Cheo

What Cheo does

CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) is a stand-alone, non-profit pediatric academic health science center founded in 1974 and headquartered at 401 Smyth Road in Ottawa, Canada. It serves children and youth from birth through age 18, plus their families and caregivers, across a regional catchment spanning Eastern Ontario, Northern Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut. The institution combines clinical care, research, and medical education, with nearly 4,500 staff, medical staff, and learners, and is home to the CHEO Research Institute and the CHEO School Authority as wholly-owned subsidiaries, with the CHEO Foundation handling philanthropy and fundraising.

CHEO's core technology stack is anchored by a shared Epic electronic health record system with the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, integrated into eight provincial health information exchange systems including eCHN, ConnectingOntario, OLIS, NEODIN, and OCEAN eReferral. The hospital offers a comprehensive clinical service portfolio across emergency care, surgery, mental health, medical imaging, genetics, autism services, rehabilitation, and pharmacy, delivered through a main campus, satellite clinics, virtual care/telemedicine, and school-based programs. Recent technology investments include the SmartRequisition AI-assisted genomic test requisition platform (developed with the CIPHER network), the BRAVA youth mental health program, and the FREEDcan eating disorder early-intervention program. HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 certification places CHEO in the top 1% of Canadian hospitals for clinical infrastructure digitization.

The revenue model is anchored in core operational funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health under Canada's publicly funded healthcare system, with no direct charges to patients for covered medical services. Supplementary revenue comes from research grants (CIHR, Genome Canada, Health Canada), philanthropic donations channeled through the CHEO Foundation (including a $35 million gift from the Waverley House Foundation in November 2025), and ancillary service fees (pharmacy, parking). The go-to-market motion combines direct-to-consumer pediatric care delivery (physician referrals, emergency walk-ins, virtual appointments) with community-led engagement (YouthNet, Family Advisory Council, Kids Come First Health Team network of 60+ organizations and ~1,100 physicians) and event-driven fundraising. The customer base is the regional pediatric population and their families, with no commercial customer acquisition function.

Name

Cheo

Legal name

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Website

https://cheo.on.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) is a stand-alone, non-profit pediatric academic health science center in Ottawa serving children, youth, and families across Eastern Ontario, Northern Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut through clinical care, research, and education, with nearly 4,500 staff.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Hospital Services

NAICS

Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals (622310)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Hospitals & Pediatric Health Systems (HLAFAJAG)

Keywords

• Pediatric hospital services
• Children's healthcare
• Pediatric mental health
• Pediatric research
• Emergency pediatric care

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Public Healthcare Funding: CHEO operates as a publicly funded pediatric hospital receiving core operational funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health. Services are provided to patients at no direct charge under Ontario's publicly funded healthcare system.
2. Research Grants and Philanthropy: CHEO generates additional revenue through research grants (e.g., CIHR, Genome Canada) and donations through the CHEO Foundation. Major gifts like the $35 million from Waverley House Foundation support specific research initiatives.
3. Ancillary Services: Revenue from ancillary services including pharmacy (CHEO KidCare Pharmacy), parking, and other patient/family services. These offset operational costs and enhance patient experience.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CHEO is a stand-alone pediatric academic health sciences centre that provides comprehensive clinical care, research, and medical education for children, youth, and families. Core services include emergency care, surgery, mental health, medical imaging, genetics, autism services, rehabilitation, and pharmacy, delivered through a main hospital campus, satellite clinics, virtual care, and school- and community-based programs across Eastern Ontario, Northern Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut.

