'I love it if someone needs help and I can help'

By Louise KinrossIf you're a parent staying at Holland Bloorview with your child, chances are you know Berthe Nabico. Berthe has been a housekeeper here for 30 years, and her ready smile and willingness to sit and chat with parents and kids makes the hospital feel more like home. Berthe speaks four languages, which comes in handy for some of our clients, and she's a master seamstress who adapts clothes for children with disabilities and in casts....

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'I wanted to make sure this didn't happen to another kid'

By Louise KinrossLaura Oxenham-Murphy is the interim director of Quality, Safety and Performance at Holland Bloorview. Laura first thought about improving hospital care when she was a child. That's because at age eight, she was on the receiving end of a medical error. "It ended up having a huge impact on my life," Laura says. We spoke about how this experience spurred her career.BLOOM: Can you tell us more about your story?Laura Oxenham-Murphy:...

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Health care for disabled Ontarians fails to measure up

By Louise KinrossOntario adults with developmental disabilities are nearly four times more likely to die early than their non-disabled peers, and fare worse on four other health indicators, finds a study released by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences today.  Researchers from ICES, the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology looked...

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Racism and ableism stack up against black moms, study finds

By Louise Kinross Last month York University researcher Nazilla Khanlou presented results on a study of black mothers with children with developmental disabilities at the Racialized Maternal Health Conference in Toronto. Her team interviewed seven black mothers and three service providers to learn about the challenges the mothers faced and how these barriers influenced their own health. BLOOM did an interview, by e-mail, with Nazilla and...

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'I'd like to see siblings treated more like patients'

By Louise KinrossVictoria Rombos has worked in Holland Bloorview’s Ronald McDonald playroom as an early childhood studies student, then volunteer, and now staff member. But her connection with Holland Bloorview goes way back. Victoria’s younger sister Chrysoula, 19, developed a seizure disorder after having cataract surgery as a toddler. "It was a side effect of the surgery, but I only just found that out," Victoria says. "I thought I knew the...

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'I'm calling attention to the whiteness' of health care

By Louise KinrossSarah Jama is a co-founder of the Disability Justice Network of Ontario. She has a long history of disability rights and anti-racism activism. While studying at McMaster University, Sarah headed the National Educational Association of Disabled Students for a two-year term. She also founded Maccess—the first peer-run service for students with disabilities at McMaster. This Wednesday Feb. 6, Sarah is speaking on Moving Toward...

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