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Children's Healthcare Canada is proud to bring you SPARK Conversations in a new mini-series format — going deeper on the issues that matter most to children, youth, and their families. Each mini-series is designed to inform and advance healthcare systems that are innovative, accessible, equitable, integrated, and built with children in mind. This is where the conversation starts.

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In this special capstone episode of SPARK: Conversations, host Dr. Katharine Smart speaks with Emily Gruenwoldt, President and CEO of Children’s Healthcare Canada, to reflect on two years of exploring what it means to right-size children’s healthcare systems in Canada. They look back on key themes from the series — from timely access to care, community-based services, equity, partnerships, and family-centred care to workforce and data challenges — and connect these insights to the broader work ahead. Emily shares how these conversations are shaping Children’s Healthcare Canada’s strategic priorities, including advancing a National Children’s Healthcare Strategy and evidence-informed policy solutions that can improve health and wellbeing for children, youth and families across the country. This episode marks both a closing chapter of the right-sizing series and a beginning of new opportunities to inform systems change.

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Children’s healthcare extends far beyond hospital walls. In this episode, host Dr. Katharine Smart speaks with Dr. Vera Etches, President and CEO of CHEO, about how pediatric systems can evolve to better meet children and families where they are.

Drawing on her public health background, Dr. Etches shares how CHEO is redefining its role - not only as a hospital, but as a connected health system anchored in community partnerships. 

Together, they unpack what “right-sizing” children’s healthcare really means: improving access and equity, supporting primary care teams, and reducing the need for families to travel long distances for specialized services. Dr. Etches highlights innovations such as regional virtual mental health supports, expanding pediatric surgery into community hospitals through collaborative models, and using data and patient feedback to tailor care pathways and strengthen capacity close to home.

They also explore emerging opportunities, including precision child and youth mental health, AI-enabled personalization, and how schools, cultural safety, and public health intersect with clinical care.

Through a lens of co-design, continuous learning, and system-wide collaboration, Dr. Etches offers a candid look at how CHEO is leveraging research, data, and community relationships to deliver care in the right place; whether at home, in schools, in primary care, or virtually.

The conversation offers a practical, inspiring look at how “right-sizing” children’s healthcare can create more equitable, integrated, and community-rooted systems.
 
 

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Across Australia, pediatric centres have just come through a challenging respiratory virus season - driven by influenza, RSV, and COVID - with unusually high volumes among infants and young children, shifting viral patterns, and sustained pressure on emergency departments and inpatient units. As Canadian hospitals begin to experience early increases in respiratory illness, pediatric leaders are watching closely for signals of what may lie ahead.

In this “just-in-time” episode, Dr. Lindy Samson, Chief Medical Officer and Chief of Staff at CHEO, speaks with Dr. Sarah McNab, Director of General Medicine at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, to unpack what truly defined Australia’s season. Their conversation explores why influenza surged earlier and harder than expected, how testing strategies and triage pathways evolved, where hospitals struggled to keep pace with demand, and what helped support clinical teams during periods of extreme pressure. Dr. McNab offers practical insights on vaccine uptake, ED flow, inpatient capacity, and communication with families - highlighting which approaches proved valuable and which fell short.

Drawing connections to the early trends Dr. Samson is already seeing in Canada, this episode provides a cross-continental perspective for pediatric leaders preparing for a potentially difficult winter. Whether you are supporting emergency operations, managing inpatient pressures, or monitoring viral activity in your region, this discussion offers actionable, firsthand guidance to help anticipate and respond to the respiratory virus season ahead.

(Recorded December 10, 2025, this conversation reflects the best available insights at a rapidly evolving moment in Canada’s viral season.)

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Developmental healthcare in the community is not just a “nice-to-have” - it is an essential component of children’s healthcare systems. Join podcast host, Dr. Katharine Smart, Jennifer Churchill, President & CEO of Empowered Kids Ontario, and Alison Morrison, CEO of Pathways Health Centre for Children, as they explore the importance and value of community-based developmental healthcare to children, their lives, their families, and children’s healthcare systems. Their conversations will include discussion of the role of family-centered care delivered close to home and how it supports children with disabilities and developmental needs, reduces long wait times, and strengthens the entire healthcare continuum from school to hospital settings. Challenges of underfunding, fragmented care, and human health resource shortages will be discussed along with innovative solutions that make timely intervention possible.

