Breaking the boundaries of complex care for Children

The Complex Care Initiative at Sick Kids began in 2006, by the late pediatrician Dr. Norman Saunders. For ten years it has opened its doors to children with multiple and complex health challenges, often times who could not find adequate care anywhere else. For Ian Brown’s 19-year-old son Walker who was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder at birth, the care provided more than just resources to manage his health. It was the first time his son was not just treated as a patient, or problem to be fixed, but a human being. Dr. Denis Daneman, paediatrician-in-chief at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, explains what the initiative tries to achieve. Ian Brown is a Canadian journalist and author, winner of several national magazine and newspaper awards. Interview by Dane Wanniarachige, journalist intern at EvidenceNetwork.ca.