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November 21, 2013 – Dr. Nathalie Fleming, an Obstetrician/Gynecologist at The Ottawa Hospital and Chief of Gynecology at CHEO, has won the prestigious Minister’s Medal Honouring Excellence in Health Quality and Safety.

The medal, established by Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews, honours those who “put patients in the centre of the circle of care and incorporate a focus on quality and safety into everything they do.” In this first year, the award focused on those who care for patients with multiple, complex conditions who frequently access the health-care system.

The winning entry, led by Dr. Fleming, was chosen from 140 applications from across the province, and recognizes her work caring for pregnant teens in a multidisciplinary program based at a community centre for adolescent mothers. Her recent research demonstrated that this innovative model of care has led to improved outcomes in mothers and newborns.

As part of this program, Fleming runs a perinatal clinic at St. Mary’s Home, making it the only one in Canada to be based, not at a hospital, but at a place where adolescent mothers and mothers-to-be gather. In effect, Fleming’s clinic is a little piece of our hospitals in the neighbourhood of Vanier, where St. Mary’s Home is located. Both The Ottawa Hospital and CHEO contribute staff time and expertise to the program.

By simply basing her clinic out of a teen-friendly centre, Fleming has cultivated the loyalty and trust of her patients, who see her early and often, especially during the crucial first months of pregnancy. In contrast, pregnant teens who must travel to hospitals or doctors’ offices often delay getting prenatal care.

See a video of Dr. Fleming from the Ministry of Health.

“I have been a witness to so many success stories here at the clinic. It’s fantastic to see some of these teens go from being in the street, using all sorts of drugs, to young women who come to St. Mary’s Home, get plugged into the medical system, and turn their lives around,” said Dr. Nathalie Fleming. “I am honoured to receive this award for a cause that is so near and dear to my heart.”

“The impact of having Nathalie’s clinic here has been nothing short of profound,” says Nancy MacNider, executive director of St. Mary’s Home. “It now means we have healthier mothers and healthier children at birth, rather than children who need to be kept in a neonatal intensive care unit for a lengthy period of time.”

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About The Ottawa Hospital
The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) is a bilingual multi-campus, health sciences centre offering comprehensive, high quality, patient-focused health-care services to a community of 1.3 million people in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario.

With over 1,100 beds and an annual budget over $1 Billion, TOH is one of the largest teaching and research hospitals in Canada. To meet the high demand for its services, it relies on a dedicated and compassionate team of 12,000 employees, 1,300 physicians and more than 1,000 volunteers.

The Ottawa Hospital is renowned for its leadership in patient care, research, education and for its investment in state-of-the-art facilities and technology. Working together with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the University of Ottawa, and other partners, TOH is gaining national and international recognition for high quality patient care, teaching and research.
The Ottawa Hospital

About the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)
CHEO is a pediatric health and research centre providing outstanding family-centred patient care, pioneering breakthrough research, and training the health care professionals of tomorrow.

CHEO is the second largest hospital in the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and one of only a few stand-alone pediatric hospitals in Canada. Last year, over 500,000 children and youth passed through its doors. CHEO has more than 2,500 doctors, nurses and additional staff dedicated to providing the best possible care for the children and youth of Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, Nunavut and parts of Northern Ontario.

CHEO works closely with the University of Ottawa as a teaching hospital and fosters groundbreaking research through the CHEO Research Institute. CHEO’s vision is to change young lives in our community, while our innovation changes young lives around the world.
www.cheo.on.ca

About St. Mary’s Home
St. Mary’s Home is an Ottawa-based social service agency that provides a full range of specialized programs and services for young pregnant women, young moms and dads, and their infants and young children.

We support young women to have a healthy pregnancy and birth, and help young parents gain the knowledge and skills to raise healthy and happy children. We aim to mitigate the psycho-social, health, educational and developmental risk factors historically associated with adolescent pregnancy and with being the child of a teen parent.

At St. Mary’s Home, we believe:

• Pregnancy and early parenting are times of opportunity for personal growth
• Young parents are capable of building strong, nurturing and healthy families
• Children have rights as individuals

We support young people and their children through the St. Mary’s Home Residence and through the Young Parent Outreach Centre.
www.stmaryshome.com