The close collaboration among public health, acute care and community care organizations is creating a more responsive system of maternal and child care in Southwestern Ontario. The phenomenon described as “crowd driven innovation” allows us to leverage diverse ideas and areas of expertise to move forward with our regional agenda. Network members are increasingly being recognized as leaders among peer organizations in Ontario. Membership in the MNCYN is an investment in your organization’s future!
By becoming a member of the MNCYN, you will be able to:
For additional information or to become a member please contact:
Kerri Hannon, MNCYN Executive Director
Email: kerri.hannon@mncyn.ca
Cell: 519.854.2936
Kerri.Hannon@mncyn.ca
Each of the following core business services and deliverables are offered by the MNCYN to both the perinatal and pediatric programs.
Governance of the Maternal, Newborn, Child and Youth Network in Southwestern Ontario is handled by the MNCYN Executive Director, the Regional Leader, a Regional Steering Committee consisting of representatives from our Partner organizations, and an Executive Committee.
More information on our Committees can be found on our Membership Benefits page.
MNCYN Regional Perinatal Annual Births Map and MNCYN Regional Paediatric Bed Maps are shown below.
“Here at SBGHC, we appreciate all the education and support you provide us. It, in turn, helps us provide quality, evidence-based care in our community”
Christine Welsand
Charge Nurse, OB Unit, South Bruce Grey Health Centre, Walkerton
May, 2020
“I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to you all as instructors for the PALS course, as well as staff at LHSC. The course was absolutely amazing, and welcoming. You made a “scary moment” for many a fun, open and caring environment. Thank you for your excellence and knowledge!”
Participant in
PALS Course
"Informed decision-making for labour and birth: awesome topic. Impact of induction < 39 wks: really interesting to hear from pediatrician re obstetrical practice. Canada' Public Health approach to Legislation and regulation of Cannabis: clear and concise summary. Effects of prenatal exposure to cannabis: very good. Brief overview of limited, often conflicting, evidence, excellent speaker. Maternal mental health and attachment: important topic, excellent speaker. Neonatal Pain - concise, clear, shortened presentation without sacrificing message. General comments: awesome topics and lineup of speakers! Excellent day. Thank you!!!"
Public Health Nurse (rural)
Participant in
MNCYN 2018 Annual conference
"Great venue, great food, very well organized!! Learned about the importance of avoiding heteronormative language. Really excellent theme this year! Such important / relevant topics. Dr. Makokis was excellent, so was Ms. Yates! (really appreciated team functioning as a topic, as well as trauma-informed care!!)"
Midwife, regional rural hospital
Participant in
MNCYN 2019 Annual conference
"I enjoyed the variety and quality of vendors. Thank you sooo much. Re: Cindy-Lee Dennis - You can feel her passion. I could listen to this speaker for days. Awesome, wow! Awesome way to go! I would so love to work with you! Re: Mary T. Yates - The 5 dysfunctions of a team. Lencioni. Learned about tattoos, birth trauma, PTSD, exists for first responders in labour as well. Wonderful jam packed agenda!."
Lactation consultant, Level II hospital
Participant in
MNCYN 2019 Annual conference
“I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to you all as instructors for the PALS course, as well as staff at LHSC. The course was absolutely amazing, and welcoming. You made a “scary moment” for many a fun, open and caring environment. Thank you for your excellence and knowledge!”
Julie Dowler, RN, NCM
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology LHSC
Participant in
PALS Course, Feb. 2020
"It's wonderful to bring this event out into the community outside of London. Thanks so much for this initiative."
Participant in
MNCYN 2018 Annual Conference
"I was able to make a notebook of the info I learned and will now carry that with me when at work! THANKS!."
Participant in
Regional Paediatric Orientation (RPO) Online Course
"This online education was an exceptional opportunity, able to really use critical thinking process, excellent resources."
Participant in
Regional Paediatric Orientation (RPO) Online Course
"Very informative & helped me advance my learning on child & paeds.."
Participant in
Regional Paediatric Orientation (RPO) Online Course
"I loved this information, it’s the first time we’ve had an actual paeds course offered at our hospital & having a small paediatric unit, this helps increase knowledge & skills."
Participant in
Regional Paediatric Orientation (RPO) Online Course
"I appreciate the organized set-up of course & general knowledge, which would be applicable to learners from any department who may see children in their practice."
