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Dr. Nathalie Fleming has just won the new Minister’s Medal, presented by Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews on Nov. 21, for her work caring for pregnant teens in the community.

At an age when most young women dream of going to the high-school prom, Adysan Vincent, 16, was preparing to have a baby. She started taking prenatal classes at the Young Parent Outreach Centre at St. Mary’s Home, a refuge for pregnant teens as well as teen mothers and their newborns.

At St. Mary’s, she met Dr. Nathalie Fleming, a TOH obstetrician and gynecologist who just won the new provincial Minister’s Medal Honouring Excellence in Health Quality and Safety. The award, established by Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews, recognizes Dr. Fleming for her work caring for pregnant teens.

Dr. Fleming runs a perinatal clinic at St. Mary’s – the only one in Canada to be based not at a hospital, but at a place where teens gather. The location in the inner-city neighbourhood of Vanier makes the clinic easy and comfortable for teens to visit. While taking high-school courses at St. Mary’s, Adysan can take a short stroll down the hall for her appointments with Dr. Fleming.

By simply basing her clinic in a teen-friendly centre, Dr. Fleming has cultivated the loyalty and trust of her patients, who see her early and often. In contrast, pregnant teens who must travel to hospitals or doctors’ offices often delay getting prenatal care. The young women who go to Dr. Fleming’s clinic have fewer pre-term births, lower rates of caesarean sections and babies with higher birth-weights.

“I have been a witness to so many success stories here at the clinic,” said Dr. Fleming.

Adysan is one of those success stories. After learning she was pregnant, she resolved to return to school. At St. Mary’s, she’s taking Grade 10 classes, has quit smoking, has curbed her intake of junk food and has started exercising. “It’s not about me anymore,” she said. “It’s about the baby.”

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