Nutrition Outpatient Clinic

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Children, youth and families Heathcare providers

About the Nutrition Outpatient Clinic

Our specialised clinic offers services for CHEO patients who struggle with poor growth, lack of weight gain, food allergies and nutritional deficiencies.

This specialised clinic does not provide service for weight control or general picky eaters (please refer to Occupational Therapy Feeding Group).

When should a child or youth be referred to the Clinical Nutrition Outpatient Clinic? Consider making a referral to our clinic if a child or youth:

is not growing as expected (failure to thrive)
has a priority allergen (milk/eggs/wheat/nuts/soy/fish) or multiple food allergies
known vitamin or mineral deficiencies
has a complex medical history impacting feeding, growth, or nutrition related laboratory values

About our team

We are a registered dietitian-run clinic that provides in-person and virtual video visits.

Information for children, youth and families

Before your appointment

Please sign up for a MyChart account, prior to your first visit.

Our scheduling team will contact you by phone to schedule an appointment.

If something changes and you need to reschedule your appointment, please let us know at least 24-48 hours in advance if you are unable to make it by calling 613-737-7600 x2222. No-shows or frequent cancellations may result in discharge from the service.

Please record up to 3 days of your child’s intake for our registered dietitian to review during your visit. See this example of a food diary.

What to expect during your appointment

We will ask about:

your child’s medical history
medications or supplements (having a list of these handy is helpful)
growth history
typical dietary intake/review food record

After your appointment

After a thorough nutrition evaluation, we’ll develop a plan that may include:

written strategies and follow-up
liaison with family physician / medical team
recommendations for more testing

Frequently asked questions

How can I make an appointment?

All patients must be referred by a Physician or Nurse Practitioner. After a referral is received, we will notify the referring Physician or Nurse Practitioner whether the referral has been accepted or denied, and if accepted we will provide an estimated wait time. This wait time can vary based on demand and urgency. Once we have an appointment spot to offer, our Scheduling Team will reach you by phone to schedule an appointment.

Who should I contact if I am worried or have questions?

For any emergency, call 911. This includes emergencies involving your child’s nutrition-related concerns.

For patients who are being followed by the Clinical Nutrition Outpatient Clinic: For patients who have seen a CHEO dietitian through the clinic, you can send a direct message to them through MyChart or contact them at their provided extension. This is not for urgent calls. Our dietitians are here to give support, education and will work to coordinate your child’s care. It may take 3-5 days for us to get back to you (and sometimes longer during holidays). We will return the most serious calls first. Please avoid leaving multiple messages for the same issue.

For patients who are waiting for their first visit with the Clinical Nutrition Outpatient Clinic: Please do not call the clinic line if you have not yet been seen by a CHEO dietitian. Please call your family doctor, pediatrician or visit your nearest walk-in clinic for everything else.

Sign up for MyChart to access your CHEO health record anywhere, any time.
MyChart is a secure, online patient portal that connects you to parts of your CHEO electronic health record and allows you to send two-way secure communication to your care team, complete any questionnaires your care team sends and much more.
To learn more about MyChart and sign up, visit our MyChart page and fill out the MyChart Access Request Form.

Looking for more resources or supports on nutrition?

Visit our Nutrition resource and support page to find helpful websites, local contacts, videos and more.

Information for healthcare providers

Make a referral

Our clinic is now accepting e-referrals with Ocean!

If you’re already on Ocean, look us up via your account by searching "CHEO".
If you don’t yet have an Ocean account, no problem - signing up is free.

Make a referral in Ocean

You can make an e-referral using Ocean, or send a referral by mail or fax to our address below.

Referral criteria and eligibility

Referral criteria
Reason for referral	Criteria	Mandatory information to include in referral	Other information
Failure to thrive	Not acute FTT, crossing of 2 percentile lines on growth chart (WHO) and/or loss of 5% in past 2 months	History Growth charts - WHO	Any relevant testing completed.
Food allergies	Priority allergens or multiple food allergies	Confirmed allergy test/testing needed for diagnosis Growth chart - WHO	Any other relevant information
Complex medical history impacting feeding/growth, lab values	Could include: Hyperlipidemia in context of other conditions, previous oncology treatment (no longer active treatment)	Medical history Any relevant testing and growth chart - WHO	If unsure, discuss criteria of eligibility with assigned dietitian.

Contact us

Clinical Nutrition Outpatient Clinic C-1
CHEO
401 Smyth Road
Ottawa ON K1H 8L1

Tel: 613-737-7600 extension 7840
Fax: 613-738-4292