RN, ED,
Participant in
Regional Paediatric Orientation (RPO) Online Course
"Offers a good review of the different systems & focused information that is relative to the pediatric patients we may have in our care for the ED."
RN, ED,
Participant in
Regional Paediatric Orientation (RPO) Online Course
“It’s really great in the small centers for emergency department staff that don’t get a lot of paediatric training. It gives them a really good overview of what they need to know. I think it’s perfect for that group”. (RN, Manager) “From basically having no paediatric knowledge or confidence, this course has greatly increased both. Very informative and easy to learn material, very relevant for smaller rural hospitals.”
RN, ED, In-patient Paediatric Unit
Participant in
Regional Paediatric Orientation (RPO) Online Course
“The content was very in-depth and it was a very good overview of any acute issue a nurse might experience with a paediatric patient, even when we don’t keep those patients. It is good to know about those more acute issues so we know how to better handle them to stabilize before we can transfer to a more tertiary centre. As an RPN and although more acute patient care is assigned to the RN, it is still important for the RPN to be able to recognize issues and be able to assist in the care of the patient with the RN.”
RPN, In-patient Paediatric Unit
Participant in
Regional Paediatric Orientation (RPO) Online Course
“As a Nurse Practitioner, I would have loved to have this education at the beginning of my NP program. It helps to organize assessment and intervention in a concise and comprehensive way.”
Gail Fernandes
NP, NICU LHSC
Participant in
Acute Care of at-Risk Newborn (ACoRN) Workshop
June, 2012
“Honestly, I found every aspect of this workshop useful. I am so happy to have attended and feel more confident now in my ability to stabilize a newborn while awaiting consultation team.”
Jane Calhoun
Midwife, Owen Sound
Participant in
Acute Care of at-Risk Newborn (ACoRN) Workshop
June, 2019
“This is, far and away, the most favorite and relevant course I have engaged in. I will recommend it for sure. Thank you!”
Donna Kirkland
RN, North Bay Level II facility
Participant in
Acute Care of at-Risk Newborn (ACoRN) Workshop
June, 2019
“Most topics discussed were related to actual clinical practice; this is why it is so important for an instructor of this type of course to have relevant and extensive nursing practice experience. This makes the difference between learning theoretically as a nursing student, versus learning as a graduate, practicing nurse - we are learning to improve clinical practice, not to memorize and pass a test, this was done very well, nursing interventions, assessments, evaluations, etc. were emphasized well.”
Julia Cavar, RN, Thunder Bay
Participant in
Maternal Newborn Nursing Course
September, 2019
“All content was very instructional and will enhance the care I provide to clients and patients.”
RN and Participant in
Maternal Newborn Nursing Course
September, 2011
“I find the MNCYN reviews incredibly helpful for debriefing and learning. I wish it happened more with other critically ill patients I sent out.”
Dr. Neil Rittenhouse
Family Physician
Hospital Perinatal Rounds (Goderich)
April, 2020
"I support the virtual platform. It worked well. I really value this program and always make an effort to attend this event, keep it up!”
Jane Calhoun
Midwife, Grey Bruce
Hospital Perinatal Rounds (London)
May, 2020
"Interesting multidisciplinary interaction. I really appreciate hearing back about cases we refer to the tertiary centre – it helps to understand how WE can help YOU."
Participant in
Hospital Perinatal Rounds (Stratford)
Level II regional hospital
"Great to see you all – always fab evidence based information. I enjoyed the session very much and appreciate the effort you make to attend to us. I also appreciate the information that we are able to access from the tertiary facility."
Participant in
Hospital Perinatal Rounds (Owen Sound)
Level II regional hospital
"Many thanks for making the trip here to see us. Great team – able to answer all questions in a clear and efficient manner. Excellent, as always."
Participant in
Hospital Perinatal Rounds
Level I regional hospital
“We really enjoy coming to these meetings. They are very valuable and give us a lot of information to take back to our hospitals.”
Attendee at
Regional Nurse Leaders’ Meeting
November, 2019
“Great experiential learning. I loved the simulation. The day was well structured and instructors are very knowledgeable and engaged with the needs of the group.”
Attendee at
7th Ed NRP New Instructor Course
April, 2019
“I will be able to apply and interpret EFM and request assistance in doing so, as I am just starting out in obstetrics nursing.”
Participant in
FHS Refresher Course
September, 2019
“Very well taught – organized and thorough. Really enhanced my knowledge to better interpret tracings!"
