St. Micheal’s Hospital Team

Director and Founder of the REACH School Network

A pediatrician in St. Michael's Hospital’s Inner City Health Program, Dr. Sloane Freeman has dedicated her career to groundbreaking work and research bringing school-based health care to under-served communities.

Dr. Freeman is the founder and lead for the Model Schools Pediatric Initiative, an innovative program to bring developmental and mental-health care to over 50 inner-city schools. Developed in partnership with the Toronto District School Board, the initiative is the first program of its kind in Canada.

Dr. Freeman is a scientist with MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital, and an assistant professor in the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics.

Developmental Pediatrician, REACH School Network

Dr. Ripudaman Minhas is a developmental pediatrician with the Inner City Health Program at St Michael’s Hospital and an assistant professor in the Division of Developmental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto. His research interests are in the development, behaviour, disability and rehabilitation of children in urban settings and in newcomer immigrant and refugee families. He is interested in developing interventions to support the developmental potential of children in the unique context of their social determinants of health. As of September 2018, Dr. Minhas was appointed director of Pediatric Research with St. Michael’s Hospital.

He completed the Developmental Pediatrics subspecialty training program at the University of Toronto and the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. He was a global health scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, and completed his Master of Public Health and a certificate in Global Health there. Dr. Minhas completed his medical degree at the University of Toronto, with General Pediatrics residency at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Family Physician, REACH School Network

Dr. Laurie Green is a family physician at St. Michael's Hospital in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Model School Pediatric Health Initiative at Nelson Mandela Park PS. Areas of special interest include the primary care of children, youth and adults with disability and the role of public education/health care partnerships in improving health outcomes.

Developmental Pediatrician, REACH School Network

Dr. Nicole Fischer is a developmental pediatrician at St. Michael’s Hospital’s Inner City Health Program and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She completed her developmental pediatric training at Holland Bloorview Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto and her pediatric residency at the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary. Dr. Fischer also works at Grandview Children's Center in Oshawa. Dr. Fischer has an interest in developmental diagnosis and support for children living in marginalized communities. She enjoys teaching medical students and residents of all levels and has taught various courses and seminars through the University of Toronto Medical School.

St. Joseph's Health Centre Site Lead for the REACH School Network

Dr. Justine Cohen-Silver is a pediatrician with a clinical and research focus supporting families to improve their determinants of health. She is the Site Medical Lead of the REACH-Parkdale School Clinic and Paediatric Research lead at St. Joseph Health Centre. Graduated from University of Toronto with a medical degree and MSc Biostatistics, MPH Health Promotion as well as paediatric residency training. Following residency she completed a fellowship in Academic Paediatrics for Urban Health at St.Michael's Hospital. Dr. Cohen-Silver is a paediatrician at Unity Health St. Michael's Hospital and St. Joseph Health Centre and is a research Investigator with the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions.

General Pediatrician, St. Joseph's Health Centre, REACH School Network

Dr. Anne Wormsbecker MD MPH FRCPC has over a decade of experience as a paediatrician at Unity Health Toronto, through St. Joseph's Health Centre and St. Michael's Hospital. She has been part of what is now known as REACH since the St. Joseph's Parkdale clinic opened in 2015. She currently sees children at both St. Joseph's and St. Michael's REACH locations. Dr. Wormsbecker loves working with kids, parents and school team members to help students thrive at school and at home.

Medical Director (Pediatrics)

Dr. Tony Barozzino is currently the Medical Director (Pediatrics) of the Women’s and Children’s Health Program, Unity Health Toronto. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. His clinical work focuses on high-risk inner city children, youth and their families.

Developmental Pediatrician, REACH School Network

Dr. Nicole Archer is a Developmental Pediatrician with the Nelson Mandela School Clinic through the Women’s and Children’s Health Program at St. Michael’s Hospital. Through her role at St. Michael’s Hospital, she also has clinics at the 61 Queen Street East clinic, as well as the Parents for Better Beginnings program in Regent Park. She also works at the Scarborough Kids Development Clinic in the Scarborough Health Network. Her clinical interests include assessment and management of individuals with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, learning disabilities, genetics, or mental health conditions. Her research interests include health-systems advocacy, health policy, and service delivery as it relates to her patient populations.

