pediatric palliative care

For many years, our team at the POGO Satellite Clinic in Sudbury, located at Northeast Cancer Centre, Health Sciences North (Health Sciences North), has recognized a significant gap in the number of healthcare providers with experience, knowledge, competency and confidence in caring for children with life-limiting illnesses, who are medically fragile or have complex care needs. As a result, many Northern Ontario families do not feel confident bringing their children home from children’s hospitals when they are receiving palliative or end-of-life care, due to limited expertise and support closer to home. This gap has placed a physical, emotional and financial burden on families who must remain far from their communities for extended periods. It also adds pressure to the pediatric palliative care facilities in Ottawa and Toronto.

We’ve long known that as oncology nurses and physicians, we have the skills and experience to care for medically fragile children who live nearby. However, children living in more remote Northern communities often lack access to the same level of care and support.

In my role as the Sudbury POGO Interlink Nurse until recently, the only one serving all of Northern Ontario—I’ve had the privilege of building relationships with healthcare providers across the region. While we’ve offered case-by-case support, I’ve always dreamed of creating a more formal and consistent way to strengthen pediatric palliative care across the North.

That dream became a reality with support from POGO staff and a Kindred Cares Grant from the Kindred Foundation. This funding allowed us to deliver pediatric palliative care education to providers in key Northern Ontario communities, including Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Timmins, and North Bay.

Before receiving the grant, I became a certified Pallium LEAP facilitator, which enabled me to share my knowledge and lived experience as a Northern provider familiar with the challenges of limited resources and services.

The education sessions funded by the Kindred Grant were delivered through two models:

• A 2-hour in-person community information session to share knowledge and foster open discussion.
• Two Pallium LEAP Pediatric courses, with funded spots for participants to engage deeply, share experiences, and learn collaboratively.

In total, 67 healthcare professionals from various disciplines participated in these sessions. Together, we explored challenges, brainstormed solutions, and shared both successes and setbacks in a supportive and inclusive environment.

As a result of this initiative, I have since established an online community of practice with providers across the North to help support sustained capacity building. Most importantly, this work has enabled more children and their families to return home for palliative and end-of-life care. There is still a lot work to be done, but I am optimistic about where we are headed.

This story was written for the fall 2025 issue of The RePORTer, POGO’s Nursing Newsletter by: Vicky Wilton, RN, POGO Interlink Nurse, Health Science North.