Genevieve Fyvie, RN
Participant in
FHS Fundamentals Workshop
"This Program is valued by all nurses, midwives and physicians who practice in our facility. Our questions are well received and the Team always provide suggestions in a constructive manner. The staff interaction with the team fosters positive relationships with our tertiary care colleagues, which is very helpful for us in providing the best patient care that we can as a Level I facility.”
Joanne McKee
Nurse Leader, Walkerton
Participant in Hospital Perinatal Rounds
“The [regional chart] forms, developed by the Southwestern Ontario Perinatal Partnership Program... have cut an estimated 2 hours of charting down to 20 minutes. As one of our Doctors put it “we love these forms”. Please than the committee responsible for all their hard work developing the forms. We appreciate your efforts.”
Myra Henderson, RN
OBS Unit
Manitoulin Health Center
“Finished the course and I will say I learned or re learned a lot, what an amazing review. I liked that it went thru the systems; at times it was challenging and had me on to google reading up on things I have forgotten or perhaps never did know. I’ve taken so many great notes. Loved being able to work on it on my own time and would be interested in other courses that you may have to offer."
RN, Emerg Department
Course Participant
Regional Paediatric Orientation Online Course (RPO)
“Thank you for a great introductory meeting. I am looking forward to continued engagement in producing better outcomes through best practice. It was great to network with our regional partners, gain resources and see what everyone is working on. I was impressed with the wealth of information provided."
Attendee at
Regional Nurse Leaders’ Meeting
November, 2019
“Thanks for your commitment to advancing the knowledge base to others and helping smaller centres grow in order to remove barriers to accessing opportunities to learn.”
Participant in
7th Ed NRP New Instructor Course
April, 2019
"Amazing keynote presentation. Well done presentations on culturally sensitive hospital environment and trauma-informed skills. Communication and team effectiveness presentation was so good! Really appreciated such a rich learning day. "
Midwife, BORN Ontario and Attendee at
Annual MNCYN Conference
2019
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.
Dr. Ojha became a member of the consulting staff of the Maternal Newborn Child & Youth Network (MNCYN) Regional Paediatric Program in 2019. He has a keen interest in teaching and has been a faculty examiner and reviewer. He has been a part of various administrative and clinical committees looking into establishing and directing clinical programs for paediatric trainees and quality assurance activities. He also contributes to the planning, drafting and publishing of paediatric guidelines; and has various publications to his credit. He has been an active advocate for the health needs of children and youth. He was awarded a gold medal for his outstanding efforts toward improving child health care.
Dr. Ojha has a strong research interest in Medical Education. His focus is on Continuing Medical Education and Simulation and its role in paediatric education.
Katelyn Fisher was born and raised in a small town in the Niagara Region and attended Western University for her undergraduate degree in Health Sciences from 2004-2008. Following graduation, she was accepted into the McMaster Midwifery Education Program, graduating in 2012. Katelyn did her New Registrant year in St. Jacobs and joined the London community in 2014. Katelyn became a member of the MNCYN in 2021 and is currently the Midwifery representative on the MNCYN Executive.
Katelyn became the Head of the Midwifery Department at LHSC in September 2020 and has been a Registered Midwife for the last 12 years, currently practicing with Midwives of Midwives of Middlesex and Area. She is an adjunct clinical professor at McMaster University and supports the research scholarship of the Midwifery Department. Her areas of research and academic interest include quality assurance and quality improvement, interprofessional collaboration, and effective leadership models.
Kerri is the Executive Director for MNCYN. She has been working in the nursing profession for 23 years and has spent the last 15 years working as a healthcare leader. Kerri received her Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc.) from Queen’s University, Kingston in 2001, followed by her Masters of Nursing Leadership and Professional Education from University of Western Ontario in 2022. The majority of her career was spent working in nursing leadership, as well as Infection Control, with a specific focus on the Maternal Child Population. She has experience working in acute care and public health as part of her career pathway.
Kerri is a member of 3 committees with the Provincial Council for Maternal Child Health (PCMCH), Maternal- Newborn Committee, Child and Youth Committee and Regional Networks Operating Forum. Kerri has most recently joined the Maternal Perinatal Death Review Committee with the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, as a nursing/administrator representative.
