Our Clinical Team
Physician Team
Physicians
The physician team supports children with serious illness and progressive life-limiting conditions through the provision of specialized medical care and navigating uncertainty and decision-making using a patient and family-centered approach. This includes supporting families as part of the perinatal palliative care program as well as those who receive a diagnosis of a life-limiting condition in childhood or adolescence. The goal being to collaborate with patients and families to provide comprehensive care with a focus on comfort, dignity and quality of life. The physician team provides palliative care supports to children at RNCH, CHEO, and in the community.
Dr. Chris Vadeboncoeur
(Medical Director)
Dr. Dawn Davies
Dr. Megan Doherty
Dr. Erin Kwolek
Dr. Stephanie van Zanten
Dr. Alexis Fong-Leboeuf
Dr. Rohail Kumar
Care Leaders
Clinical Care Leader
The Clinical Care Leader provides leadership and support to the inpatient team of Nurses and Personal Support Workers to ensure high-quality pediatric palliative care. This role involves mentoring staff, refining care protocols, and fostering a culture of excellence. The Clinical Care Leader ensures the delivery of compassionate, patient-centered care, guiding the team in meeting the complex needs of children and families in the hospice setting.
Aileen Blakeney
Psychosocial Care Leader
The Psychosocial Care Leader provides leadership and support to the hospice’s psychosocial support services, including recreation therapy, palliative care, and grief support programs. This role ensures that children and families receive personalized emotional and psychological support, tailored to meet their unique needs throughout their care journey.
Carol Manseau
Care Coordinators
Palliative Care Coordinator
The Palliative Care Coordinator works closely with an interdisciplinary team to create and implement personalized palliative care plans. This role ensures that children and families receive comprehensive support, addressing their medical, emotional, and spiritual needs. The Nurse Coordinator is key in delivering holistic care, ensuring each family’s unique requirements are met with compassion and attention.
Madeleine Wilcox
Community Palliative Care Coordinator
The Community Palliative Care Coordinator facilitates transitions between hospice and home care by working closely with families, community partners, and healthcare teams. This role ensures that families receive consistent, high-quality support, coordinating care to meet their needs and providing continuity of care in both the hospice and home settings.
Deana Ward
Admissions and Care Coordinator
The Admissions and Care Coordinator helps families access admissions to hospice, working closely with them to develop personalized care plans that address their child’s specific medical and emotional needs. This role ensures that each family receives the support and resources necessary for a tailored and compassionate care experience.
Sabrina Morin
Clinical Educator
The Clinical Educator promotes competency-based clinical practice, clinical staff education, and professional development that is evidence based and in keeping with professional standards.
Cailey Riggs
Perinatal Palliative Care Coordinator
The Perinatal Palliative Care Coordinator supports families experiencing perinatal loss, offering expert guidance and support to families in hospital, hospice, and/or the community. This role ensures that parents receive compassionate care, support with decision-making, resources, and emotional support during this difficult time. The Nurse Coordinator also provides educational outreach and support to professionals providing care to families at various stages of perinatal loss.
Lesley Sabourin
Psychosocial Team
Social Workers
The Social Workers play a critical role in providing compassionate support to families as they navigate the emotional complexities of pediatric palliative care, ensuring that children, parents, and caregivers feel heard, understood, and are supported at every stage of illness. They collaborate with families to assess needs, support resourcing, and offer therapeutic support. Social workers advocate for families, ensuring their voices are heard, and empowering them to make informed decisions about their child’s care. They help families navigate both the emotional and logistical complexities of pediatric palliative care with empathy and understanding.
Social workers also provide grief support to families who have experienced the death of a child, and to young grievers who have experienced the death of someone significant in their lives. They support them in processing their grief, developing healthy coping strategies, and accessing the comprehensive grief services at Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice, including counselling, support groups, and specialized programs.
Sarah Allan-Wiseman
Madelena Arnone
Jessika Oneid
Andrea Prescott-Cornejo
Grief Services Coordinator
The Grief Services Coordinator plays a key role in supporting families experiencing grief by coordinating and facilitating grief support services. Working closely with the clinical team, the coordinator assesses and triages referrals, manages intake processes, and ensures families have access to appropriate grief support services at the hospice and/or within the community. Key responsibilities include responding to grief service inquiries, coordinating grief support initiatives, and maintaining grief resources. This role ensures a compassionate, supportive approach to helping families navigate their grief journey.
Rosalie Larouche
Recreation Therapists
The Recreation Therapists at Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice provide therapeutic activities designed to improve the quality of life and well-being of children in an inclusive, non-judgmental environment. This role includes offering therapeutic play opportunities that encourage self-expression, emotional processing, and socialization, both in individual and group settings. The Recreation Therapist creates adaptive activities that support cognitive, emotional, physical, and spiritual goals while promoting guest/family-centered care.
Additionally, the Recreation Therapists work with other members of the psychosocial care team to provide activity-based support for children and youth, including those who are grieving. The Recreation Therapists work to foster empowerment, normalization, and memory-making, ensuring that guests receive meaningful, therapeutic support during their stay at RNCH.
Samantha Albert
Olivia Lourenco
Angel Tuinder (Recreation Therapy Assistant)
Inpatient Team
Nurses and Personal Support Workers
The Inpatient Clinical Team at Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice, composed of Registered Nurses (RNs), Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs), and Personal Support Workers (PSWs), provides compassionate, family-centred care to guests and families during an admission to RNCH. Nurses work closely with the interdisciplinary team to deliver safe, ethical care, utilizing the nursing process to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate individualized care. PSWs assist with daily living activities, support comfort, and ensure a safe and nurturing environment. Together, the team ensures a holistic, supportive care experience for families in the pediatric hospice setting.