SREMI Clinician Scientist Profile

Part of SREMI’s work is to identify populations that rely heavily on the emergency department (ED) for care and to fill knowledge gaps for how to best care for these populations. It may come as a surprise, but EDs play a critical role in pregnancy care in Canada, which is SREMI’s Deputy Director Dr. Catherine Varner’s focus of research. She is regarded as an international expert on the care of pregnant patients in the ED and has published foundational studies describing healthcare utilization and patient ED experiences during pregnancy.

She and co-authors have found that 4 in 5 people with threatened or spontaneous pregnancy loss visited an ED in Ontario. Although the ED is the safest and most expeditious place for a pregnant person to be treated for massive uterine hemorrhage or a suspected ruptured ectopic pregnancy, they have described pregnant patients who are not critically ill often receive suboptimal care in emergency settings.

Recognizing the care gap, Dr. Varner leads initiatives to improved care pathways for pregnant patients locally, provincially and nationally. In January 2023, due to the generosity of the Harding Family Foundation, Dr. Varner and the SREMI team launched a new care program to improve care for patients experiencing pregnancy loss in the Mount Sinai Hospital Emergency Department. Virtual Wraparound Care is a first-of-its-kind program that begins at the point of care in the ED and continues after discharge. Victoria Aziz, an advanced practice ED nurse, has supported nearly 3,000 patients through their loss, has provided education and support as the loss progressed, and ensured timely follow-up care. The program has been an incredible addition to the ED, and more importantly, to the care of this vulnerable and frequent ED patient population. The research evaluation of the program has shown this program has been a win-win for all involved: the patients receive more attentive and comprehensive care, and the ED has established more efficient follow-up care pathways with our gynaecology colleagues. In 2026, she and Dr. Keerat Grewal hope to expand the program to other vulnerable populations needing urgent follow-up.

Dr. Varner is also an expert advisor for the Provincial Council for Maternal Child Health (PCMCH) and the Better Outcomes Registry and Network (BORN), which are both organizations funded by the Government of Ontario. In October 2025, Dr. Varner was the invited keynote speaker at the Canadian Perinatal Programs Coalition Summit where she led discussions with health policy makers representing each province and advocated for improved care pathways and access to care for patients with early pregnancy complications and loss across Canada.

In the last year, Dr. Varner has continued to publish high impact editorials in Canadian Medical Association Journal, advocating for improved maternal health outcomes. Informed by her research in these areas, these pregnancy editorials led to multiple media interviews by journalists for the CBC, CTV News, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and National Post. As Deputy Editor of CMAJ, her editorials on pregnancy and other vulnerable populations are regularly included in briefings for health policy makers.

Beyond pregnancy care, Dr. Varner is applying her research and education expertise to other populations in the ED who often find themselves ‘orphaned’ by the health care system. She recently became an advisor to the Canadian Society for the Advancement of Gynecologic Excellence on the Endometriosis Care Education Program, which is a 3-year project funded by Health Canada seeking to train clinicians how to best care for patients with presenting with pelvic pain in the ED.

In 2025, Dr. Varner was recognized nationally and internationally for her research and advocacy. She was nominated for a 2025 B2B National Magazine Award for Best Editorial Column and received a Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians Emergency Ultrasound Education Research Award. She was also invited to speak at the International Conference on Emergency Medicine in Montreal, Quebec and the European Society of Emergency Medicine in Vienna, Austria in June and September of this year, respectively, and looks forward to being an invited speaker at the Norwegian National Emergency Medicine Conference and a visiting professor at the University of Saskatchewan in 2026. Having met and heard from emergency medicine colleagues who shared their interest in pregnancy care, she is proud of SREMI’s lasting influence on this nascent field of study.