Strategic Direction 2: Foster a thriving, connected Team Grandview 

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This past year has been one of fast-paced change for Grandview Kids, and Team Grandview rose to the challenge with patience, resilience and adaptability. Our people remained focused on what matters most: supporting children and youth with physical, communication and developmental needs to live, learn and play.  

Our accomplishments and achievements in 2024-25 could not have been made possible without our team. In 2024-25, Team Grandview was comprised of: 

Watch the video below as Grandview Kids’ Executive Lead, Clinical and Client Services, Dr. Taryn Eickmeier, details how we introduced new opportunities to learn from one another, connect across disciplines and celebrate our collective accomplishments.

Implementing the LIFT Guidelines at Grandview Kids 

In 2024-25, Grandview Kids adopted the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Service’s (MCCSS) “Leading Innovation for Transformation (LIFT)” Guidelines. The Guidelines focus on tiered approaches to service delivery, equity to support the diverse needs of families in culturally safer ways, and clear service pathways for clients. The Guidelines seek to reduce paediatric surgery wait times, reduce wait times for children’s rehabilitation services and expand the provision of children’s rehabilitation services. This directly impacts Grandview Kids as a paediatric rehabilitation provider. These Guidelines are intended for Preschool Speech and Language (PSL) Lead Agencies, Children’s Treatment Centres (CTCs) and these organizations’ direct service partners and/or contracted regulated health professionals. 

Since adopting these Guidelines, we have implemented promising practices in Solution-Focused Coaching and the F-Words for Child Development across our clinical and client-facing teams. Additionally, we continue to work on our approaches to trauma-informed care, cultural safety for Indigenous communities and anti-racist, culturally-safer care. This year, our Interprofessional Practice Team and the clinicians providing service to the Grandview School completed all five mandatory training programs. The IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) Committee continues to identify ways to embed promising practices from the training into daily operations at Grandview Kids to sustain our learning and broaden our impact.  

Expanding our reach as leaders in research and innovation 

The Research, Innovation and Knowledge Mobilization portfolio at Grandview Kids continues to expand, leveraging the strength of Team Grandview’s expertise to embed promising practices into care. In this past year, the Research and Innovation team applied to 10 research grant competitions with partners at Durham College, Ontario Tech University, the Bloorview Research Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University and Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences. As the successful recipients of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s Partnership Development Grant, Dr. Fiona Moola is leading work on defining cultural safety and anti-racist care in paediatric rehabilitation. With Grandview Kids as a primary partner in this work, Dr. Moola has extended her reach as a Grandview Kids’ Research Associate to help establish meaningful policy change for the clients and caregivers Team Grandview is privileged to serve.  

Research alongside Dr. Meghann Lloyd, the Senior Research Associate of Grandview Kids and Professor at Ontario Tech University, has helped Team Grandview better under the complexities of accessing care for families with intersecting identities. The IDEA Study was launched in 2024 with a survey co-designed with Family Advocates and a series of case studies conducted by Master’s student, Alissa Latiff. The data and insights from this study will lead to transformational adjustments across the landscape of paediatric care in Canada, helping to inform a more inclusive, culturally sensitive sector.  

Data have been compelling and through emerging work with Dr. Heather Shearer and Dr. Pierre Cote from the Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research at Ontario Tech University, Grandview Kids is able to investigate trends in waitlists for community-based rehabilitation services for children across the Durham Region. Through a study funded by the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at Ontario Tech University, this work provides a new perspective on inefficiencies and inequities in the paediatric rehabilitation sector, helping to enforce advocacy and system innovation to support improved access to early intervention for all children and youth in our community.  

Grandview Kids continues to be a sector leader in community-based paediatric rehabilitation sciences and disability studies. Working alongside partners across academic and scientific institutions allows our teams to broaden our reach of impact while adopting promising practices to make a local impact. To learn more about research at Grandview Kids, visit GrandviewKids.ca/research.  

Results from our annual clinical competencies 

The Interprofessional Practice Team (IPT) leads the review of clinical competencies on an annual basis. The IPT competencies are designed to enhance clinical expertise and build a culture of continuous professional learning. Through the adoption of the National Interprofessional Competency Framework (2010), clinicians reflect on their level of expertise in five key domains:  

Furthermore, each clinical discipline has a series of competencies directly related to their scope of work.  

This year, a refreshed procedure helped collate the outcomes of individual competencies more meaningfully. Each clinician received a report on the outcomes of their self-assessment, identifying areas where they wanted to learn more. The information was used in one-to-one coaching sessions with their managers to identify four professional learning goals: a novice or beginner competency to grow; an expert competency to showcase; a way to enhance or advance their career; and a goal to support their health and wellness during the workday.  

This work was led by a University of Waterloo Master’s of Health Informatics Student, Mahnoor Khan, and has helped strengthen the IPT’s approach to evidence-informed decision making. As the work continues into 2025-26, the IPT will use outcomes of competencies to identify focus areas for discipline-specific training and overall approaches to evidence-informed care.  

Enhancing access to wellness resources for Team Grandview 

Supporting the well-being of Team Grandview continues to be a top priority for Grandview Kids. Amidst the incredible amount of change Team Grandview has experienced in the last year, we recognized that it was more important than ever to create space for our team members to pause, reflect and grow. 

To support our staff, in 2024-25, we launched quarterly wellness sessions through our Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) provider, Homewood Health, and shared high-quality wellness resources. These sessions and resources offered a wide range of topics, including understanding grief and loss, how post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and addiction are connected, making self-care a priority, understanding the impact of unrealistic and unhealthy portrayals of body image on social media and the effects of trauma and adversity on mental health. 

