For a new employee, Hayley Hodges already feels at home coming through the doors at Five Counties Children’s Centre.
After all, Five Counties is very familiar as she grew up receiving treatment here.
“This place has inspired me so much to help me be the person I am today,” says Hayley, who started in March 2024 as the centre’s new client and family experience lead. “It’s because of this place, because of the resources and supports, that I am more independent, I am a working individual, I am a mom. I have all the skills required because of this place right here.”
As a two year old, Hayley first came to Five Counties to get support for her cerebral palsy and related challenges. At the centre, she received physiotherapy and occupational therapy, while also taking part in recreational therapy opportunities and benefiting from social work support.
Throughout school, Hayley continued to come to Five Counties for physiotherapy appointments.
“You really get to work with everyone in the building, working with all the clinicians to make for the best experience possible,” Hayley says. “All of the services I received here were connected. Five Counties staff really said, ‘What does Hayley need? And so how do we achieve that within our departments and our services?’.”
VIDEO: “Empowering Families in Their Child’s Care” featuring Hayley Hodges
Even as Hayley reflects on her past experiences at Five Counties, she also looks forward to her new role. In the newly created position of client and family experience lead, Hayley’s aim is to listen and engage with Five Counties kids and families to improve their experiences and strengthen the bonds with centre staff.
“Clients and families need to feel connected to their care,” Hayley notes. “They need to understand what they’re receiving from the centre, they need to feel empowered and involved, and they need to know they are being heard.”
These efforts dovetail perfectly with Five Counties’ family-centred approach to treatment, that sees parents and family members as central players in their child’s rehabilitation journey.
According to Hayley, improving the client and family experience also benefits Five Counties staff.
“We’re able to build a more trusting relationship with our clients and families, and then they’re more willing to participate in the treatment and supports they receive at Five Counties. It improves everyone.”
In her new role, Hayley can draw on more than her past experiences at Five Counties. As an advocate for inclusion and accessibility, she has served in previous roles as youth facilitator in the family engagement section at Holland-Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, program manager at the local Junior Achievement organization, program manager at Heads Up For Inclusion, and a volunteer with the Council for Persons with Disabilities in Peterborough.
“And now to work here and make a difference in a way that Five Counties can improve the client and family and experience is a really cool opportunity,” Hayley adds.
One astute observation is that, even with all the great work being done at Five Counties, the fact is that families are not here by choice — they’re here because they have no other choice.
Given this reality, making the Five Counties experience even better for our kids and clients (and their families) benefits everyone. And — in collaboration with Five Counties staff — Hayley is well-positioned to do just that.
