Registered Nurses at Kinark Child and Family Services play a critical role in delivering compassionate, comprehensive care to children, youth, and families facing complex challenges. Their work extends far beyond medication administration or physical health monitoring. Kinark nurses bring a holistic, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive approach to every youth and family they support through emotional, behavioural and developmental hurdles.
Across Kinark’s Live-In Treatment, Forensic/Secure Treatment, and Autism programs, nurses provide a steady, compassionate, and accepting presence. Through trusted relationships, they help youth feel safe, heard, and supported at every stage of their treatment journey.
Supporting Ontario’s Most Complex Youth
Kinark serves some of the most complex child and youth mental health cases in Ontario. When it comes to Syl Apps Youth Centre, Kinark is literally the only option for certain cases. In environments where mental health treatment and maintaining safety is critical, physical wellbeing can easily be overlooked. Kinark nurses recognize that mental and physical health are deeply interconnected, each influencing the other. As key members of interdisciplinary teams, Kinark nurses use their clinical expertise to help youth find balance between physical health, emotional wellness, and daily functioning. Their observations and assessments often inform critical decisions related to risk management, readiness for transition or discharge, and crisis response, improving outcomes while strengthening the confidence and capacity of the youth and families we serve.
Kinark nurses work closely with therapists, clinicians, child and youth workers, psychiatrists, educators, school boards, and community partners to ensure care plans remain holistic, responsive, and individualized. By translating medical knowledge into practical strategies, they help teams respond effectively to youth needs as treatment progresses. This collaborative approach not only enhances care quality but ensures continuity and consistency, especially during critical moments of change or crisis.
Our Nursing Team
Kinark Child and Family Services is proud to have 12 dedicated Registered Nurses across the agency:
- Syl Apps Youth Centre: Sanggavi Kuruparan, Liisa George, Laura Sparrow, Annie Maclaren, Kornelia Palczewski, Fareeda Iman, Luna Thabet, Maneesh Narayanan
- Live-In Treatment: Trudy Surowiec, Elena Rubi, Feroze Tajdar
- Autism Services: Victoriya Elihis
Bridging Physical and Mental Health Care
At Syl Apps Youth Centre, nurses draw on an advanced blend of clinical, mental health, and safety-focused expertise. They conduct mental health and risk assessments, evaluating suicide risk, self-harm behaviours, and aggression. Their experience allows them to distinguish between psychiatric symptoms, developmental differences, and behavioural responses. These are insights that are essential to shaping treatment goals and tracking progress. Syl Apps nurses are also highly skilled in crisis intervention and de-escalation, working alongside frontline Child and Youth Workers to stabilize situations using calming, trauma-informed approaches that prioritize safety and dignity.
Across Live-In Treatment and Autism programs, nurses play a vital role in addressing co-occurring physical and health needs, including sensory sensitivities, communication differences, and chronic medical conditions. Nurses translate complex health information into practical, accessible strategies that frontline staff and families can use to support emotional regulation, participation in programming, and overall wellbeing. In Live-In Treatment settings, nurses are instrumental in helping youth engage in community programming, therapy, and school. They also provide valuable education to youth and families, including support related to DBT/CBT concepts, sexual health, sleep and hygiene, nutrition, and mental health. Their involvement in discharge planning ensures that transitions to community care are seamless, timely, and uninterrupted. Within Kinark’s Autism program, nursing expertise helps identify when physical discomfort or sensory challenges are driving behavioural responses. Early recognition and coordinated care prevent misinterpretation and ensure youth receive the supports that best align with their treatment goals.
We are proud of Kinark’s nurses as they each tailor their specialized skills and experience to the unique needs of the programs they support.
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The Voices of Our Nurses
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Victoriya Elihis
How would you describe your current nursing role and what makes it unique?
My current nursing role is highly dynamic and extends beyond traditional clinical care. It integrates elements of clinical expertise, education, public health, and family-centered support.
My responsibilities include developing individualized medical safety plans for children in school and Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) settings, and training educators and therapists to safely manage complex medical needs such as allergies, asthma, seizures, and the administration of rescue medications. I also provide interdisciplinary consultation on public health concerns, including infectious disease management within schools.
