From a temporary change to a permanent solution: MGH Child Development and Neonatal Follow Up program embraces virtual care to better serve patients

This article is being shared in celebration of Occupational Therapy Month in October.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers across Ontario began to move their services online in order to protect the health and safety of patients, families and those caring for them. For many, this was just a temporary change, allowing patients to continue receiving care until it was safe to meet in person. However, for the Child Development and Neonatal Follow Up program at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH), this shift to virtual care resulted in several service improvements for patients and their families, inspiring the program’s team to explore virtual care as a permanent option.

“When we first moved to virtual care back in June we were unsure of how well it would work, especially considering our patients are under the age of two” says Cynthia Brandt, occupational therapist for the program and one of the team leads who helped organize the transition to virtual care. “It didn’t take very long for us to realize not only how effective this option was in terms of providing care, but how many benefits it had for our patients and their families.”

The Child Development and Neonatal Follow Up program follows children at risk for experiencing developmental issues for two years after their birth to monitor their development and growth. The program team, which includes an occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, nurse and neonatologist, meets with patients and families every four to six months to review patients’ progress and to conduct an in-depth analysis of various areas of development such as motor skills, speech progression and self-regulation skills.

With the move to virtual care, Cynthia and her team worked together to create a new process that would not require their young patients to be in front of a screen for long periods of time. The program nurse, speech language pathologist and occupational therapist connected with parents and/or guardians over the phone prior their child’s appointment to conduct an initial assessment and discuss any concerns they had. The notes from these assessments were then reviewed by the program’s neonatologist who would conduct the appointment virtually with the patient present. On-site visits were only required if parents or care providers had serious concerns that were best addressed in person.

“This change has really given our patients and their families so much flexibility. They no longer have to worry about taking time off of work two to three times a year for appointments or organizing transportation to and from the hospital,” says Cynthia. “It has also really enhanced their access to our team. If a parent has a concern they no longer wait until their next appointment to raise it. They just schedule a quick call or send us an email with their questions.”

For Sim Sandhu, whose daughter Myra is a current program patient, the work the team has put into making virtual care a viable option is just another example of their dedication to their patients.

“The Neonatal Follow Up Program team has been so dedicated to caring for babies during this pandemic and has gone above and beyond their scope to support families,” Sim says. “We did virtual visits for my daughter Myra and when there was a concern with her crawling, her neonatologist, Dr. Popovic, acted proactively and called us in for a checkup to address all our concerns. I’m so grateful to the entire team.”

As the team explores how to make virtual care a norm for patients moving forward, Cynthia says they hope to keep in-person visits available as an option, even if just for one appointment before patients are discharged from the program.

“We know that there is value in seeing patients in person, whether to address concerns or to better communicate with families who may not speak English fluently,” says Cynthia. “Our hope is that the experience we are gaining right now throughout this pandemic will help us identify best practices that will give our patients the care they need in a way that is easiest for them to access it. In the end, it’s all about them.”