In The News

Dr. Kieran Moore
Type: Interview
Source: Global News
Date: March 9, 2022

Lifting of mask mandates in Ontario schools being met with mixed reaction.

Ontario will no longer mandate face mask use in schools as of March 21, also bringing an end to COVID-19 cohorting and physical distancing requirements.

“I feel that it’s a bit early to lift the mask mandate … I worry particularly about children that are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated and children that are more vulnerable from a medical perspective,” Dr. Freeman said.

“We know masks work to control transmission and Omicron is still out there and I do hope that children will still use masks at this time to help protect those that are more vulnerable among them,” Dr. Freeman added.

Dr. Sloane Freeman, Kevin L. Schwartz & Dr. Ripudaman Singh Minhas
Type: Op-Ed
Source: Toronto Star
Date: March 2, 2022

Is mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for school attendance the answer to increasing vaccine uptake in children?

A culturally sensitive approach is needed to improve the vaccination rate in children that addresses equitable access, parents’ concerns and building vaccine confidence.

The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and recommended for children aged 5 years and older, yet, nationwide, COVID-19 vaccine uptake has been low in children 5-11 years of age. To date, only 28 per cent have received two doses.

Dr. Sloane Freeman & Dr. Ripudaman Singh Minhas
Type: Op-Ed
Source: Toronto Star
Date: December 17, 2021

Why in-person learning matters: A dispatch from the front lines.

Across ages, students have remarked on the tragic impacts of prolonged social isolation from their peers. In our clinic, patients are now beaming.

After coping with the isolation and uncertainty of virtual school, this fall’s return to in-person learning has been a breath of fresh air for many students.

Jim Oldfield
Type: Article
Source: University of Toronto News
Date: December 10, 2021

How effective are school food programs? U of T researchers launch nationwide study.

Researchers at the University of Toronto have begun studying school-based meal programs across Canada to better understand which programs work well, how they have functioned during the COVID-19 pandemic – and whether a long-discussed national program could improve child nutrition in this country.

Dr. Justine Cohen-Silver
Type: Interview
Source: Global News
Date: September 9, 2021

More students expected to face mental health challenges amid return to school in Ontario

School-based clinicians are bracing for an uptake in student mental health referrals. Dr. Justine Cohen-Silver, a School-Based Clinic lead physician at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, speaks with Global News about the challenges families have experienced over the past year and the support they'll require going into the school year.

Dr. Freeman
Type: Interview
Source: Toronto Star
Date: September 8, 2021

Schools brace for surge in demand for mental health services as in-person classes resume

As kids return to school, Dr. Sloane Freeman, the lead of the Model Schools Pediatrics Health Initiative, anticipates more children will display symptoms of anxiety, depressed moods and problems with emotional outbursts. In this interview with the Toronto Star, she explains why therapists and pediatricians are bracing for “a storm of referrals”.

Sloane J. Freeman and Ripudaman Singh Minhas
Type: Op-Ed
Source: The Globe and Mail
Date: August 24, 2021

We’re getting our kids ready for school. But are our schools ready for our kids?

Dr. Sloane J. Freeman & Dr. Ripudaman Singh Minhas
Type: Op-Ed
Source: Toronto Star
Date: May 7, 2021

Ensuring we give the vaccine rollout for children our best shot.

Vaccinating our children is an important step toward population-level herd immunity. If we are going to be successful, we must consider how to address parental and youth concerns around vaccine safety, equitable delivery and prioritizing children and youth most at risk of serious illness.

Dr. Freeman
Type: Article
Source: CBC News
Date: July 29, 2020

COVID-19 and school reopennings

SickKids has released new proposed guidelines for reopening schools in Ontario come September, including recommendations like staggered lunch times, no large assemblies, and mandatory masks for older students…

School Clinic
Type: Article
Source: The EdCan Network
Date: March 15, 2017

In-School Health Clinics

Breaking silos to address the well-being needs of newcomer students…

School Clinic
Type: Article
Source: The Globe and Mail
Date: December 26, 2017

In-school pediatric clinic gives Toronto students greater chance of academic success

In Room 116 at Toronto's Nelson Mandela Park Public School, Jaiden Campbell was having his blood pressure checked and his heart rate monitored: "They squeeze your arm, they test your heart. It's good…

School Clinic
Type: Article
Source: Torontoist
Date: November 12, 2015

Pediatric clinic opens in TDSB school, seeks to make healthcare more accessible for Regent Park

Healthcare just became more accessible for families living in Regent Park—thanks to a pediatric clinic that opened on Tuesday, inside the TDSB’s Nelson Mandela Park Public School…

School Clinic
Type: Article
Source: Toronto.com
Date: November 10, 2015

New health-care clinic opens its doors within Nelson Mandela school

Thanks to the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) Model Schools for Inner Cities initiative and a partnership with St. Michael’s Hospital, students at Nelson Mandela Park Public School can now get more out of going to class than a good education…

School Clinic
Type: Article
Source: CBC
Date: November 10, 2015

Regent Park school opens much-appreciated health clinic for families

For families in Regent Park, it has become a little easier to get their children to a doctor. The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has partnered up with St. Michael's Hospital to open up a new health clinic inside Nelson Mandela Public School. The clinic will have a family physician and two pediatricians to provide health care services…

School Clinic
Type: Article
Source: The Toronto Star
Date: November 10, 2015

A Inner-city school clinics hailed as insurance for kids school clinic article

Chaka Nero-Heath usually takes a bus or makes the half-hour drive to take her children to the doctor, taking time out of her busy schedule to ferry her sons and daughter…

Dr. Freeman
Type: Article
Source: The Medical Post
Date: September 20, 2011

The Model Schools Pediatric Health Initiative

Featured as the cover story in the Medical Post, September 2011. St.Michael's Hospital paediatrician, Dr. Sloane Freeman, partners with the Toronto District Schoolboard's to launch the first paediatric clinic within an inner-city Ontario school…

School Clinic
Type: Article
Source: Toronto Star
Date: December 10, 2011

A bold inner-city project brings medical care to kids at school

In February, 5-year-old Mahira Rahman learned something in classroom 107A not listed on the Sprucecourt Junior Public School curriculum: the junior kindergarten student needed open-heart surgery…

Dr. Freeman
Type: Article
Source: Toronto Star
Date: December 11, 2011

A classroom that helps saves lives

Clinic at inner-city school a health care boost for kids…