Mother of teen patient pushing for IWK to raise ER age requirement

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Kendric Campbell has spent most of his life in and out of hospital, but now that he is 16 years old, his mother Erica Campbell says he will be unable to receive emergency care at the IWK Children’s Hospital.

Kendric, of Moncton, was diagnosed with brain cancer when he was three years old. After surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments with the team at the IWK, doctors said he was in remission, said Erica, though he continued to go to Halifax every few months for MRI tests.

Erica’s fears for her son’s health skyrocketed when Kendric suffered a brain stem stroke last April when he was 15 years old.

He was taken to the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre, but Erica said she was told he would need to be transferred to the IWK.

Kendric was unable to be flown to Halifax because of concerns there would be added pressure on his brain, so he had to wait to be taken by ambulance. He received emergency care by the team at the IWK.

A few months later, in August, he suffered another stroke. This time, Erica recognized the slurred speech and facial drooping, and drove him to the IWK herself.

“I know they know him. They’re going to know what to do with him, and they did,” she said. 

Erica said she asked Kendric’s neurologist if her family should move to Halifax to be closer to the IWK in case he had another stroke, and was told the maximum patient age to access the hospital’s ER service was 16 years old. Those older than 16 would be transferred to another hospital.

Upon doing research, Erica learned the maximum age to get ER service at other children’s hospitals in Canada, such as SickKids in Toronto, was 18 years old. In the U.S., hospital’s like the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital had a maximum age of 21 for ER service. 

Erica said she would like to see the IWK raise the maximum age for a patient to use the ER to 18 or 21 years. Youth at 16 years old are still in high school and should be treated at a children’s hospital, especially if they already have a medical team following their case, she said.

“For him to be in control of this complex crazy health history is unfair to him,” said Erica, noting Kendric still requires MRIs and magnetic resonance angiography to look at his brain and blood vessels. 

She also admires the care her son has received at the IWK in the many years since his diagnosis, and would need time to make the transition to being cared for at a general hospital.

“It’s a different feeling when you go there. You know that you’re in good hands,” she said.

Erica said she is advocating not just for her son, but all the families in the Maritimes with children who travel to the IWK. She has heard from other people who share her concerns.

“There’s so many different people that didn’t realize there was an [ER] age limit at the IWK,” she said. “They’re terrified too.” 

She asked the IWK about the age requirement, and had a meeting with one of their representatives where she was told that raising the maximum age is something the hospital is considering. 

IWK spokesperson Andrea Slaney said in an email that for patients in Nova Scotia, the IWK Health age mandate is 16 years of age for children. 

“However, we know that in some specialties care may continue beyond this age and geographical location may be a factor in where care is delivered as well,” she said. 

“For patients outside of Nova Scotia, such as New Brunswick and PEI, there are agreements in place for IWK Health to provide care in certain circumstances, with initial care being provided in the home province and providers using their clinical judgment to refer patients to IWK Health.”

Slaney noted IWK Health has issued a request for proposal that will evaluate the current age mandate, and make a recommendation that considers the impacts from a “clinical, operational and system perspective.”

Erica said she was encouraged to hear IWK was discussing changing the age mandate. She was considering moving to the Toronto area to be closer to SickKids, but would prefer to stay in Moncton. Traveling back and forth to Toronto would be a financial and emotion strain on her family as the mother of three boys. 

“It’s our Maritime hospital. As a Maritimer we just feel more comfortable in the Maritimes,” she said. I grew up in Moncton. We’ve lived here our whole lives…I wouldn’t want to leave.”