Additionally, we introduced the Health Care Worker Assist Program (HCWA) from Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences. The HWCA aims to support all staff in any healthcare capacity, including clinicians, managers, administration staff and volunteers, who want support for symptoms of anxiety, depression, burnout or compassion fatigue. Services offered through the HCWA include brief individual therapy, psychoeducation and system navigation free of charge to Team Grandview. These impactful tools and resources are available to support our staff in adapting to changes in their daily lives, both at work and at home. 

Featuring the excellence of Team Grandview 

You may have noticed a change in our social media presence over the last year. From Team Grandview-written blogs and “day-in-the-life” videos to awareness day acknowledgements and discipline spotlights, we made deliberate efforts to showcase the knowledge, passion and expertise of Team Grandview externally. In 2024-25, we featured 65 discipline and program spotlights on social media through day-in-the-life videos and awareness day/month content. We also shared 7 “Program Spotlights” in our external newsletter, Gather (delivered monthly to Grandview Kids clients, caregivers and families), which aims to broaden our community’s understanding of the programs and services offered at Grandview Kids. Through these curated videos, blogs and newsletter content, we highlighted how our teams contribute to Grandview Kids’ mission, bringing the behind-the-scenes work to the forefront. 

Internally, we have made a concerted effort to enhance our teams’ comprehension of their colleagues’ work across the organization. Each month, one program or discipline at Grandview Kids showcases a “Program Spotlight” during our All-Staff Huddles. These Spotlights provide Team Grandview with an overview of the roles within the program, introductions to team members, the services they provide, relevant eligibility criteria (if applicable) and additional resources for further learning. The presenting team also incorporates engaging elements like Kahoot trivia to involve their colleagues in the learning experience. At the end of each spotlight, staff are given the chance to ask questions to the presenting team. In 2024-25, Team Grandview benefitted from observing 7 Program Spotlights ranging from Family Engagement to Extensive Needs Service. 

Thank you to all members of Team Grandview for sharing your expertise to highlight your areas and programs both within and outside our organization. Your contributions enhance our clients’ experiences while engaging with Grandview Kids online and improve your colleagues’ workplace experience. 

Promoting connection and inclusion 

Connection Committee 

The Connection Committee inspires connections between members of Team Grandview by routinely hosting, organizing or promoting fun and social events, competitions, games and other activities. Committee members also champion and support planning annual staff events, including our “Annual Summer All-Staff BBQ” in June and “Winter Wonders” event in December. The Committee aims to develop and foster a culture of connection, engagement and belonging among Grandview Kids staff. 

Connection Committee activities in 2024-25 included: Summer Staff BBQ including recreation activities, interactive art stations, coordinating catered food trucks; Winter Wonders all staff event, combining an engaging education session from a keynote speaker and fun, celebratory activities into a half-day event; monthly “Connection Moments” at the beginning of all staff huddles; hosting a paint night in the community; virtual trivia on multiple topics; facilitating a door decorating contest for the winter holidays; lunch-hour stretch breaks or yoga; “All About Me” workstation templates; wellness walks; “Connection Captain” staff profiles; art workshops; and Valentine’s candy-grams. 

Thanks to the members of our Connection Committee for their energy, passion and creativity in bringing Team Grandview together in engaging and meaningful ways: Avori Cheyne (Project Sponsor), Adrian Polidano (Project Sponsor), Shannon Lock (Co-Chair), Michelle Foote (Co-Chair), Ashley Arriola, Ashlee Zommers, Candice Prontack, Corrie Dixon, Harry Deeg, Heather Cook, Karen Jange, Mark Salonius, Nicole Milevski, Sujay Rambajue, Taryn Eickmeier, Vareesha Khan, Vera O’Brien and Yeldah Yousfi. 

IDEA Committee 

The Inclusion, Equity, Diversity and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee is comprised of Grandview Kids staff members who share the collective goal of enhancing knowledge surrounding inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility within the organization through live education sessions, educational resources, events, newsletter content and other areas. 

In 2024-25, the IDEA Committee hosted several impactful all-staff huddles on important topics and awareness days and months, including Pride Month, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Red Dress Day, International Mother Language Day, National Indigenous Languages Day and more. The IDEA Committee members start each All Staff Huddle with a moment of Reconci-Action, a way to remain committed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. Members also created articles detailing the significance of awareness days and religious holidays, which were featured in weekly internal newsletters and the external Gather newsletter on the first of each month. 

In the last year, the IDEA Committee revised Grandview Kids’ Land Acknowledgement and Land Acknowledgement Policy, ensuring its accuracy and recognition of colonialism’s impact on the provision of rehabilitative care. 

Thanks to the members of our IDEA Committee for their steadfast commitment to stewarding and supporting inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility at Grandview Kids: Taryn Eickmeier (Project Sponsor), Adrian Polidano (Co-Chair), Arjana Sivayogeswaran (Co-Chair), Fadia Omer, Kelsey Cluett, Kristen McKinnon, Lauren Bessel, Marika Beaumont, Maritza Basaran, Michelle Foote, Sandra Masarovich, Shanie Khan, Sujay Rambajue, Tina Laughlan and Yeldah Yousfi 

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Our people are the heart of Team Grandview. Together, we are building a stronger, more inclusive future for the children, youth, and families we passionately serve. 

Thank you for being part of this journey with us. We are incredibly proud to highlight the accomplishments, moments of sparkle and steadfast dedication that Team Grandview has demonstrated over the last year. We have achieved incredible things together and are excited about what’s to come next. 

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