SASKATOON — Families caring for children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) gathered this week as the province’s first dedicated multidisciplinary pediatric IBD team marked its public debut with a community-focused Pediatric IBD Day at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital.
From travel burden to local care
IBD, a lifelong group of conditions that includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, can carry heavy practical and emotional costs for children and their families. Until recently, many Saskatchewan families faced additional strain because there was almost no dedicated paediatric IBD program in the province.
“They were travelling out of province to get care,” said Dr. Fatima Hussain, a paediatric gastroenterologist who leads the new paediatric IBD program at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. In the past two years, she said, the team has built up into a full IBD service offering specialized care within Saskatchewan.
Community event aims to connect families
The Pediatric IBD Day is the program’s first public, family-oriented event. It is intended to bring together children with IBD and their families, to share information about the condition and the supports now available locally.
“IBD is not only one person’s diagnosis. It comes with appointments. It comes with missing school, missing work and a lot of worry for the family.”
The comment, from Dr. Hussain, summed up the program’s approach: treating the child while acknowledging how an IBD diagnosis ripples through households and communities.
Parents describe the emotional cost
Speakers at the event included parents and patients who described the uncertainty and anxiety that often accompany the diagnostic process and early management. One parent, Diederichs, offered a dual perspective as both a patient and a mother. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in her early 20s after symptoms were initially attributed to irritable bowel syndrome; her condition worsened before reaching remission nearly a decade ago.
Her son Dallas began showing symptoms at about 18 months and had his first colonoscopy shortly after his second birthday. The family lives in a rural area about an hour from Saskatoon. Diederichs said they were fortunate that specialized care became available close to home.
“We are so fortunate that we don’t have to go out of province, that we can have it here in Saskatoon,” she said. “We can kind of have that benefit and have that hope for Dallas that he is in good hands.”
Practical impacts of local services
Having paediatric IBD care within the province reduces travel time, out-of-province costs and the disruption of family life caused by frequent appointments, lab work and infusions. The program aims to coordinate those elements through a team-based approach that brings multiple specialists together — reducing the need for separate referrals and long-distance travel.
Participants at the event said the emotional strain before diagnosis was particularly acute: routine caregiving tasks such as diaper changes could trigger anxiety when parents feared what they might find. By contrast, children who receive early, consistent care often grow up with medical routines as a normal part of life; Dallas’s experience was offered as an example.
What the new team offers
While specific services and scheduling details were not exhaustively listed at the event, the emphasis from clinicians and families alike was on coordinated, local care. The multidisciplinary team includes paediatric gastroenterology leadership and supports that allow a single-centre approach for many aspects of IBD management.
- Local access to a paediatric IBD program at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital
- Multidisciplinary care intended to reduce travel and appointment burden
- Community events to connect families and share information
Why it matters in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is recognised as having one of the highest rates of IBD in the world. For families across the province — especially those living outside major centres — that prevalence makes access to timely, specialised paediatric care a pressing concern. Having a local team may improve continuity of care for children and ease some of the logistical and emotional labour parents and caregivers face.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Conditions covered | Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis (IBD) |
| Lead clinician | Dr. Fatima Hussain (paediatric gastroenterologist) |
| Location | Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, Saskatoon |
Organisers hope Pediatric IBD Day will become an annual gathering where families can learn, share and find peer support while the clinical team continues to develop services. For parents juggling appointments, work absences and school disruptions, the new program offers both practical relief and a sense that their children will be cared for close to home.
As the service grows, clinicians said they will continue to refine care pathways and look for ways to reach rural families who still face barriers accessing specialised treatment. In the meantime, the local team’s public launch represents a meaningful step toward reducing the extra burdens many Saskatchewan families endured just a few years ago.
