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The Office of Engagement
SickKids believes that the lived experiences of patients, family members, and the broader community, are essential to the work we do.
The Office of Engagement at SickKids is dedicated to ensuring that people with lived experience can drive meaningful change across care, research and learning.
What we do
We support SickKids to embed partnership in all we do by:
- Fostering a growing community of Lived Experience Advisors
- Elevating the voice of patients, siblings and youth
- Providing consultative support for hospital staff, researchers & educators
Get involved: Join the Lived Experience Network!
The Lived Experience Network (formerly the Family Advisory Network), is comprised of patients, parents/caregivers, siblings and other community members who contribute their lived experience to improve the design of care, research and education at SickKids.
What does good engagement look like?
We ground our work in a core set of values and a Framework for Engagement that was co-designed with SickKids patients and families. The framework sets out best practices for how staff and advisors can work together to shape care, research and education.
The impact of patient partnership
Patient and family advisors have a strong history of making meaningful impact at SickKids. Some examples of projects and initiatives include:
- Project Horizon: Advisors provide ongoing input on the design, accessibility, and service availability in the development of new and improved care spaces.
- SickKids’ Inaugural Patient & Family Experience Strategy (2024–2027): Co-developed with advisors to reflect shared priorities and lived experience.
- Coming for Surgery Workbook: A co-developed educational resource designed to support patients and families throughout the surgical journey.
- MyChart Quality Improvement: Ongoing partnership to improve the user experience and functionality of the hospital’s digital health platform.
Jennifer Rosart
Director, Patient & Family Experience
Francine Buchanan
Senior Manager, Office of Engagement
Child Life Specialist, Patient & Family Experience
Program Coordinator, Patient & Family Experience
Project Manager, Patient & Family Experience
Program Coordinator, Research Engagement
Engagement Research Specialist
Program Coordinator, Research Engagement
Anitha Ithayalingam
Program Manager, Knowledge Mobilization & Patient Engagement CHILD Cohort Study
Knowledge Mobilization & Community Engagement Specialist, Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children
Lisa Howlett
Program Coordinator, Thriving Minds
Cindy Alves
Administrative Coordinator, Patient & Family Experience
Contact
To connect with a member of the Office of Engagement, please email ask.engagement@sickkids.ca. Someone will return your email within 24-48 hours.