NETWORK E-BULLETIN - FEBRUARY 2008 EDITION

Alliston Local Team Site up and running; Bloorview/Network partnership brings Spasticity Management services and February eBulletin Feb. 2008

Working Together For Kids & Teens with Disabilities … Children's Treatment Network is a new service delivery model for kids with multiple disabilities in Simcoe and York. It links over 40 healthcare, education, recreation, social and community services organizations so they can take a team approach to each child's care. For the first time, parents have one point of contact for a single plan of care for kids from birth to age 19. The Network coordinates services needed and monitors each child's progress through all the phases of their development. The Network is also expanding and adding services that are critically needed in the community to bring more services closer to home and help reduce waitlists. Parents and professionals can contact the Network by calling 1-866-377-0286 or online at www.ctn-simcoeyork.ca <http://www.ctn-simcoeyork.ca> .

NEWS AT A GLANCE:

• Alliston Local Team Site up and running!
• Bloorview/Network partnership brings Spasticity Management services to York and Simcoe
• Medical Post article profiles Network model
• SharePoint pizza lunch contest winner treats Local Team!
• Network Evolution Snapshot
  

Alliston Local Team Site up and running!
Families of kids with special needs in Alliston and the surrounding community now have additional access to services, professionals and specialized equipment all at one location.

The facility, located at 233 Church St. South, is home to the Network's Alliston Local Team in partnership with the Community Living Association of South Simcoe Pre-School Resource Service. Shortly, members of Royal Victoria Hospital's Simcoe County Preschool Speech and Language program will also be co-located here.

The site is fully equipped to support a wide range of services and therapies including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language, augmentative communication, feeding, walking and overall mobility functions.

(Top) Jesse, a 7-year old from Tottenham with cerebral palsy works with physiotherapist Cathy Taggart from Closing the Gap Healthcare Group on the peanut ball to build upper body muscle strength. (Bottom) Jesse and Cathy go through their paces using the parallel bars in the Therapy Gym.

The facility includes:

• A fully equipped Therapy Gym
• Activity Room with an observation room
• 2 Treatment Rooms with observation rooms that are wired for sound
• Conference space where parents and community groups can meet and therapists can collaborate on treatment plans
• Drop down office space with wireless internet connectivity that therapists can use to make calls and update notes between appointments
  

The site provides important ‘close to home' resources for kids, families and professionals in the community. For instance, it is already being used regularly for treatment and consultations by therapists from Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group. Resource teachers from the Community Living Association of South Simcoe lead a special playgroup for kids preparing to enter school that focuses on building speech and language, fine motor and social skills. The North Simcoe Muskoka Health Unit has also conducted pre-natal care workshops here.

(Top) 4-year old Tottenham triplets Alyssa, Kristine and Chantal show their moves to Community Living Association resource teacher Terra Gemmill in the Therapy Gym. (Bottom) Resource teacher Sandra Holmes and Rylee, a 4-year old from Beeton, create bracelets out of pipe cleaners in the Activity Room.

(Top) 3-year old Melanie from Alliston and resource teacher Mary-Lyn Beckstead work with the shape sorter in the Treatment Room. (Bottom) Chantal works on her motor skills and coordination with resource teacher Terra Gemmill in the Therapy Gym.

Alliston Local Team Facilitator Debbie Bushby is on medical leave and we look forward to her return in the new year. In the meantime, Shallen Hollingshead, Occupational Therapist with Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital Children's Therapy Services has come on board as Interim Local Team Facilitator to support the Alliston Local Team and the Local Team Site.

To book appointments to use the facilities and/or arrange a tour of the site or discuss how the facilities and equipment can be used to serve kids with special needs in the Alliston area, please contact:

• Shallen Hollingshead at 705-435-4792 ext. 299, sahollingshead@osmh.on.ca
• Network partners can book appointments to use the space and equipment on SharePoint, the Network's online collaboration site – Click here. You will need your SharePoint password. If you have forgotten your password or need to arrange for a password, contact Silvie Thickett at 1-877-719-4795 ext. 2379, silvie.thickett@ctn-simcoeyork.ca
  

Bloorview/Network partnership brings Spasticity Management services to York and Simcoe
For many parents of children with neurological challenges, spasticity management can often mean stressful and lengthy trips to Bloorview Kids Rehab and long wait times for services. For example, there are a limited number of facilities that provide Botox® injection and bacclofen pump services for children with cerebral palsy and other neurological challenges.