A significant part of my role involves supporting families directly – connecting them with community resources, delivering parent education sessions on common health concerns in children with autism (such as sleep, nutrition, and gastrointestinal issues), and participating in urgent response consultations. In these consultations, I help families navigate medication concerns, behavioural challenges, and safety issues like elopement, while also offering indirect support to school teams.
What makes my role unique is its breadth and adaptability. It continuously evolves based on the needs of families, interdisciplinary teams, and community partners. This creates an environment that requires both clinical precision and creative problem-solving, allowing me to approach care holistically while continuously growing in my practice.
What is something you wish more people understood about nursing?
I wish more people understood the breadth and interconnectedness of nursing.
While nursing is often associated with direct bedside care, the profession extends far beyond that. Nurses contribute to education, policy development, public health, advocacy, and system-level change. Each role (whether at the bedside, in the community, or behind the scenes) plays a vital part in supporting patient outcomes.
I often think of nursing as a connected system, where each nurse brings a unique perspective and area of expertise. Together, these roles create a more comprehensive and holistic approach to care. Whether we are directly interacting with patients or influencing the systems around them, every contribution helps shape safer, more accessible, and more effective health care.
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Sanggavi Kuruparan
My name is Sanggavi, and I’m one of the full-time RNs at Kinark Syl Apps Youth Centre. What makes this role especially unique to me is the opportunity to blend both mental health and physical health care in a youth-focused, trauma-informed setting. Building trust with young people and supporting them through some of their most challenging moments is incredibly meaningful and different from traditional nursing environments.
One success that stands out to me is working closely with a youth who initially struggled to engage with care. Through consistency, patience, and collaboration with the team, we were able to build a strong therapeutic relationship, and over time, they became more open, developed healthier coping strategies, and actively participated in their care plan. Seeing that growth and increased confidence was very rewarding.
Looking ahead, I hope to continue growing in my role at Syl Apps by deepening my knowledge in youth mental health, contributing to program development, and continuing to advocate for trauma informed, youth centered care. I’m excited to keep supporting young people in building resilience and working toward brighter futures.
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Annie Mclaren
Working for the last five years at SAYC, I have had the privilege of working alongside an incredible team of nurses who help bring out the best in what we do every day- care for kids with complex mental health and, at times, physical needs. The Registered Nurse role at SAYC is integral to the well-being of the clients we support and acts as a safe space hub for so many. Being able to build therapeutic relationships of trust, advocacy, and kindness is foundational to the role.
I am proud of the work we have done as a nursing team, building on a strong professional practice that highlights compassion, interdisciplinary collaboration and a deep care of the kids we support.
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Trudy Surowiec
As part of the Live-In Treatment team at, I have a vital role in supporting youth with complex mental health needs. With a strong focus on holistic care, I provide expertise in medication management, physical health, and overall wellness, helping youth safely navigate their treatment journey.
With over 22 years of nursing experience, including backgrounds in surgical pediatrics and long-term care, I bring a depth of knowledge and compassion to my work. I support youth in Live-In Treatment by promoting healthy, active lifestyles and ensuring continuity of care throughout their transitions.
Beyond the Live-In Treatment program, I also cover the community day treatment programs and collaborating closely with therapists and clients to address medical questions and concerns. This integrated approach ensures that each young person receives comprehensive, coordinated care tailored to their unique needs.
Through dedication, clinical expertise, and a commitment to youth-centered care, I continue to make a meaningful impact across Kinark.
Kinark Child and Family Services is proud to have a compassionate and highly skilled nursing team working across the organization in diverse roles. From providing direct care to children with complex mental health and physical needs to supporting thoughtful care planning behind the scenes, their impact reaches across our communities.
This Nursing Week, we are honoured to recognize and celebrate the dedication and expertise of these exceptional professionals. Thank you for the care, commitment, and compassion you bring to your work each day. You make a meaningful difference in the lives of the children, youth, and families we serve.