Sullivan Lowe, during a recent hospital stay. (Provided by Kaitlin Lowe) Sullivan Lowe, during a recent hospital stay. (Provided by Kaitlin Lowe)
Windsor

Family calls for specialized pediatric services after traumatic E.R. visits

A Windsor woman is advocating for more specialized pediatric care in area hospitals after multiple traumatic visits to the local Emergency Department.

Kaitlin Lowe's son Sullivan was born with a rare intestinal condition that prevents him from passing stool. It has sent him to the emergency department several times over his short life. On multiple occasions, it warranted his transfer to London or Detroit hospitals.

Lowe said her visits to the local emergency department have been traumatic. She believes staff do not have specialized pediatric training.

"The ER doctors and nurses couldn't get the IV into him, so the ER doctor decided to drill into him with an IO. Drilling into anybody to get an IV in is painful, but this is a nine-month-old baby at this point," said Lowe. "It was traumatic. There was a lot of panic in the room because they didn't know how to handle it."

Lowe would like to see a dedicated children's hospital in the region or at the very least a specialized pediatric emergency department.

"Windsor-Essex is getting a bigger population. It's comparable to London. Why can't we have a separate children's hospital with pediatric surgeons and pediatric critical care unit and a separate children's E.R.? We could have that, and we should have that," said Lowe.

London's population is over 400,000 while the population in Windsor-Essex is 422,630.

Karen Riddell, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Nursing Executive, and Vice President of Critical Care & Cardiology at Windsor Regional Hospital, said many specialty programs would be difficult to sustain at the local hospital.

"It's really important to have the volume to sustain those programs because you wouldn't want to go to a centre, for example, for an advanced surgical procedure, like transplant or something like that, at a hospital that performs one or two of those procedures a year. You really want to go to a hospital that is performing hundreds of those procedures and really has that expertise," said Riddell.

According to Riddell, around 2,500 children are treated in the emergency department at Windsor Regional Hospital annually. On average 30-40 of those children are admitted to the local hospital system, and another 45-60 are transferred to specialty hospitals in London, Toronto, or Detroit.

Riddell said while planning for the new hospital is underway, they are looking for input from the community. Surveys on specific areas of care at the hospital can be found on the hospital's website.

She said the hospital is considering a dedicated pediatric E.R at the new location.

"Certainly, within the functional planning for the new hospital, we are looking to establish within our emergency department services a specialized area for pediatrics. That will be geared towards caring for that population," said Riddell.

Lowe said she has reached out to local politicians to discuss her concerns surrounding the level of care at the local hospital. However, at the time of publishing, she had not received any response.

"When there are emergencies that are time-sensitive and need treatment right away, we shouldn't have to be transported to Detroit or to London. We should get that treatment in Windsor. Why don't we deserve that? Why don't our children deserve that?" said Lowe.

She has also started a petition to bring more pediatric services to the region.  It can be found here.

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