What's New!- February 2024

The Northern Maternal Child Network (NMCN), is committed to ensuring you receive timely information regarding best practices, guidelines, resources and events.

Visit our website for more information.



Feel free to send information regarding professional development to [email protected] for future newsletters. 

February is Black History Month

During Black History Month, we celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians and their communities who, throughout history, have done so much to make Canada a culturally diverse, compassionate, and prosperous country.

This month, purposefully share and explore content related to Black history and Black excellence in our field. Lead from where you stand and foster an environment of collaboration and collective learning. 

Check out these great learning resources:

• Ontario Black History Society
• Social determinants and inequities in health for Black Canadians: A Snapshot
• Black Health Alliance Knowledge Hub
• Anti-Black Racism Resource List
• Organizations and educational resources on the history of Black communities in Canada

New Network: The Northern Ontario Simulation Network 

The Northern Ontario Simulation Network aims to foster the future of healthcare throughout the entire region of Northern Ontario, by establishing an open platform for collaboration on healthcare simulation.

Their mission is to:

• Champion diverse healthcare simulation in Northern Ontario through collaborating, facilitating and sharing
• Foster simulation education, professional development, and the advancement of simulation-centered research and innovation in Northern Ontario
• Connecting simulationists in Northern Ontario, inclusive of our rural and remote region

They currently have representation from over a dozen hospitals and academic affiliations in Northern Ontario. They are seeking representatives from Sault St. Marie, Parry Sound, and rural-remote Northwestern Ontario areas. Meetings take place virtually every 3-4 months; and have a shared space online to continue the conversation with breakout rooms, file sharing, and reference to previous meetings. If you are interested in joining, please contact [email protected].  

NEW Simulation Education: SPRUCE-RN

SPRUCE-RN is a Registered Nurses Foundation of Ontario-funded project, spearheaded by two registered nurses from Health Sciences North. The goal of the website is to make skills-based simulation practice accessible to nurses & allied health professionals in rural-remote settings, regardless of previous simulation experience.

Healthcare providers with simulation expertise designed training modules, with Northern Ontario rural-remote registered nurses assessing the proto-types and information by review of all modules. Each module provides clear step-by-step instructions on how to build the task trainer including descriptive text, video, and pictures. The modules also provide helpful information on how to set-up the skills station, how to provide feedback, and additional educational resources. Current training modules include: CPR, IO insertion, IV insertion, suturing & stapling, wound care, and integration of standardized patients. Finally, there is a rural-remote factors tab to give insight into shipping & ordering considerations, choosing industry vs. DIY task trainers, and how to seek help. Visit the site today! 

Advances in Labour and Risk Management (ALARM) is Coming to Sault Ste. Marie!

Date: Tues. April 23 and Wed. April 24, 2024

Location: Algoma’s Water Tower Inn

ALARM (Advances in Labour and Risk Management) was developed by obstetricians/gynecologists, family physicians, midwives and nurses, who jointly continue to maintain and teach the course. Backed by the SOGC, the ALARM course arose out of our work to improve the care provided to women, babies, and families during pregnancy, labour, and postpartum.

• The content of the course is evidence-based and incorporates the Canadian practice guidelines, so participants who complete the course gain an understanding of the latest best practices for providing care.
• The ALARM course objective is to evaluate, update and maintain the competence of obstetricians/gynecologists, family physicians, midwifes and nurses.
• This two-day course offers case-based and hands-on workshops.
• This course is not intended to certify attendees in any procedural skills. It provides education and hands-on experience, but this is not a substitute for clinical exposure and mentorship.

This course is open to RN’s, RPN’s, Physicians, Midwives and Residents.

New Pediatric Palliative Care Guidance Documents

The Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health (PCMCH), in partnership with the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), is pleased to share a new set of documents to provide guidance and information to healthcare providers, including physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and others caring for children and their families at or near end-of-life.

The impending death of a child is a tragedy and requires thoughtful and precise care of the whole family. Two documents have been developed to provide guidance and information to healthcare providers on approaching the expected death of a child. These documents were first developed in 2016 and recently updated to reflect current best practices for paediatric palliative care delivery and to facilitate inclusion of disclaimers on how or where to seek advice regarding care of children at or near end-of-life.

New documents:

1. Approaching the End-of-Life: Pediatric Palliative Care Information for Healthcare Providers - Expert Opinion Guidance from the Ontario Pediatric Palliative Care Steering Committee: 2023 Update
2. Symptom Management for Children Near/At End-of-Life - Expert Opinion Guidance from the Ontario Pediatric Palliative Care Steering Committee: 2023 Update

Cesarean Delivery Resource for Providers and Leaders

This clinical resource for cesarean deliveries is based on Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) best practices and provides guidance on all stages of the patient’s journey, from pre-admission to post discharge. It supports a multidisciplinary team approach and can be used by providers across the continuum of surgical care.

If implemented consistently, these strategies improve patient experience and reduce length of stay, complication rates and hospital readmissions – all valuable outcomes at a time when healthcare systems are under serious pressure.

This resource includes a template for physician orders as well as a data collection and measurement resource.

Children's Healthcare Canada, in collaboration with the IWK Health Centre, invites you to join them online for a 3-part Child Health Equity: A system-focused learning series 

1. Delivering Equity in all Child Healthcare Services (March 7, 2024) 

2. Inclusive Child Health Research for Equitable Outcomes (March 21, 2024) 

3. Evidence-informed Policy: Advancing health equity for all children (March 28, 2024) 

This learning series contributes to their commitment to right-sizing children’s healthcare systems; improving healthcare access, experiences, and outcomes. More specifically, this learning series will: 

• Convene and connect the child health community to:
• Share evidence (from research, practice, policy, and lived experience) 
• Inform collective action on a shared goal, equitable healthcare access, experiences, and outcomes 
• Discuss core principles of child health equity and how to embed them among child- and youth-serving healthcare organizations, research institutes, and family and other strategic partners.
• Understand existing evidence and resource gaps, identify and share or co-create strategies to address gaps and do better for children and families from communities still underserved. 
• Engage interested members and partners to create a Child Health Equity Practice and Policy Network through which we will: 
• Share relevant evidence (from research, practice, program, organizational, health systems, and lived experience) 
• Inform decisions at practice, organizational, policy, and health systems levels 
• Identify opportunities for collaboration and alignment 
• Identify and explore effective and equitable models of healthcare, child health policy, and research for potential spread and scale

Register for the series or individual sessions. Visit their website for more information.  

This toolkit was developed as part of the Youth in Pain: Solutions for Effective Opioid Use project led by Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP) in response to Health Canada’s Action Plan for Pain in Canada (2021), and guided by SKIP’s 2020 Opioids and Our Children national scoping meeting. Funded by Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP), the larger project’s aim is to share evidence-based solutions for the medical use of opioids to address short- and long-term pain in youth.

This toolkit is a product of the collaborative expertise of SKIP’s co-leading organization and hub Children’s Healthcare Canada, SKIP's Western Canada hub at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, and the National Advisory Group and Family & Patient Partners part of the Youth in Pain: Solutions for Effective Opioid Use project. It summarizes current evidence and resources for safe, effective, and equitable opioid use in managing moderate to severe acute and chronic pain in youth. The information and resources in the toolkit can be integrated into clinical practice, support clinical education, and be used to inform organizational policies.