Kristine is a Paediatric Professional Practice Consultant with the MNCYN – Regional Paediatric Program. She received her Nursing Diploma from Mohawk College in 2001 and her Bachelor of Nursing Degree in 2012, followed by her Master of Nursing in 2018. Kristine has spent her nursing career caring for children, specializing in paediatric critical care. In June of 2018, Kristine joined the MNCYN team and shortly thereafter, created the Regional Paediatric Orientation© (RPO) Program, an online paediatric nursing course for our regional partners. Kristine also writes the Paediatric Review, a monthly informative newsletter, which focuses on a paediatric topic of interest following current best-practice information and paediatric care guidelines.
Kristine is a member of both the Children’s Hospital, LHSC’s CME Committee, and the Paediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) Refresher Day Scientific Planning Committee. She works closely with the Paediatric Regional Outreach Program (PROP) team when providing regional high-fidelity simulation workshops and enjoys partnering with her physician colleagues to provide professional education and consultation. Kristine is a member of the TREKK Knowledge Mobilization Advisory Committee, as well as a member of the Provincial Council for Maternal-Child Health (PCMCH) Asthma Expert Panel. Kristine recently joined the Ontario Health West Clinical Quality Initiative working group, creating a High-flow Nasal Cannula (HHFNC) Oxygen Therapy algorithm for the region. Kristine has maintained her certification credentials in Paediatric Critical Care Nursing with the Canadian Nurses Association since 2009. She is a registered NRP and ACoRN Instructor with the Canadian Paediatric Society as well as a PALS Instructor with the Heart & Stroke Foundation.
Dr. Lim is a Professor and Medical Director / Section Head of the Paediatric Emergency Department at the Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre. He began his training at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario where he completed his B.Sc in 1992 and M.D. in 1995 at Queen’s University. In 1995, Dr. Lim joined Western University for his Paediatric Residency training. Upon completing his residency in 1998 he stayed on at Western for his fellowship in Paediatric Emergency Medicine.
Dr Lim is a founding member of the Wellness Emergency Medicine Committee at the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) and has a strong interest in Physician Wellness. He is the Chair of the Wellness Committee, Co-Chair of the Academic Leadership Section, and the Past- Chair of the Paediatric Committee at CAEP. He is the current President-Elect / Standards Lead for the Pediatric Special Interest Group at the International Federation of Emergency Medicine. For the Royal College Specialty Committee in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Dr. Lim served as Vice Chair, as well as Ontario regional representative.
Dr. Lim has been thankful to have been awarded multiple awards including Undergraduate Teacher of the Year, Postgraduate Teacher of the Year, Paediatric Emergency CANMEDS Teacher of the Year, and the USC Teaching Honour Roll Award of Excellence. Nationally, he has received the Marilyn-Li Paediatric Leadership Award, a CAEP Special Merit award, A COVID leader award from the Paediatric Chairs of Canada, and an Honorary Director award from the Children’s Health Foundation.
Dr. Lim is an Associate Scientist at the Child and Health Institute and has various research interests. He has been fortunate to have authored numerous peer-reviewed publications. His main areas of research interest include: Paediatric Emergency clinical trials, Physician Wellness, and educational research.
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.
Gwen is an associate member of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) and the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS). She is also a member of the Canadian Association of Perinatal and Women’s Health (CAPWHN). She sits on the Canadian Perinatal Partnership Coalition (CPPC), an organization of perinatal/reproductive care programs across the country, committed to fostering and supporting optimal care and outcomes for mothers, babies and childbearing families. Gwen has maintained her certification credentials in Perinatal Nursing with the Canadian Nurses Association since 2001. She has also maintained her status as a registered Neonatal Resuscitation Instructor/Trainer and an instructor of the ACoRN (Acute Care of at-Risk Newborns) program. During the last several years, Gwen has participated in the Canadian Fetal Health Surveillance Steering Committee. As part of this committee, she was also a member of the FHS Refresher course working group.
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
Anita has been a Program Assistant at Maternal, Newborn, Child & Youth since June 2015. She has a wide variety of experience and skills she brings to the program and supports the team with her knowledge of administrative software and technology. Anita provides administrative support to the Executive Director and Paediatric Nurse Consultant. She coordinates committee meetings and provides administrative support with MNCYN regional events, including workshops and conferences.
