Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre and Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada Announce Groundbreaking Affiliation Agreement

In a Canadian first, the two major pediatric hospitals join forces to offer orthopedic care closer to home and develop innovative teaching and research initiatives.

Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre (CH-LHSC) and Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada have announced a first of its kind affiliation agreement to improve care, research and education. Patients and families in southwestern Ontario will now have access to specialized pediatric orthopedic care closer to home, while Canada Shriners Hospital will continue to support – and improve access to – complex cases. This affiliation will also focus on advancements in pediatric research, further improvements in clinical care, and educating the next generation of physicians, healthcare providers and researchers.

“Children’s Hospital and Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada have long worked together through informal clinical collaborations and referrals, but today we’re excited to enter into a formal affiliation agreement that will have significantly more impact,” said Nash Syed, Vice-President, Children’s Hospital and Women’s Program. “This is an exciting opportunity to create something unique and special for the patients we serve and their families, as well as for the staff, physicians, researchers and students vital to delivering this care.”

“This affiliation is a dream come true developed in the true spirit of collaboration with the goal of improving pediatric orthopedic care in Canada. It will not only improve the lives of patients and their families, but will also advance research and teaching,” said Jacques Boissonneault, Administrator, Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada. “This affiliation has allowed us to create an exceptional framework that has opened the door to more such collaborative projects across Canada.”

A Canadian first, the affiliation is based on three core pillars: clinical care, research and education.

• Clinical care: A new highly specialized monthly clinic at Children’s Hospital called the Shriners Rare Bone Disease Clinic will offer treatment to children with complex bone disorders, such as osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) and limb anomalies. This clinic will provide patients and families in southwestern Ontario, who in the past have had to travel hours to Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada in Montreal, an opportunity to receive some of their care at CH-LHSC instead. This will make management of these complex disorders significantly easier for patients and their families. In addition, as of next year, Children’s Hospital plans to work with Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada to expand the program throughout the Children’s Hospital catchment area, meaning Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada specialists will provide care at outreach clinics within regional hospitals throughout southwestern Ontario twice annually.
• Research: This fall, scientific teams from both hospitals will come together in a Joint Quarterly Conference to discuss ongoing research developments and future collaborative projects. In addition, a research grant will be awarded through an evaluation process to support innovative projects involving researchers from both hospitals. The proposed projects will need to show potential in improving the treatment of pediatric bone disease.
• Education: Joint Quarterly Education Rounds are already underway allowing surgical teams – including medical students, residents and fellows – to present, discuss, and find solutions to complex cases. Beginning in the summer of 2025, both hospitals will offer a two-year Joint Fellowship. The fellow will gain invaluable experience at Children’s Hospital in trauma care, and experience at Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada in specialty orthopedic care with complex and rare bone diseases.

The affiliation is funded by a $1.5 million grant over five years from Shriners Children’s, which will be administered by Children’s Health Foundation in London and the Philanthropy Office at the Canada Shriners Hospital and will be divided between both hospitals to improve clinical care, research and teaching.

Read Reiko’s story and the impact that the Children’s Hospital and Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada agreement is making on patients and families.

In this video, the leaders of Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada and London Health Sciences Centre, along with key stakeholders, explain the benefits of this groundbreaking affiliation.

About Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre

Based in London Ontario, Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre serves a population of 1.5 million, with over 400,000 children in the southwestern Ontario region from birth through age 18. Celebrating 100 years of quality care in 2022, they are one of just four acute tertiary paediatric hospitals in the province of Ontario. From life-saving liver and bowel transplants to state-of-the-art oncology and infectious disease programs, trauma and intensive care, Children’s Hospital provides world-class paediatric care and has been the home of several medical firsts. Children’s Hospital is proud to work with partners throughout the paediatric health care system to advance and optimize paediatric care within the community, region, province, and globally. The staff and physicians at Children’s Hospital are committed to patient and family-centered care, supporting families, and championing medical advancements through education and research.

About Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada

Established in Montreal in 1925, Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada is a bilingual, short-term, acute care hospital, providing ultra-specialized orthopedic care to children from across Canada and around the world. The mission of the hospital is to provide treatment and rehabilitation to infants, children and young adults with orthopedic and neuromuscular problems such as scoliosis, osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), clubfeet, hip dysplasia, leg length discrepancies and cerebral palsy, among others. The hospital is committed to excellence and innovation in clinical practice, research and education. Affiliated with McGill University, the hospital provides clinical experience and teaching for residents and allied professionals within its outstanding new facility on the Glen site. The hospital is present in communities across Canada, thanks to telemedicine, outreach clinics and satellite clinics.

For media inquiries contact:

Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre
Celine Zadorsky
Senior Media Relations Consultant
1.226.927.2309
Celine.Zadorsky@lhsc.on.ca

Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada
Caroline Phaneuf
Caroline Phaneuf Communications
1.514.778.5092
caroline@carolinephaneuf.com

After-hours assistance:

Call LHSC Switchboard at 519-685-8500 and ask to page the communication consultant on-call. www.lhsc.on.ca/media