Centre of Excellence for Pediatric Home and Community Care Education

Lorraine VanMunsteren is a Nurse Educator with CHEO’s Home and Community Care Department and the Kids Come First Health Team’s Centre of Excellence.Following her graduation from Western University’s Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing in 2008, Lorraine accepted a position as an oncology, hematology, and nephrology nurse at CHEO. A new opportunity led to a Nurse Educator role, acting as the Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) Lead for CHEO. As BPSO Lead, Lorraine was responsible for the implementation of multiple nursing best practice guidelines (BPGs) to build on CHEO’s strong record of nursing excellence and ultimately improve patient care and experiences at the hospital.

Now, in her role as Nurse Educator with CHEO’s Home and Community Care Department, Lorraine is sharing her knowledge and experience with community care providers through the Kids Come First Health Team’s Centre of Excellence. Designed to improve patient care and experiences beyond the walls of CHEO, Lorraine explains that the Centre supports CHEO’s vision of the best life for every child and youth. “We want children to be at home with their families, at school with their friends. This work will help kids to live their best lives, with family trust and with confident care providers, despite the challenges that may be present in their lives.”

Driving across Eastern Ontario to lead training sessions, in a vehicle filled with child-sized anatomical models, Lorraine is already seeing the Centre’s impact. “I see increased confidence in home and community care providers, following their attendance at a session, and providers leaving sessions with more tools in their pediatric tool belts for working with kids in their homes or at school. There has also been very positive feedback from the evaluation surveys that are shared after each education session, virtual and in-person.”

When not innovating and thinking up new ways to touch the lives of more children, through sharing CHEO’s pediatric best practices with the broader community, Lorraine can be found on outdoor adventures, like camping and horseback riding, with her family and juggling a busy life on their farm.

Patricia Lopezsala is a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) and instructor at the Centre of Excellence. Her presence on the IHCC team has transformed the care experience for infants, children and youth living with complex respiratory needs.

In her role, Patricia provides outreach and educational support to parents, SPO partners and educators and provides high quality community-based respiratory therapy care, significantly improving the transition from hospital to home and community. Prior to moving to Canada and starting at CHEO, Patricia trained and worked as an Anesthesiologist in Mexico. Her hobbies and passions include reading, dogs and spending time in nature.

Asked what she loves about her current position, Patricia says it is about children, community and creating confidence. “As an instructor, through the Centre of Excellence, it is extremely rewarding to be able to supply hands-on training to care providers using the same machines and equipment that they will be using in the community.

In my role as an RRT, I follow up with patients in the community that have ventilators at home and support their families. It is incredibly humbling to witness the challenges families can face when managing their children outside of hospital. One of the most satisfying parts of my job is knowing that these kids can have a meaningful and happy life outside of hospital. I see them at their worst and then again back in the community just being a kid.”