Dr. Goswami and Dr. Garfinkle will review the mission and vision of the EPIQ Brain Health Subgroup, focusing on some of the most recent completed and planned initiatives. Dr. Goswami is a Staff Neonatologist and Neonatal Neurocritical Care Lead at McMaster Children’s Hospital and co-chair of EPIQ Brain Health Outcome Group. She trained as a Pediatrician in India and completed a master’s program in Basic Neuroscience at the University of Calgary. Dr Goswami completed her clinical training in neonatal and perinatal medicine at the University of Calgary, followed by focused training in Neonatal Neurology at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. Dr Goswami’s research focuses on early physiological and molecular markers of brain injury in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. Dr. Jarred Garfinkle is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McGill University and a Neonatologist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. He works in both the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic, having trained in Neonatology, Pediatric Neurology, and Neonatal Neurology. As Co-Chair of the EPIQ Brian Heath Subgroup, and as Co-Director of the Neonatal Neurocritical Care program, he aims to implement practices that harness the resiliency of preterm and term newborn brains and allow them to reach their full potential. 🗓️ When: Friday at 1 PM EST 📍 Where: Facebook | X | YouTube

This talk will review the state of skin-to-skin care (SSC) in Canadian NICUs and the ongoing work to develop and implement SSC national recommendations. 🗓️ When: Friday at 1 PM EST 📍 Where: Facebook | X | YouTube

This presentation will highlight the work of the Canadian EPIQ-CNN Gut Health Group over the past year and outline key priorities for the year ahead. We will share findings from a national survey of oral feeding practices in Canadian NICUs, alongside results from a parent survey exploring perceptions and experiences of oral feeding during their infant’s NICU stay. The session will also discuss how parent perspectives are being actively integrated into future Gut Health Group projects to improve feeding care and family-centered outcomes for preterm infants. 🗓️ When: Friday at 1 PM EST 📍 Where: Facebook | X | YouTube

CPBF’s Parent Partner Network continues to highlight the meaningful ways parents contribute to NICU care, using lived experience to inform programs, quality improvement, and system change. That impact was on full display at this year’s EPIQ conference in Banff, where parent partners once again shared posters showcasing their work in family support, engagement, and representation. As recognition for this work continues to grow, the Best Parent Partner Poster award has become an important way to acknowledge the leadership parents bring to quality improvement. This year’s award was presented to Neelam Prasad, recognizing her poster entitled: Bridging Trauma & Care: A Parent-led Model Improving Mental Health Access for NICU Families. Congratulations, Neelam!

Family engagement isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s measurable. Through the Family Engagement Group, parents are helping shape national quality improvement priorities, including the measurement of skin to skin care this year. Parent Partners are also actively participating within EPIQ Outcome Groups, ensuring that improvement work reflects both evidence and lived experience. When families are at the table, care improves! #EPIQConference #CPBF #QualityImprovement #EvidenceBased

experiences Parents aren’t just attending the EPIQ Conference, they’re shaping it. This past weekend, Parent Partners asked thoughtful questions during presentations, shared lived experiences that added depth to the data, and presented their own quality improvement posters. With more than 25 parents in attendance, including 14 at EPIQ for the first time, families are actively contributing to national conversations that influence care across Canada. This is what a meaningful partnership looks like. #EPIQConference #CPBF #QualityImprovement #EvidenceBased

We’re deeply grateful to the EPIQ leadership for creating space for parents to truly belong in quality improvement. EPIQ is a well-established national system for ongoing, evidence-based quality improvement. It uses benchmarked data to identify practices associated with outcome differences and targets them for meaningful change. It is also a proven knowledge-translation strategy, rooted in the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework, bridging research and real-world care. Through EPIQ's Quality Improvement Workshop, CPBF parent partners gain hands-on, practical skills to engage in that work with confidence. Just as importantly, the workshop introduces parent partners to one another and to the neonatologists and physician facilitators leading these national efforts. Relationships are built, a shared language is formed and mutual respect grows. This strengthens parents’ ability to lead, to contribute meaningfully, and to help shape care that truly reflects family needs. We are thankful for EPIQ’s commitment to partnership, learning, and better outcomes for babies and families. This is what it looks like when families are not just included but empowered. Thank you, EPIQ Leadership!

When parents are true partners in care, you will hear from them. Take a look at all of these inspiring and insightful posters Parent Partners from across Canada presented at this year's EPIQ conference. By sharing their knowledge and expertise with the NICU healthcare community, they are helping to advance care for all preemies and their families! Join us in congratulating them for all their incredible work! #preemiefamilies #cpbffamilies #lifeafternicu #advancingcareatepiq #improvingoutcomes