Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
The Hospital for Sick Children/University of Toronto
Malnutrition remains common among hospitalized children and children living with chronic medical conditions, yet it is often overlooked and undertreated—even though malnutrition is associated with poorer clinical outcomes, longer length of stay, and higher health system costs. This lecture will highlight key contributions of Dr. Jessie Hulst’s research on advancing early nutritional screening and routine assessment, connecting nutritional risk identification to tailored interventions, and implementing practical changes in hospital care. A primary focus is on implementation: ensuring that multidisciplinary teams integrate nutrition care into standard workflows through established pathways, defined responsibilities, and quantifiable quality metrics. This approach aims to deliver nutrition care that is consistent and equitable. The presentation will cover insights from the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force (CMTF) Pediatric Working Group’s initiative to launch a Pediatric Nutrition Pathway (P-INPAC) and will share some initial results from the recent pilot study. It will address common barriers to uptake (knowledge, resources, and logistics) and strategies that may support successful adoption. Finally, the need for strengthening continuity of nutrition care after discharge and during follow-up in the community will be addressed.
Dr. Jessie Hulst is a staff gastroenterologist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, and Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. She joined SickKids in 2018 after serving as staff gastroenterologist at Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam, where she also completed her Pediatric GI fellowship. Dr. Hulst earned her PhD in 2004, specializing in nutritional assessment for critically ill infants and children. Her research focuses on developing and implementing effective nutritional screening and assessment methods for children at risk of malnutrition, aiming to improve outcomes through personalized interventions. She is co-developer of the internationally recognized STRONGkids nutritional screening tool and has led or collaborated on multiple multicenter studies on (mal)nutrition and intestinal failure, authoring over 115 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 15 book chapters. Internationally, Dr. Hulst has served on the ESPGHAN Nutrition Committee, chaired the ESPGHAN Clinical Malnutrition Special Interest Group, and is currently a member of several prominent nutrition/pediatric committees, including ASPEN, NASPGHAN, ESPEN, and ESPGHAN. Nationally, she co-chairs the Pediatric Working Group of the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force and leads implementation of a national pediatric Malnutrition Pathway. She is a Distinguished Fellow in Child Nutrition at the Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition. Clinically, Dr. Hulst manages complex nutrition cases and intestinal failure at SickKids, serves as parenteral nutrition lead, and chairs the Hospital Nutritional Advisory Committee. She co-directs the Advanced Pediatric Clinical Nutrition Fellowship and is actively involved in teaching and mentoring at all levels.