To address this need the Network has partnered with Bloorview to bring these types of specialized services closer to home. Two Network physicians and a physiotherapist have received training from Dr. Darcy Fehlings, Physician Director, Child Development Program at Bloorview so they can provide spasticity management services in York and Simcoe. Dr. Fehlings, who is also Head of the Division of Developmental Paediatrics, University of Toronto, is internationally known for her research in Botox® use in children with cerebral palsy.

As a result of this special training program, Dr. Gerald Friedman, Chief of Paediatrics, Woman and Child Program at York Central Hospital is now providing Botox® assessment and injection at the Network's York Resource Centre in Richmond Hill. The Network also provided funding for physiotherapist Sarah Bellman-Brown of Southlake Regional Health Centre to train with Dr. Fehling's team so she can support Dr. Friedman in the assessment and physical management of local children requiring these treatments.

13 year-old Kaitlyn from Sharon shares a chuckle with Dr. Friedman (left) and physiotherapist Sarah Bellman-Brown (back) as they work on her range of motion during an assessment at the new Botox® Clinic in the Network's York Resource Centre.

Dr. Nicky Jones-Stokreef, Network developmental paediatrician and director of the Child Development Program at Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital has been providing Botox® treatments to kids in Simcoe County for over two years. As a result of specialized training with Dr. Fehlings, spasticity management services have been expanded in Simcoe to include bacclofen pump services.

Equipping local practitioners with the special skills to manage these services is playing a key role in relieving wait lists at Bloorview, speeding treatment, reducing travel time for parents and their families, and delivering the follow-up support required.

Medical Post article profiles Network model
On Feburary 12th, the Medical Post featured an article written by York Central Hospital's Dr. Umberto Cellupica and Dr. Gerald Friedman about how the Network's Developmental Assessment and Consultation Services Team is shortening wait times and reducing the need to travel for services. Please take moment to read the article that also describes the impact of the Network's interdisciplinary care team approach on physicians, paediatricians and families - from the physician's perspective. To view the article, click here.

SharePoint pizza lunch contest winner treats Local Team!

Members of the Alliston Local Team were served pizza by Network CEO Bob Morton courtesy of Laurie Rife, (back right) winner of the SharePoint Pizza Lunch contest.

Local Team colleagues who joined Laurie at the Alliston Local Team Site included (back left to right) Sue Shacklady, Community Living Association; Shallen Hollingshead, Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital and Alliston Local Team Facilitator; Bob Morton, Network CEO; Cathy Brown Hoysa, Community Living Association; Terra Gemmill, Community Living Association; Sandra Holmes, Community Living Association; Wyn Hoysa, Community Living Association and Network Service Navigator; (front left to right) Jesse; Enid Mackle, Closing the Gap Healthcare Group and Network Augmentative Communications Team; Cathy Taggart, Closing the Gap Healthcare Group and Seating and Mobility Team Facilitator; Debbie Bushby, Royal Victoria Hospital and Alliston Local Team Facilitator; Mary-Lyn Beckstead, Community Living Association.

There are now 670 Network partner professionals who are using SharePoint, the Nework's online collaboration and communication centre. SharePoint allows you to connect and collaborate with your Local Team colleagues, learn about single plan of care, book your electronic record and single plan of care process training sessions and book facilities at Local Team Sites. It is critical that you connect with your Local Team so that you can work together to implement the integrated approaches that will support each child through all the phases of their development. If you have not yet registered for SharePoint, please contact Silvie Thickett at 1-877-719-4795 ext. 2379, silvie.thickett@ctn-simcoeyork.ca.

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NETWORK EVOLUTION SNAPSHOT - as of February 2008

• Transition to Single Plan of Care: 190 kids have started the process
• Recruitment: 83% of target reached; 71 additional professionals hired
• Electronic Record: 350 authorized users
• Single Plan of Care Process Training: 374 professionals trained
• 2 Resource Centres and 4 of 8 Local Team Sites Operational (Barrie, Richmond Hill, Alliston, Midland, Georgina, Markham)
• Research Study: 62% of families needed are confirmed to participate
  

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