritized in their distribution. Parents and families should be able to access RATs from their school or day care when they need it.

Additionally, we ask that the government exercise caution in lifting public health measures in schools too fast and too soon while we remain in the Omicron wave. Kids, parents and families have been subject to many rules and changes throughout the pandemic. They need stability. Ontario has a comprehensive school safety plan which includes many important public health mitigation measures, and we encourage government to continue with this plan.

We remain optimistic there will be a point when we can adjust these measures—but now is not the time. Many of our children remain unvaccinated, including those under five who are ineligible, and without that level of protection, they are at risk of contracting COVID-19 illness. And as we know too well, complex and medically fragile kids continue to be at greater risk of the effects of COVID. That’s why we must all continue to promote vaccination, masking and reducing of contacts to protect kids and their health. We all have a part to play in keeping our children healthy.

About the Children’s Health Coalition: The Children’s Health Coalition is a collective of children’s health organizations made up of CHEO, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, Empowered Kids Ontario, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Kids Health Alliance, McMaster Children’s Hospital, and SickKids.