Black Experience @ SickKids

At SickKids, we’re putting Black health first. We’re ready. We’re excited. And we need you.

THE CHALLENGE

The Black community is an incredibly diverse group of people. Africans, West Indians, Black Canadians — we are a vibrant and resilient community. Anti-Black racism is deeply embedded in our health care system. And to this day, the Black community continues to face disparities, however, we are working to change that.

THE VISION
It’s time for us to focus on Black health and create brighter futures for our children and youth. SickKids is excited to work collaboratively with the Black community to improve health outcomes. Together, we will address the health inequities the Black community continues to face.

WHY SICKKIDS

As a world-leading children’s hospital, our impact reaches far beyond our Toronto campus. We’ve worked with Black communities around the world — in Ghana, South Africa, and across the Caribbean. However, we still have work to do, right here at home. We’re focusing on Black health and creating brighter futures for Black children and youth. But we need you. Join us as we address the disparity.

PRIORITY AREAS

We mean it when we say we’re putting Black health first. We’ve made tremendous impact in the following areas:

Sickle Cell Disease Priorities

Sickle cell disease treatment is expensive. Costs not covered by government, such as medication, transportation, and accommodation add up to a considerable financial burden for families. Thanks to funding from the Black Opportunity Fund (BOF), we’ve established a sickle cell disease patient amenities fund. The BOF is an organization, that supports a prosperous, healthy, and thriving Black Canada by challenging anti-Black racism. An area the BOF focuses on is health, and their generosity ensures families can focus on what matters most — caring for their sick child.

We are incredibly proud to have our Sickle Cell Disease Clinic named after The Prince Hall Family. The generous support of the Prince Hall, an association of Black men dating back to 1800s, will allow us to create a more welcoming and healing space for our patients and their families. When families walk through our doors, they are often going through difficult times. Although a beautiful space won’t fix their problems, it will make their stay much more enjoyable — and that is what we want to do. Their funding will also ensure the sustainability of this important clinic for years to come.

Research and Innovation 

Research can build evidence for change and improve our capacity to prevent, diagnose, and treat. It’s one of the most powerful ways we can improve health outcomes for Black children and youth.

An individualized dose of hydroxyurea is needed for paediatric patients with sickle cell disease. But manually breaking up the capsules to prepare a lower dose can be cumbersome and challenging for families, and it can release harmful aerosols.

That’s why a multidisciplinary team of SickKids pharmacists, nurses, and process improvement staff came together to design and develop a 3D prototype Capsule Shredder, a device that makes it easier for parents and caregivers of children with sickle cell disease to administer hydroxyurea safely and economically. By shredding capsules and transferring the drug contents into dissolve-and-dose tubes, the device reduces aerosol risks and the need for manual manipulation.

Thanks to the Black Opportunity Fund, the capsule shredder has been distributed across the 13 children’s hospitals in Canada and is an invaluable tool for families.

Representation and Career Development

Improving the representation of Black people within healthcare and healthcare philanthropy is integral. We’re investing in a range of opportunities to recruit and develop Black healthcare and philanthropic leaders, including Research Fellowships, scholarships for Black nursing students, and paid philanthropy internships at SickKids Foundation.

SickKids was pleased to bring on Dr. Chioma Okechukwu as the inaugural DreamMaker fellow. This two-year fellowship is for paediatricians in sub-Saharan Africa who have demonstrated an interest in sickle cell disease – a condition that affects approximately 3% of newborns in their region. Dr. Okechukwu came to SickKids from Nigeria, the country with the highest burden of sickle cell disease in the world. During her training at SickKids, Dr. Okechukwu provided inpatient and outpatient care for children with sickle cell disease while engaging with her colleagues in Nigeria to begin the process of identifying barriers to sickle cell disease care. The goal is to create tangible solutions through a long-term partnership with colleagues at SickKids. Dr. Okechukwu is now back in Nigeria and is eager to hit the ground running.

The Young Families Program

The Young Families Program is a health care service for adolescent mothers and their children. It is estimated that 78% of participants in this program are Black-identifying youth. The program acts as the medical home for both the mother and infant and closely follows the family until the child/children reaches two to three years of age. The services provided include comprehensive healthcare, management of acute/chronic illness, nutrition or feeding concerns, parenting education and support, sexual health, psychosocial/mental health support, and co-ordination of care with community partners.

International Impact

• 41 nurses trained in paediatric haematology/oncology across the Caribbean
• More than 100,000 children screened for sickle cell disease at the Caribbean Institute for Health Research
• Installed telemedicine equipment in 7 Caribbean countries to connect Caribbean healthcare workers to each other and the world
• Over 500 paediatric nurses across Ghana trained in haematology/oncology
• Trained 6 Caribbean paediatricians in haematology/oncology
• Over 1,000 patients registered in local oncology databases across the Caribbean

WHERE YOU COME IN

Becoming a member of the Black Experience @ SickKids Collective means your contributions will directly aid initiatives that are positively impacting Black children and youth. It’s important to us that we work hand-in-hand with the Black community to revolutionize health care for Black children and youth. If we do it together, we will do it right.

Join the Black Experience @ SickKids Collective and take advantage of our matching campaign to support the Black Nursing Student Awards and the Student Advancement Research (StAR) Program. SickKids offers an award for Black nursing students who are interested in becoming a paediatric acute care nurse at SickKids post graduation. They receive $5000 for their tuition and are able to complete a clinical placement at SickKids. The StAR program is a six-week paid summer research internship that provides Indigenous, Black, and Filipino high school students with the opportunity to work in a world-class research lab.

_{Thanks to Hydro One, every dollar you give to support the Black Experience @ SickKids will be matched 1:1, doubling the impact of your contribution, until $50,000 of cumulative gifts are received; matching gifts are designated to support Black Nursing Student Awards at The Hospital for Sick Children and the Student Advancement Research (StAR) Program at The Hospital for Sick Children. Don't miss your chance to make a difference and support nursing students and future health care leaders.}