Meet the team

Our Doctors:

Paige Terrien Church, MD

Neonatologist & Developmental Behavioural Pediatrician;
Medical Director, Neonatal Follow Up Clinic

Rudaina Banihani, MD

Neonatologist & Developmental Behavioural Pediatrician

A Neonatologist is a doctor who takes care of babies (and probably took care of your baby) in the intensive care nursery.  After discharge, they can help with any remaining medical problems and help you and your baby transition to home.  A Developmental Pediatrician is a doctor who plays for a living! Play is a child’s work and learning. They work with children and families to optimize your child’s brain development. At Sunnybrook, both Dr. Church and Dr. Banihani are trained in both Neonatology and Developmental Pediatrics so you will get both types of needs addressed, shifting from the intensive care to play.

Nancy, Freda, and Natalie are Occupational Therapists (OT). An OT is someone who helps people of all ages to develop, keep, or recover the skills they need for the job of living. They work with your babies and children and promote the development of important skills such as moving, feeding, learning and playing! At the Follow-Up Clinic, they will spend time interacting with you and your child to get to know your child’s unique strengths and goals for development. They will provide coaching and education, and may refer to other services or therapists in the community where you and your child can work towards these goals together.

Lisa Smuskowitz

Lisa is a Physiotherapist (PT). A Physiotherapist looks at how your baby moves. By watching how your baby moves, we can begin to understand how your baby’s brain is working. We will also help support your baby’s motor development by giving you activities, exercises and stretches at each visit. In addition, the PT along with our OT assesses how your baby feeds so that you and your baby are both enjoying this important time together.

Rosanna Manarin

Rosanna is a Registered Nurse. Rosanna assists in the evaluation of developmental progress and facilitates links to community resources for families.

Katrina Palermo

Katrina is our Receptionist Clerk.

Miriam Heavenrich

Miriam is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). An SLP is someone who specializes in all areas of communication, including how language develops, how children express themselves, what they understand, how they communicate (talking, gestures, body language), and their social skills. At the Follow-Up clinic, the SLP will learn how your child is communicating and provide supports and strategies for parents to use, to help your child be understood and to understand others! We will also provide coaching and education around communication and support families to connect with SLP services in the community.