• About CFCN

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The Canadian Frostbite Care Network is a group of Canadian healthcare providers and researchers interested in frostbite care. 

Our goal is to modernize frostbite care in Canada by promoting best available medical evidence, enable collaboration with and access to frostbite experts, foster research in frostbite care and support education for healthcare providers and the public. 

The Canadian Frostbite Care Network was formally established in 2022 with the launch of the network website. The CFCN grew out of the work of the Canadian Frostbite Collaborative research project group, identifying the need for collaboration and information sharing in both clinical care and research to increase access to evidence-based frostbite care for clinicians and the public, both across Canada and internationally. We look forward to further growing our network through clinical knowledge sharing, research collaborations, community partnerships and connections with the international community.

Founding Team

Dr. Alexander Poole

MD, FRCSC, DiMM General Surgeon
Whitehorse General Hospital

Dr. Alex Poole (MD FRCSC ACS DiMM) is a rural and remote multidisciplinary general surgeon. He has practiced general surgery in the Yukon for 19 years. His interest in mountain medicine and frostbite in particular has been fostered by having lived and worked in the Yukon, British Columbia, and Iceland. He has been on a mission to modernize Canadian frostbite care since 2015, and his commitment to establishing evidence-based frostbite care protocols within the rural and remote environment of the Yukon has established him as a recognized frostbite expert in Canada and the international community.

Josianne Gauthier

Clinical Pharmacist
Whitehorse General Hospital

Josianne Gauthier (BSc Pharm MSc Pharm) is a Clinical Pharmacist at Whitehorse General Hospital in the Yukon Territory since 2010. She was instrumental in the development and implementation of the initial WGH Frostbite Protocol and its subsequent iterations, including the development of a frostbite wound care protocol in the Yukon and British Columbia. She has contributed to multiple peer-reviewed publications and has presented at both local and international conferences on the topic of frostbite. She is well-known in the Canadian hospital-pharmacy community and internationally for her expertise in the pharmacological management of frostbite and the use of iloprost.  She spends her free time trail running, skiing and canoeing in the Yukon wilderness with her partner and two daughters. 

Dr. Cait Champion

MD, MSc, FRCSC, CIP General Surgeon
West Parry Sound Health Centre

Dr Cait Champion (MD MSc FRCSC) is a rural general surgeon based in Parry Sound ON with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) University.  As an early career researcher she initially connected with Dr Alex Poole and Josianne Gauthier to start the Canadian Frostbite Collaborative research project, identifying the need for broad collaboration and knowledge sharing to improve access to evidence-based frostbite care for patients and providers.  Her passion for networked care and rural care access has fueled the growth of this initial project into the establishment of the Canadian Frostbite Care Network.

Dr. Sarvesh Logsetty

MD, FRCSC, FACS Director, Manitoba Firefighters Burn Unit, Professor, Department of Surgery, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Child Health, Sections of Surgery & Plastic Surgery

Dr Sarvesh Logsetty (MD, FRCSC ACS) is a burn and trauma surgeon based in Winnipeg MB with the University of Manitoba.  He brings clinical experience treating both urban and rural frostbite patients in an advanced care setting.  He has multiple peer-reviewed publications in the field of frostbite care, including pediatric frostbite and development of the American Burn Association Clinical Practice Guidelines in frostbite.  His dedication to growing and translating the scientific evidence behind modern frostbite care and his leadership in both the Canadian Burn Association and the American Burn Associations has helped enable and share the work of the Canadian Frostbite Care Network.

Establishing the Canadian Frostbite Care Network was made possible by dedicated contributions from the research coordination and administration team of the Parry Sound-Huntsville-South Muskoka Local Education Groups led by Lisa Allen (PhD) and including Maggie Partyka-Sitnik, Charity Klingenberg, Nathan Johnstone, and Jennifer Dart. The research team has also enabled the exceptional contributions of many medical learners to establishing the foundational groundwork and conception of the Canadian Frostbite Care Network, including contributions from Yousuf Ahmed (MD), Malcolm Davidson (MD), Delphine Hansen-Jumard (MD), Sebastien Hebert (MD), Lauren Klammer (MD), Ian MacNairn (MD, PhD), Dunavan Morris-Jantzen (MD), Megan Park (MD Candidate), Rachel Peet (MD), and Nethmi Rajapakse (MD Candidate).

The Canadian Frostbite Care Network has also benefited from foundational contributions from our patient members, Dr Hart Bezner, Anna Pfaff, and Melissa Schenke. Their personal experiences with frostbite injury have helped identify key areas for public education and advocacy to enable individuals experiencing frostbite to access the timely high-quality care they deserve.

Funding Support

The establishment of the Canadian Frostbite Care Network has been made possible through a combination of in-kind and grant funding support. The Canadian Frostbite Collaborative project was initially supported through in-kind support from the Canadian Association of Wilderness Medicine (CAWM), The Parry Sound Local Education Group (LEG), and grant funding support from the Northern Ontario Academic Medicine Association (NOAMA). Establishment of the Canadian Frostbite Care Network has been funded through the SkIN Canada Team Development Grant and in-kind support from the Canadian Burn Association.

Affiliate Partners

The Canadian Frostbite Care Network has an affiliate partnership with the Canadian Association of Wilderness Medicine.

Join the Canadian Association of Wilderness Medicine team November 1-3, 2024 in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Halifax Convention Center or online for the 5th Annual Canadian Association of Wilderness Medicine Conference! This year's theme is “Trailblazing Canadian Wilderness Medicine" and will feature 3 full days of lectures from both faculty and students, a keynote speaker, in-person and hybrid format workshops, panel discussions, and social events! Topics covered will include dive medicine, heat illnesses, drowning, MCI's, wilderness/environmental toxicology, search and rescue, advanced trauma, resuscitation, point of care ultrasound, and more! CME credits are available and pre-conference courses will run October 30-31.

Visit their website for more information and how to register at www.cawm.ca. Please contact [email protected] with any questions!

Community Partners

The Canadian Frostbite Care Network has been fortunate to connect with the District of Muskoka Homelessness team to help support prevention and treatment of frostbite in the community through development and access to frostbite education materials. 

Interested in joining us?