Whether you’re a health system leader, policy maker, or parent, this episode highlights why investing in children’s development today creates lifelong impact - for kids, families, and communities. Tune in to learn why investing in community-based developmental healthcare not only changes the trajectory of children’s lives but also strengthens families, communities, and the healthcare system itself.
 
 

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Pediatric palliative care is so much more than end-of-life support — it’s about walking alongside children and their families from diagnosis through symptom management, grief, and beyond.  In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, Dr. Katharine Smart speaks with Megan Wright (Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice) and Denise Praill (Canuck Place Children’s Hospice) about what it takes to right-size pediatric palliative care systems across Canada, improve equity and access, and support families, and providers, through the most challenging moments of care.

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What does it take to build a truly integrated, child- and family-centered healthcare system? In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, host Dr. Katharine Smart speaks with Lauren Ettin, CEO of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO). Together, they explore how POGO as the leader of Ontario’s Childhood Cancer Care system has become a model for right-sized healthcare - from diagnosis to treatment through survivorship - by combining visionary leadership, strong partnerships, robust data, and diversified funding support. Listeners will learn how Ontario’s childhood cancer system provides supports that wrap around children and families, not only in providing physical and mental health care, but beyond to other supports and programs to help children, youth and families through treatment and survivorship. The system offers valuable lessons for reimagining pediatric care more broadly.


About Lauren
Lauren Ettin is currently the CEO of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), the advisor to government on childhood cancer with accountability for the delivery of care of Ontario’s Childhood Cancer System. Lauren’s career has spanned the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She has proven herself as a strategic and entrepreneurial leader. Lauren has had great success in leadership, partnership, system integration, and advocacy through her work with Kids Health Alliance, the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario, PwC and the Ontario government.

Lauren’s career has spanned the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She has proven herself as a strategic and entrepreneurial leader and is currently the CEO of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), the advisor to government on childhood cancer with accountability for the delivery of care of Ontario’s Childhood Cancer System. Previously, she was the founding Executive Director of Kids Health Alliance. In this role, Lauren forged relationships and formal collaborations with and between children’s and community hospitals, associations, and government. In addition, she was instrumental in the work of the Children’s Health Coalition, bringing together a collective voice for the pediatric sector, which resulted in a historic investment of $330M for programs and services across Ontario.

Prior to her time with Kids Health Alliance, Lauren served as the Director of Policy and Member Relations with the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario, worked in consulting and had leadership roles at the Ministry of Health and Cabinet Office.

She is also a previous Board member of Scientists in School, PACE Independent Living and Daytrippers Children’s Charity, and Vice Chair of Elizabeth Fry Toronto.

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In this episode of SPARK: Conversations, host Dr. Katharine Smart is joined by Rochelle Reid, Senior Lead and Strategic Advisor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre. Rochelle shares insights from the development of the organization’s first five-year EDI plan and emphasizes the importance of community partnerships, equitable policies, and data governance to right-size services for children and families. Don't miss the launch of Children's Healthcare Canada's new National Child Health Equity Practice Network aimed at fostering collaboration across the country.

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In this episode of SPARK Conversations, host, Dr. Katharine Smart, and guest Fabiana Bacchini explore the impact of Family Partnership on children’s healthcare across the country. Fabiana shares her perspective on family engagement in right-sizing the system for children and their families in Canada through involvement in education, research, advocacy.

Fabiana Bacchini is the Executive Director of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation (CPBF), a journalist, and an author.

Her journey as an advocate began in the NICU with her surviving twin, born extremely preterm. During this time, she participated in the Family Integrated Care (FiCare) study, a model that empowers parents to be active partners in their baby’s care. Inspired by its impact, Fabiana became a dedicated volunteer at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and an ambassador for FiCare, sharing her story across Canada and internationally to promote more inclusive, family-centered neonatal care.

Following her son’s diagnosis with cerebral palsy, Fabiana’s advocacy deepened. She has worked to ensure that families are not only heard but are meaningfully involved in research and healthcare decision-making. Through her leadership, she has fostered collaborations with hospitals, researchers, and global organizations, advancing parent-led initiatives and driving systemic change in maternal and newborn health.

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In this episode of SPARK Conversations, host, Dr. Katharine Smart, and her guests explore the impact of the recent Canadian federal election results on children’s health and healthcare across the country. Podcast guests, Danielle Flieler, Manager, Federal Government Affairs at Santis Health, and Jim Armour, Managing Partner with Summa Strategies Canada, share their perspectives on the cabinet composition and government priorities in relation to healthcare, especially for children and their families in Canada. 

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