Five Counties Children’s Centre is welcoming aboard a new consulting pediatrician who will support clients of the centre and also see area children with developmental conditions across the regions of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton.
Dr. Sean Godfrey joins Five Counties Children’s Centre, which provides speech, physio, and occupational therapies among other services for kids and youth, this month. The pediatrician brings to his new role more than 25 years of experience in both the hospital and community settings.
“The arrangement with Five Counties is a win-win,” explained Bill Eekhof, communications co-ordinator for Five Counties.
“It means Dr. Godfrey will spend part of his time directly supporting our kids and families — especially those who need quicker access to the specialized services of a consulting pediatrician,” Eekhof said. “The other part of his time, Dr. Godfrey will spend seeing other kids and families from across our region that are referred to his own practice.”
Eekhof said Godfrey is in the process of establishing his own medical practice at the Five Counties Children’s Centre site in Peterborough. While the doctor will be housed at Five Counties, his medical practice is separate from the centre.
“Dr. Godfrey will also support children in Peterborough, Northumberland, Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton through the new private practice he is establishing at the Five Counties site in Peterborough,” Eekhof noted.
As a consulting pediatrician, Godfrey will take referrals from other health-care providers, including family physicians, nurse practitioners and hospital medical staff, for guidance on a specialized or complex medical issue with a child or youth.
Godfrey has worked extensively with children and youth with a wide range of physical and development needs, including helping kids with complex care needs, congenital heart disease and cardiology, asthma, and dermatology, Five Counties noted in a media release. The physician also has expertise in the areas of childhood developmental delays and learning disabilities — including autism, ADHD, and cerebral palsy.
“Dr. Godfrey is a well-respected and highly regarded consultant pediatrician who will enhance the specialized care available to our youngest citizens,” said Scott Pepin, CEO of Five Counties Children’s Centre, in the media release.
Godfrey served from 1999 to 2014 as a staff pediatrician at Lakeridge Health Oshawa in Oshawa. Between 2008 and 2014, he also served as the hospital’s chief of pediatrics. For more than 20 years, Godfrey has been director of Kinderclinic, a children’s urgent care clinic he founded that is based in Whitby and Simcoe.
The pediatrician said he’s excited about the partnership being forged with Five Counties.
“Five Counties Children’s Centre has a wonderful reputation for what it does for families in this region, and I look forward to contributing to that success,” Godfrey said in a statement.
“Over my career, I’ve been fortunate to have a private practice within a community setting that allows me independence and a chance to establish rapport with families. In both situations, it’s a joy to see children flourish and grow to reach their full potential.”
Five Counties Children’s Centre provides a range of specialized therapies and treatment services for kids and youth from birth to age 19 in the counties of Peterborough, Northumberland, and Haliburton and the City of Kawartha Lakes.
This past year, Five Counties served more than 6,200 children and youth in its region — the highest number of clients in its nearly 50-year history.