Anita graduated from Lambton College (Sarnia) in 1988 with a Diploma in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting. She began her career working for the Sarnia-Lambton Small Business Development Corporation as a secretary/bookkeeper to the CEO. Anita worked as a Business Consultant for Whitney Business Development. During this time, she partnered with the Seven Bands Economic Development to provide business support services to the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Kettle and Stoney Point First Nations, and Walpole Island First Nation, small business owners. Anita obtained a Diploma with honours for Child & Youth Work (1999) at Lambton College, practicing for four years, following which she was allowed to complete her degree in International Development with a major in Community Development (2005) at the University of Western Sydney (Sydney, Australia). She returned to working the frontlines as a CYW for the next three years and then moved to London to work as a PSW alongside children and adults to support their quest for a meaningful life. In 2015 she received her Diploma in Medical Office Administration at Fanshawe College and began working for MNCYN.
Anita was the Administrative Coordinator for the NRP program at LHSC until 2019 and worked briefly as a Unit clerk for the Mental Health Department.
Anita enjoys spending time with her grandsons, being active by cycling and walking, and is a self-taught artist and music lover.
Dr. Roukema received his medical degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1987. He received his Paediatric certification from UWO in 1992 and his Neonatal-Perinatal Subspecialty qualifications from the University of Toronto in 1995. Also, he completed a Master’s Degree in Clinical Epidemiology from U of T in 2003. Dr. Roukema has been a staff Neonatologist at SJHC since 1997 and was the Program Director for the Neonatal-Perinatal subspecialty training program from 1999-2003. He is also an Associate Professor for the Dept. of Paediatrics at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, UWO.
Dr. Roukema is clinically active in the NICU at London Health Sciences Centre, and administratively is the Director of Nurseries and the Neonatal Director of the Paediatric and Neonatal Transport Team at LHSC. Regionally, he actively participates in the Perinatal Outreach Program for South-Western Ontario as an Executive Committee member of the Maternal, Newborn, Child and Youth Network (MNCY&N).
Provincially, Dr. Roukema is very involved with Critical Care Services Ontario (CCSO). CCSO serves to monitor and Coordinate critical care across the province. NICU has recently come under the jurisdiction of CCSO. Dr. Roukema co-chairs the Ontario Intensive Care Advisory Committee (ONICAC) through CCSO. CCSO acts as the coordinating body for Neonatal care. He also Chairs the Performance Management Workgroup (one of two sub-committees from ONICAC) and this serves to develop evaluative metrics for NICUs and the development of a near real-time database for NICU care through the Critical Care Information System (CCIS) at CritiCall Ontario
.
Dr. Schmidt is a native of North York, Greater Toronto Area and attended the University of Guelph for his undergraduate degree in Human Biology from 1990-94. Following graduation, he moved to London for his medical degree, graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1998. He did his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in London and then completed a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at St. Joseph’s Health Care, London. He joined the staff as a full-time obstetrician in March of 2007 and then joined the MFM team in 2007.
Dr. Schmidt became a member of the medical consulting staff of the Perinatal Outreach Program (now the Maternal Newborn Child Youth Network) in the summer of 2007 and is currently the obstetrics Medical Director and a member of the MNCYN Executive.
Dr. Schmidt became the Chief of Obstetrics at London Health Sciences Centre in April 2018. He continues to be highly involved in both clinical and academic aspects of the residency program and the undergraduate education program at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University.
Dr. Coughlin is a Neonatologist and Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. He serves as the Neonatal Medical Director of the Maternal Newborn Child Youth Network of Southwestern Ontario and Medical Director of the Neonatal Developmental Follow-up Clinic at Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre.
Dr. Coughlin has a Master’s Degree in Bioethics. He has contributed to the dissemination of Neonatal-Perinatal knowledge provincially and nationally through his involvement on MNCYN, CPS and Ontario NRP Steering Committees and ACoRN Executive. His involvement with these organizations includes educational, guideline and curriculum development, review of research projects, granting requests and regional administrative duties.
Dr. Coughlin’s educational and research interests include neonatal transition, resuscitation and stabilization and bioethics. His foundation in qualitative methodologies offers a unique opportunity to study the complex psychosocial phenomenon in difficult clinical settings, such as resuscitation of extremely preterm infants and priority setting in health care.
Dr. Coughlin is currently the Chair of the Ontario Nunavut Provincial NRP Committee, and a member of the National NRP Steering Committee. He is also the current Chair of the Canadian Paediatric Society’s Acute Care of at-Risk Newborn (ACoRN) Program.