Gwen is a Perinatal Professional Practice Consultant with the MNCYN – Regional Perinatal Program. She received her BScN from the University of Western Ontario in 1980. Gwen has dedicated her career to perinatal nursing. She was employed for several years on the antenatal, labour/birth, mother/baby care units and the NICU at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, which was the tertiary perinatal centre for southwestern Ontario at the time. Gwen has been a nurse consultant with the Regional Perinatal Program since 1987. In this role, she has also facilitated a Maternal Newborn Nursing course as a joint venture between the MNCYN and Fanshawe College and has worked alongside her physician colleagues to provide ongoing professional education and consultation regarding the care of mothers and infants.
Jocelyn has been a Registered Nurse since 2007, and IBCLC certified since 2015. She is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick-Humber Bachelor of Nursing program, and a current student in the Masters of Nursing Program at Athabasca University. Jocelyn is a Fetal Health Surveillance instructor and will be contributing to regional perinatal nursing education through MNCYN, while also working part-time as a staff nurse in rural maternal, and child nursing and maintaining a small private practice in lactation consulting. Jocelyn is a homeschooling mom of four and lives on a hobby farm in Grey Count
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Children’s Healthcare Canada SPARK
6 April 2022 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
PHAC’S Approach to Vaccine Confidence in COVID and Beyond: Focus on Children
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant spotlight on vaccines as a key tool to protect the public’s health. The high visibility of the roles that vaccines play has also been accompanied by a wave of vaccine-related misinformation and disinformation. This webinar will focus on childhood vaccinations to show how the COVID-19 vaccines came to be, the latest developments, and actions underway to support informed choices about vaccination and build vaccine confidence in Canada. We also will highlight how the Public Health Agency of Canada works to promote and support vaccination with provinces, territories, and Indigenous and community partners. We will debunk some myths along the way on common misinformation on pediatric vaccines. Finally, we will highlight some next steps in terms of COVID-19 vaccination in the months to come, and the importance of supporting catch-up of childhood routine immunization as a whole to protect children’s health and prevent a resurgence of other vaccine-preventable diseases. We hope that this presentation will show how partners across Canada are working to support vaccination as a key tool to protect the immediate and long term health of children and their families.
Following this webinar, participants will understand:
1. The context of emergency of the vaccine, and the role it plays in the fight against COVID;
2. The latest data in terms of coverage;
3. The actions underway to support informed choices about vaccination and build vaccine confidence in Canada;
4. The impact of misinformation and disinformation in the vaccine confidence space; and
5. Next steps in terms of COVID-19 vaccination, and the importance of supporting catch up of childhood routine immunization as a whole
Dr. Ojha is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the Western University, Ontario and in 2014 became an Academic Paediatrician at the Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre. He earned his Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical degrees from India. He completed his Fellowship in Paediatrics from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and worked at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia. He served as a lecturer at Sydney Medical School- Nepean (University of Sydney) before moving to Canada. Dr. Ojha has vast clinical and teaching experience in the field of Paediatrics. He has worked as a Paediatric specialist in India and served the Ministry of Health in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Sheila has been the Program Assistant for the Perinatal Outreach Program since September 2000, providing administrative and team support, as well, for the Maternal, Newborn, Child & Youth Network (MNCYN), since the establishment of the network in 2009. Sheila graduated from St. Lawrence College (Kingston) in 1976 with an Honours Diploma in Early Childhood Education (ECE), and subsequently received an Honours certificate in 1978 as a Registered Nursing Assistant (now Registered Practical Nurse). Sheila pursued a nursing career at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London from 1979 to 1992, working primarily in the areas of Gynecology and General/Family Medicine. Sheila also served for 10 years on the Executive of her local Union and later joined the staff at the London & District Service Workers’ Union, Local 220 in 1992. In 1998, Sheila graduated from Fanshawe College with an Honours diploma in Office Administration (Medical) and returned to St. Joseph’s Hospital in August 2000 as a data analyst for Neonatal Associates. In September of the same year, she joined the staff of the Perinatal Outreach Program (now MNCYN). She currently divides her time between MNCYN and the NICU database at London Health Sciences Centre. She retired her College of Nurses of Ontario membership in 2003, and is a former member in the Ontario Medical Secretaries Association. Sheila is currently a member of the Program Advisory Committee for the School of Information Technology at Fanshawe College and provides mentorship and placement opportunities annually to graduating students of the College’s Health Services program.
Dr. Hardy is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and obstetrician-gynecologist. He completed his Medical Doctorate at Montreal University and obtained his specialty training in obstetrics and gynecology at McGill University. His subspecialty fellowship training was in maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Ottawa.