General Pediatrician and Researcher at St. Michael's Hospital

Dr. Shazeen Suleman (she/her) is a general pediatrician and researcher at St. Michael's Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. She leads the Compass Clinic, a low-barrier, trauma-informed and culturally-safe clinic for children and youth with special health care needs who are new to Canada or Indigenous. In addition to patient-focused advocacy, she has engaged with community agencies, policymakers and media at the local, provincial and national level. She is the president of the Social Pediatrics Section, a member of the Caring for Kids New to Canada Task Force and the Co-Chair of the Newcomer Child Health Special Interest Group with the Canadian Pediatric Society. As an Investigator at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, her research is focused on the implementation and evaluation of programs for newcomer children and youth.

Behavioral Therapist

Jasmina is a Developmental and Family Counselor at the School Clinic and a member of the Social Work team at the St. Michael's Pediatric Clinic. With three decades of experience, she brings to the team her expertise in child development, early attachment trauma and mental health issues, as well as family relationships dynamics. Jasmina works in collaboration with the School Clinic doctors, families, schools and child protection services. The St. Michael's School Clinic doctors will refer a child/family to work with Jasmina based on their assessment and understanding of the issues that can be addressed.

Jasmina is an adult Psychoanalyst in training, holds postgraduate degree in social work, and undergrad degrees in education and rehabilitation of the children with early developmental and health issues, and nursing. Jasmina is a parent-child interaction psychotherapist and early trauma specialist, as well as Advanced Watch Wait and Wonder therapist. She is a casual lecturer at Canadian Institute for Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (CICAPP).

Patient Navigator

Dorjana moved to Toronto in 2009 to continue to pursue her career in the social services sector and earned her Bachelor of Social Work from Ryerson University in 2014. She then had the opportunity to work as a Child and Family Advocate for Regent Park Community Centre for several years before joining the Pediatric Ambulatory clinic at St. Michael’s Hospital as a Pediatric Patient Navigator.

As a Pediatric Patient Navigator, Dorjana works with families in the inner-city neighborhoods and provides support to parents and caregivers of children with developmental and mental health concerns, to access services appropriate for their children's needs.

Dorjana is fluent in Albanian, Italian and English.

Clinic Coordinator

Zizi Putra is the Clinic Coordinator at Reach School Network. Zizi handles the coordination of services and activities provided at the Reach School Network. Zizi works with the clinical team to ensure quality assurance of the services delivered. As the clinic coordinator, he also assists in the coordination of a variety of research projects associated with Reach School Network. Prior to joining the Reach School Network, Zizi has held clerical positions at the pediatrics clinic at St Michael’s hospital.

Research Coordinator

Shajitha is the research coordinator for the school clinic team and the team representative for the MAP Centre for Urban Solutions. Shajitha received her Honours B.Sc. in Neuroscience and Mental Health Studies at the University of Toronto. She has been working alongside Dr. Sloane Freeman on the Model Schools Pediatric Health Initiative for over 4 years. Shajitha’s interests include clinical and developmental psychology, neuropsychology, working to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, and supporting families who face barriers accessing health care. Currently Shajitha is working on a COVID-19 research project, alongside a chart review study, that looks at the overall experience of families during the global pandemic and how we could better advocate for them through the school clinic. Shajitha’s work for the school clinic that uses an innovative health care delivery model to provide equitable health care to families in inner city schools has been a truly rewarding experience for her!

M.Sc. Candidate

Sujani is a M.Sc. candidate at the Institute of Medical Science, UofT. Sujani has been involved in pediatric research at St. Michael's hospital for almost 4 years, and enjoys conducting studies that address literature gaps and improves the lives of children. Previously, Sujani’s research focused on neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. She is currently investigating the effectiveness of school-based health centers in addressing the health inequities faced by children in Toronto. Sujani also serves as the director of Community Outreach for St. Michael's Hospital Research Student Association, hosting events to benefit the community and support the mental health of graduate students.

Researcher

Jasmine has completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto majoring in human biology, physiology, and immunology and she hopes to have a future in pediatrics and public health research. Jasmine is currently involved in assisting the research team with chart review and the COVID mental health study. A large part of Jasmine’s role consists of helping with patient recruitment and ensuring that all patients have a good understanding of the research projects at the clinic.

Clinical Leader Manager

Amanda Hignell is the Clinical Leader Manager (CLM) of the ambulatory Women & Children’s Health Clinics at the St. Michael’s site of Unity Health Toronto. She completed a Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Waterloo and Master of Social Work at York University. Prior to becoming the CLM for the women’s health and pediatric clinics in 2021, Amanda worked for over 10 years as a front-line social worker in St. Michael’s inpatient obstetrics & gynecology unit and the NICU. Amanda is passionate about removing barriers in the health care system to ensure that all patients have equitable access to safe, high-quality care.