Stressed-out parents skip meals to stay at a child’s bedside. A Toronto hospital is making life easier

Résumé détaillé

A gift allows Holland Bloorview to offer free food vouchers, grocery cards to all families caring for a child admitted.

For almost three months, Jennifer Paiva hasn’t strayed far from her daughter’s hospital room.

Gabby, 11, has cerebral palsy and has been at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital since August, recovering from a complex surgery on her legs.

Paiva sleeps at Gabby’s bedside, helps her through hours of gruelling rehabilitation, oversees her homework and appointments and comforts her when she misses home.

On the busiest days, Paiva finds it hard to leave Gabby’s room, let alone the hospital, and said it’s sometimes easiest to skip meals or eat a muffin or granola bar instead of finding a proper dinner.

“There’s so much going on,” Paiva said. “You don’t have time to think of yourself.”

A new food support program at Holland Bloorview is trying to ease some of that caregiver stress.

Launched last month, the program provides free food vouchers and grocery cards to all families caring for a child admitted to the hospital. The goal is to help a parent or caregiver eat nutritious meals but also to ease the financial strain that comes with spending weeks at a child’s bedside.

Sue Osborne, a social worker at Holland Bloorview, said the need is significant. About one in five families at the hospital already face household food insecurity, while roughly a third live below the poverty line. She said a lengthy hospital stay can make things even harder for families who struggle to pay for groceries.

“If you’re already stretched, staying here for long periods will exacerbate that challenge.”

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