December 9, 2024 (Toronto, ON) – Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) has opened the BMO Child and Youth Centre, a brand-new facility for the hospital’s paediatric outpatient clinics.
Supported in large part by BMO and donors to Michael Garron Hospital Foundation, the new 8,500-square foot space, which opens today after more than a year of construction, is home to more than 20 clinics that operate from one integrated facility, providing essential services to children, youth and families in East Toronto.
The Child and Youth Centre includes paediatric clinics such as the Child Development Clinic, Eating Disorders Clinic and Paediatric Cardiology Clinic; and family-focused clinics such as the Family and Newborn (FAN) Clinic and Breastfeeding Clinic. For a full list of the clinics located in this area, please visit our BMO Child and Youth Centre webpage.
Most of these clinics have moved from their previous locations in older areas of the hospital that were not able to properly accommodate the growing need for these clinics.
The co-location of these clinics will allow families to access streamlined and convenient care in a modern facility that includes additional procedure rooms and more spacious areas that can better accommodate parents and family members who accompany their children and/or teens to the hospital.
“The opening of the Child and Youth Centre builds on MGH’s longstanding commitment to provide paediatric care to the East Toronto community and further strengthens our role as a centre of excellence when it comes to care for our youngest patients,” says Melanie Kohn, President and CEO of MGH. “Now, our clinics can operate in a modern space, to allow for an improved patient experience.”
The Child and Youth Centre joins MGH’s suite of paediatric and family-friendly spaces serving children and youth in East Toronto, including the Family Birthing Centre, the Slaight Family Child and Youth Inpatient Mental Health Unit and the Child and Youth Emergency Zone.
A new, innovative clinic for newborns and families
In addition to housing MGH’s existing paediatric clinics, the Child and Youth Centre is home to one brand-new clinic, the Family and Newborn (FAN) Clinic.
The FAN Clinic is a midwife-led clinic that provides postpartum care for birthing parents and newborns who do not have a primary care provider, or during times their primary care provider is not available. It provides care for semi-urgent concerns or routine care in the first eight weeks after a parent gives birth.
The clinic is staffed by registered midwives and provides services seven days a week. It connects birthing parents to timely consultations with obstetricians, paediatricians and mental health specialists, as needed.
“The FAN Clinic will ensure that all parents and newborns – regardless of whether they partnered with a midwife for delivery – receive timely postnatal care in the days and weeks following their delivery,” says Christie Lockhart, Chief of the Department of Midwifery and Co-Program Medical Director of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Services at MGH.
The FAN Clinic also operates the Early Discharge Program, which gives eligible low-risk patients the option of early discharge from MGH three to 12 hours after their baby is born. A FAN Clinic midwife visits the patient’s home 24 to 48 hours postpartum to perform routine screening tests and assessments, allowing families to recover in the comfort of their own homes.
Expanding access to midwifery care, the FAN Clinic will help improve access to postnatal services, decrease the length of patient stays at MGH, and decrease the number of families seeking postnatal care through the Stavro Emergency Department. Click here for more information about the FAN Clinic.
A part of MGH’s historic redevelopment project
The opening of the Child and Youth Centre is part of MGH’s ongoing campus transformation. The largest redevelopment project in the hospital’s history, it includes the Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre, the hospital’s flagship eight-storey tower, which opened in 2023.
MGH’s campus redevelopment project will continue until 2026 and will include the opening of more renovated spaces, the demolition of outdated wings, and extensive exterior landscaping.
MGH is grateful to its funders and partners for helping to bring the hospital’s campus transformation to life. The $498-million project is funded by the Ministry of Health, MGH and donors to Michael Garron Hospital Foundation.
About Michael Garron Hospital
Nestled in the heart of East Toronto, Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) is a vibrant community teaching hospital serving more than 400,000 people in 22 distinct neighbourhoods. For more than 90 years, MGH has delivered high-quality, patient-centred healthcare services to families along the continuum of care, from welcoming a new life to facing end-of-life. MGH is a full-service hospital with strong community and research partners, including the University of Toronto. MGH is a proud member of East Toronto Health Partners, the Ontario Health Team serving East Toronto.
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