Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at nine months old, Kellen Schleyer spent much of his childhood within the walls of CHEO, Ottawa’s local children’s hospital.
“I started physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy,” Schleyer, now 23 years old, told OBJ. “That’s kind of where it began. I went to the (CHEO School) for my kindergarten years, where I learned how to use different technologies. I got my first ever wheelchair and I was at CHEO for all my doctors appointments and all my surgeries. They supported me along the way.”
This week, Schleyer was the featured speaker at CHEO’s annual gala at the National Art Gallery, an event to reflect on the hospital’s achievements, celebrate its patients, and recognize the contributions of community members who have supported the organization.
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Schleyer walked the audience through the story of his life as a CHEO kid, recalling the bumps and hurdles in the road, but also the love, encouragement and support he and his family received from the hospital’s team of doctors, nurses and staff.
It’s that experience that he said brought him to where he is today – a young adult and recent graduate from Algonquin College’s social service partner program.
“Everything that CHEO has done for me over the years, starting at a very young age … they put support in place and always supported me through my journey to become the best person that I could be,” he said.
CHEO undergoing transformation, thanks to community support
Patients, donors and CHEO representatives donned their formal suits, dresses and high heels to enjoy the cocktail hour and three-course meal with the view of Parliament Hill lit up in the backdrop.
“It’s an event that we’ve had circled on the calendar for months,” Steve Read, president and CEO of CHEO Foundation, told OBJ. “It’s such a nice opportunity to celebrate the community’s generosity and kindness towards the kids at CHEO, to share a little about our plans and what we have ahead of us.”
To support its fundraising goals, the foundation has selected a cabinet of community leaders, including three co-chairs: Neil Malhotra, vice-president of Claridge Homes; Kyle Braatz, co-founder and CEO of Fullscript; and Rachel Braatz, a family law lawyer.
“I think it’s one of the most important institutions in Ottawa,” Malhotra told OBJ. “To me, youth is the most important thing. The city has more than doubled in the time since CHEO was built and kids’ issues are greater and greater every day. It’s very important that we as a community put money in to make sure we’re able to have a bright future for kids that need the help, whatever the issues are.”
The hospital is currently undergoing a significant redevelopment and expansion to meet growing demands for services that can no longer be accommodated in the current facility.
“The hospital was built 50 years ago,” said Emily Jamieson, vice-president of corporate philanthropy and community engagement for CHEO Foundation. “At that time, the Ottawa community was much smaller and operated a much smaller catchment. Fast forward to today … kids are waiting longer than they ever have before.”
The expansion plan will see a redevelopment of the entire CHEO campus, including renovations of existing buildings, as well as the construction of a new 220,000-square-foot building. Jamieson said this work will allow the hospital to expand its footprint by 50 per cent.
It’s necessary work, she added, with patients now coming in from far and wide.
“It’s not just the Ottawa community,” she said. “We are going beyond the Kingston and Belleville area, Eastern Ontario. We have a lot of patients from northern Ontario and Nunavut. About 50 years ago, we were servicing a population of 500,000. Now we’re servicing 550,000 youth per year.”
The 350 community members in attendance at the gala were all supporters of the integrated treatment centre, the new building that will be in operation by 2028, said Jamieson. The facility will provide outpatient mental health support, clinical services, and neurodevelopmental health, as well as housing the CHEO School.
“The idea is not just to transform the entire campus, but also transform our model of care,” she said. “It’s a wraparound approach with the patient in mind.”
The foundation has already committed $220 million to the redevelopment of the CHEO campus. Jamieson said the entire redevelopment project wouldn’t be possible without the support of the community.
“(The foundation) has been fundraising for 10 years to achieve that,” she said. “It’s community events like this, it’s donations, it’s people taking time to be advocates. We’re really wanting the community to rally around CHEO right now because we really need to change. And I can tell you right now, without community support, we can’t actually make this happen.”
