Endocrinology/Diabetes
The Endocrinology & Diabetes Program at Children’s Hospital is the main tertiary referral centre for infants, children, and teens with diabetes and endocrine-related concerns in Southwestern Ontario. We have an inter-professional team trained to provide a full range of clinical services in both the inpatient and outpatient setting.
Our Endocrinology Program sees over 2700 patients annually for a wide variety of endocrine issues, including:
- Growth concerns
- Pubertal development
- Thyroid pathology
- Adrenal pathology
- Bone health and disorders of calcium regulation
- Disorders of sexual development
- Hypoglycemia
The Endocrinology program includes a satellite growth and endocrine clinic at Metropolitan Hospital in Windsor, Ontario.
Our Diabetes Program follows over 600 children and teens with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus, and we see about 80 new referrals for diabetes each year. We are based in London, Ontario but provide outreach clinics to Sarnia and Stratford, Ontario as well. Our program consists of a fully integrated inter-professional team including pediatric endocrinologists, CDE-certified nurses and dieticians, social workers, child psychologists, and child life specialists. We have an active insulin pump program and we offer patient and family educational workshops on a regular basis. We are also associated with Camp Discovery, a summer camp for children with Type 1 diabetes.
Our Diabetes program is a primary site for the JDRF Canadian Clinical Trials Network and we are currently involved in several studies including an insulin pump and continuous sensor trials,
The Team:
- Dr. Robert Stein, Section Head, Endocrinology Team
- Dr. Cheril Clarson, Endocrinology Team
- Dr. Andrea Ens, Endocrinology Team
- Dr. Oluwafunmbi Babalola, Endocrinology Team
- Dr. Patricia Gallego, Endocrinology Team
- Susan Rybansky, Nurse – Endocrinology Team
- Ruth Duncan, Nurse Educator – Diabetes Team
- Janet Dawe, Nurse Educator- Diabetes Team
- Johanna Kaipanen, Dietician – Diabetes Team
- Jenna MacIsaac, Dietician – Diabetes team
- Ruth Aitchison, Social Work – Diabetes Team
- Brian Seeley, Social Work – Diabetes Team
Dr. Erica Gold, Child Psychology – Diabetes Team
The Facts:
- Type 1 diabetes is not preventable
- The acute and long-term complications (including ketoacidosis, severe hypoglycemia, end-organ damage) are preventable with proper education and regular follow-up with a Diabetes Team
