About the SickKids Hospital Burn & Plastics Unit
Dr. Joel Fish - Medical Director of the Burn Program at SickKids Hospital
Brief Biography
Dr. Joel Fish specializes in burns and complex wound care and is currently is the Medical Director of the Burn Program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and holds the position of Full Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto.
Fish completed Medical School at McMaster University before beginning his training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Toronto. Following residency, Fish completed a “Travelling Burn Fellowship” program that took him to burn centers in Seattle, Boston, and San Antonio. In 1998, Fish was appointed Medical Director of the adult Burn Program at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Ross Tilley Burn Centre) and held this role for over ten years. During his time at Sunnybrook, Fish treated many patients who had experienced electrical injuries and developed a clinical research program focused on understanding how these injuries are related to muscle fatigue, psychological changes, and pain control.
Fish joined the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children in 2007 and served as the Research Director for the Division from 2007-2014. In 2009, Fish was appointed Medical Director of the Burn Program. SickKids has the largest paediatric burn program in Canada with more than 400 new patients treated each year. In addition, it is the only paediatric burn program in Canada that has been verified by the American Burn Association. Fish's clinical practice focuses on the treatment of pediatric burn injuries, and includes the full continuum from the acute injury, rehabilitation, and secondary reconstruction when needed. Fish also specializes in treating severe complex wound conditions from a variety of other causes.
In addition to his clinical role at SickKids, Fish is a member of the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto and currently supervises several graduate students. At present, his research team is focused on evaluating the effectiveness of laser therapy to improve burn scars in children. In addition, the team is also working on several other projects to investigate objective scar measures and develop patient-reported outcome tools for children with scars.
Charis Kelly - Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the Burn & Plastics Unit
Brief Biography
Charis Kelly completed 2 undergraduate degrees from Queen’s University before receiving her Masters of Nursing and Nurse Practitioner designation in 2004. She has worked at SickKids since 2000 transitioning from bedside nurse, to Nurse Educator and has been the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the Burn/Plastic Surgery Program since 2007.
Charis provides comprehensive care to pediatric burn patients and their families throughout the entire continuum of care. She utilizes her expertise afforded to her as an NP to coordinate inpatient care as well as discharging patients efficiently. She ensures families are well transitioned to the outpatient setting.
Charis is highly skilled at providing pain and anxiety management for this vulnerable population ensuring optimal quality of care. She independently leads her own Nurse Practitioner Burn Clinic where she effectively cares for her patients and families ensuring all Burn Team members provide needed services.
She focuses on treating the pediatric burn population as well as children with complex wounds and skin conditions. She has played a valuable role having SickKids recognized as the first Verified Pediatric Burn Program in Canada as well as the creation of the Laser Therapy Program for Burn Scar Modulation, making SickKids the first pediatric facility to provide this therapy in Canada. Charis is a member of the Pain Matters Committee.
She is a member of the RNAO, NPAO and American Burn Association. She is Chair of the Burn Prevention Outreach Committee at SickKids where she has spearheaded prevention materials such as a video news release which has been translated into a variety of languages as well as a poster which won the People’s Choice Award at the 2013 ABA Conference. Charis’s contributions have been recognized locally by her peers as well as provincially having received the 2012 Grace Evelyn Simpson Reeves Excellence Award in APN Category and the 2013 Toronto Star Nightingale Award.
