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The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, McGill University, the
Université de Montréal and the
Fondation du Dr Julien will establish two chairs in social pediatrics in the community, to be based in the Montreal neighbourhood of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. In a Canadian first, researchers will conduct a long-term study on social pediatrics in the community. This clinical practice has a proven track record, thanks to its founder, Dr. Gilles Julien, who has been practicing social pediatrics in disadvantaged neighbourhoods for nearly 30 years.
Studies clearly show that from an early age, social determinants such as income, social status, support networks and social environment have a profound impact on a child’s health, development and productivity in adulthood. Growing up under harsh living conditions produces an accumulation of toxic stress that is detrimental to a child’s brain development.
In response to these challenges, social pediatrics in the community is unique in that its diagnoses take into consideration a child`s overall health and integrates in one place a variety of disciplines and services that can respond to all the needs of children and their families.
The two chairs will allow researchers to measure the impact of social pediatrics on the lives of these children and their families, and on the community.
- The Nicolas Steinmetz–Gilles Julien Chair in Social Pediatrics in the Community will be jointly held by McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine and the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation. This chair will focus chiefly on the challenges faced by disadvantaged children and the social factors that affect their health and wellbeing, as well as the defense of children’s rights and the drafting of social policies.
- At the Université de Montréal, the Dr. Julien/Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation Chair in Social Pediatrics in the Community of the University of Montreal will seek to develop specialized knowledge in the implementation and grassroots operation of social pediatrics, and to train future professionals in the field.
Dr. Julien and Dr. Steinmetz will sit on a joint consultative committee, ensuring collaboration between the two university chairs.
In a radical departure from many academic chairs, research will be done in the field, right in the heart of the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Clinicians, researchers, children and families will be in close proximity, enabling investigators to study first-hand all of the strategies employed by the
Fondation du Dr Julien staff. Research will then spread to other communities where social-pediatrics centres have been established to improve the practice of this important discipline all over Quebec.
Donors who care about giving an equal opportunity to all children
The creation of the Nicolas Steinmetz – Gilles Julien Chair in Social Pediatrics in the Community was made possible thanks to donations from the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation’s important partners: BMO Financial Group ($1.25M), Ghislaine and J. Sebastian van Berkom ($1M) and the Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation ($750,000), for a total of $3 million.
“At the Foundation, we feel it’s important to support initiatives that prioritize children’s health,” says Greg Rokos, chair of the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation’s board of directors. “I would like to thank our donors for their trust in McGill and the Montreal Children’s Hospital, whose trailblazing work in social pediatrics means they are particularly well-placed to serve as an area of convergence for research.”
“In supporting this chair, we hope to provide society with the tools to offer everyone the equal opportunity to live and thrive as productive members of society, contributing to our collective wellbeing.” – L. Jacques Ménard, chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns, president of BMO Financial Group, Quebec, and founder of the
Groupe d’action sur la persévérance et la réussite scolaires.
“As an entrepreneur, I believe it is very important to support the creation of two chairs of the highest caliber in order to validate the important work that Dr. Julien has developed over almost 30 years in practicing social pediatrics. Such validation will provide the credibility for his model, which can then be duplicated with much more confidence in other geographic regions in Quebec, Canada and elsewhere.”–
J. Sebastian van Berkom, president and chief executive officer of Van Berkom and Associates Inc.
“We are lucky to be able to count on two outstanding scientific communities in Montreal, and our support aims to ensure that together, they can accelerate the rate of fundamental change for children.” – Marie-Josée Coutu, of the Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation, who supports both chairs.
To read the press release in its entirety