Reasons to Believe

 

A child’s good mental health can be as important as their physical well being. Each year, the Department of Psychiatry at SickKids sees more than 10,000 patients though its outpatient, day hospital and inpatient services for conditions such as anxiety, attention deficit and depression.

Good mental health can lower health-care costs, improve school performance and classroom disruptions and can also decrease bullying and substance abuse.

Last month, CIBC World Markets Children’s Miracle Foundation donated $88,000 to fund Coping Communities: An Innovative Approach to Training Practitioners in Child Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The focus of this project is to take the expertise and treatments that have been researched and practiced in the area of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy at SickKids and share it with community practitioners.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a type of psychotherapy based on the idea that thoughts, behaviours and feelings are all connected. It is a method of treating mental disorders based on the idea that the way we perceive the world and ourselves influences our emotions. While many areas of expertise at SickKids have been successfully exported into the community, mental health has been lacking in that respect. The Coping Communities project is an important initiative that will give families the services they need in their community.

This is particularly important to families that are not geographically close to SickKids. By training community practitioners to effectively deliver this therapy and transfer knowledge to others, we can help children across the province who are suffering from mental disorders.

By partnering with community mental health agencies, this project will use a community approach to training and sustaining the skills needed to deliver this therapy. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is one of the only nonmedical interventions that helps children with anxiety and depression. At SickKids, we have a gold standard treatment that we have practiced and evaluated, but there are a limited number of resources for families who are not close to the hospital.

"Foundation funding is so important to projects that deal with children’s mental health issues," says Dr. Katharina Manassis, director Anxiety Disorders. "Coping Communities is an important initiative that will make sure our expertise gets out to community practitioners, so that families don’t have to travel to SickKids and can get this treatment closer to home. This is particularly important in mental health when you are talking about a series of sessions and not one or two visits."

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Meet Sandra Twiner Ross

Sandra Twiner Ross

As a registered nurse in The Hospital for Sick Children’s Division of Haematology and Oncology, Sandra Twiner Ross has long been devoted to the clinical care of children with cancer, haematologic diseases and immunologic disorders.

The Oncology team diagnoses between 250 and 300 new childhood cancer cases each year, accounting for about two-thirds of all outpatient clinic visits and more than 90 per cent of inpatient activity.

The Haematology Division, meanwhile, hosts large programs in Sickle cell/Thalassemia syndromes, hemophilia and other bleeding and clotting disorders. After acquiring a Registered Nursing Diploma from Seneca College and a Bachelor of Arts in Health Sciences from York University, Sandra worked at York Central Hospital and completed research at Toronto General Hospital and here at SickKids in 2003. She then joined the hospital’s Division of Haematology and Oncology – first as an inpatient nurse and now as a contact nurse in the outpatient department.

In addition to caring for those with leukemia and lymphoma, she has also spent countless hours assisting SickKids Foundation with its many promotional initiatives. She is always willing to articulate the medical importance – and meaningfulness – of SickKids in various videos shown to donors.

“The Foundation provides necessary funding for the research and development of SickKids patients. It is an honour to help the Foundation when they work so tirelessly to help meet the needs of our paediatric community,” Twiner Ross said.

“Working at The Hospital for Sick Children and its charitable arm is very grounding. We all work together to make this institution what it is. To be a part of such a huge and meaningful organization reminds me that the best way to accomplish goals and to overcome obstacles is to work with a team. This could be a group of professionals working to answer a research question or providing childcentered care and working with a family to achieve optimal health for a particular child.”

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Our auction site sickkidsauctions.com features unique items and experiences including trips, cars, artwork, celebrity items and shopping excursions, just to name a few, all in support of SickKids!

SickKids Auctions For January 2007


January 5th - Justin Timberlake in Toronto Package – concert tickets and luxury hotel accommodations at Toronto’s Le Germain

January 9th - NFL Auctions featuring Super Bowl and Pro Bowl Experiences

January 12th - Toronto Maple Leafs “Melt the Ice” Online Auction – a Harley-Davidson Sportster inspired and signed by the 2006/2007 Toronto Maple Leafs and other unique items. 

January 19th - Niagara Wine Auction Package – featuring 3 day package of wining and dining

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 Brandon, Cystic Fibrosis

Brandon doesn’t remember his first visit to SickKids because he was only ten months old. Brandon has been treated here for cystic fibrosis more times than he can remember. A year and a half ago, Brandon found out he would need a double lung transplant and in October of 2005, he was placed on a waiting list.

He knows that getting new lungs means another child has passed away. He also knows that the lungs need to be the right size and blood type in order for them to be compatible to his body. Currently, he come to SickKids three times per week for physiotherapy. He plays basketball on the trampoline and floor hockey on one foot. When he’s not at the hospital he likes to play hockey and basketball outside when he feels healthy enough. He also goes to school when he can which makes it difficult to keep up his school work.

In addition to his physiotherapy sessions, Brandon is at SickKids about once every five weeks to treat different infections. At the end of March 2006, he was treated here with a bacterial infection in his lungs that often occurs in people with weakened immune systems. When he comes to SickKids, he plays a lot of video games with nurses and talks on the phone and online to his friends to help pass the time.

In December 2006, Brandon underwent a successful double-lung transplant. He is currently recuperating and hopes to be back in school and on the basketball court soon. It was a holiday season no-one in his family will ever forget.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? Thousands of children like Brandon need your support. Donate Now.

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Do you have a SickKids story? Were you a patient at SickKids? Do you have a child, family member or friend who is or was a SickKids patient? Please share your story with us.

We are always looking for new stories to use on our website, in newsletters like this one and in our other print materials. We would love to hear your story!

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Brandan's Eye Research Fund Gala - January 20, 2007
Mark your calendars and don't miss the 3rd Annual Brandan's Eye Research Fund Gala on January 20, 2007! This exciting event supports eye research at SickKids and features guest emcee, Michael Landsberg, a live performance by Disco Inferno, a 5 course dinner, live and silent auctions, door prizes, balloon bust and more. The gala will be held at the Venetian, 219 Romina Drive in Concord. Tickets to attend are $110 each or a table of 10 for $1,000. http://www.brandanseyeresearchfund.ca

11th Annual Icewave Beach Volleyball Tournament - Feb. 3/4 &- 18/19, 2007
Enter the largest indoor beach volleyball tournament in Ontario and support The James Fund at SickKids Foundation (Beach Blast,15 Leswyn Drive, Toronto). February 4 & 5 – Competitive & February 18 & 19 – Recreational. For more information please call 416.237.0123 or visit www.heatwaveevents.com

Festa Das Amigas Por Maria Andrade - Feb. 3, 2007
The FESTA DAS AMIGAS POR MARIA ANDRADE will be having its annual holiday get together and gift sale in support of SickKids Foundation. Please join us to raise money for the cancer unit at The Hospital for Sick Children. Phone: 416 652 8690 X 1  e-mail: BETSYA@SYMPATICO.CA

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