Product overview

CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) is a stand-alone pediatric academic health science center providing clinical care, research, and education. The hospital operates as a unified service delivery organization with digital health infrastructure anchored by Epic electronic health records shared with SickKids. Key services include emergency care, mental health programs, surgical services, medical imaging, genetics, autism services, rehabilitation therapies, and a patient portal (MyChart). Virtual care and regional partnerships through Kids Come First extend CHEO's reach across Eastern Ontario, Northern Ontario, and Quebec. The institution also participates in provincial health information exchange networks for coordinated patient care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emergency Care 24/7 emergency department providing urgent medical care for children and youth.
• Mental Health Services Comprehensive mental health programs including inpatient, outpatient, and community-based care for children and youth, including eating disorders, suicide prevention, and general mental health support.
• Surgical Care Pediatric surgical services including general surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, and plastic surgery.
• Medical Imaging Diagnostic imaging services including X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine for pediatric patients.
• Genetics Program Genetic assessment, counseling, testing, and diagnostic laboratory services for children with suspected genetic conditions.
• Autism Services Comprehensive autism services including early years intervention, school support, family services, and diagnostic assessment.
• Children's Treatment Centre Rehabilitation services for children with physical, developmental, and communication needs, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech therapy.
• MyChart Patient Portal Patient portal allowing patients and families to access health records, view test results, and communicate with care teams.
• Virtual Care Telemedicine and virtual appointment services enabling remote pediatric care consultations.
• CHEO KidCare Pharmacy On-site pharmacy services for pediatric patients and families.
• Kids Come First Care Clinic In-person assessment clinic for children and youth with acute illnesses such as fever, cough, earache, sore throat, or runny nose, located at CHEO's main campus.
• BRAVA Program Six-week group-format mental health program for adolescents experiencing suicidal ideation and their caregivers, with rolling registration for faster access. Implemented in partnership with Valoris for Children and Adults of Prescott-Russell and supported by Health Canada funding.
• FREEDcan Eating Disorder Program Early-intervention eating disorder program for Canadian youth aged 8-25, adapted from the UK FREED model by CHEO researcher Dr. Nicole Obeid with CIHR funding.
• SmartRequisition AI Platform AI-assisted platform that automates genomic test requisition workflows and enables non-genetics specialists to order genetic tests using standardized vocabulary, developed through the CIPHER network with $5.4M in funding from Genome Canada.

Quantifiable outcome

• Potential to accelerate diagnoses for over 10,000 Canadians annually through SmartRequisition if adopted nationally
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Valoris for Children and Adults of Prescott-RussellcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Health Canada provided $902,769 in funding through the Youth Mental Health Fund to Valoris, in partnership with CHEO, to implement the BRAVA Program for youth mental health over four years. The program is designed for adolescents experiencing suicidal ideation and their caregivers, offering a six-week group format with rolling registration.
• PhenoTipscoreTechnology or Integration · 30 March 2026PhenoTips, a genomic medicine software company, co-leads the CIPHER network with IWK Health to develop SmartRequisition, an AI-assisted platform that automates genomic test requisition workflows. CHEO is one of five Canadian health institutions in the coalition.
• IWK HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2026IWK Health co-leads the CIPHER network with PhenoTips and CHEO to develop SmartRequisition, an AI-assisted platform for genomic test requisition. The $5.4 million initiative is funded through Genome Canada's Genomic Applications Partnership Program.
• Alberta Health ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2026Alberta Health Services is one of five Canadian health institutions in the CIPHER network, partnering to validate SmartRequisition technology across Canada's diverse healthcare landscape. The network handles over 15,000 genomic cases per year.
• CHU Sainte-JustinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2026CHU Sainte-Justine is one of five Canadian health institutions in the CIPHER network, partnering to validate SmartRequisition technology across Canada's diverse healthcare landscape.
• SickKids (Hospital for Sick Children)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2026SickKids is a partner in the CIPHER network and co-leads a $35 million precision mental health initiative with CHEO and Waverley House Foundation. CHEO and SickKids also share Epic electronic health record infrastructure for seamless patient information exchange.
• Epic (Care Everywhere network)coreTechnology or IntegrationCHEO shares Epic (main electronic health record) with SickKids and other care providers in Eastern Ontario region through Care Everywhere network. This enables healthcare providers to access comprehensive patient records and streamline care coordination.
• Kids Come First Health TeamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKids Come First includes over 60 organizations, youth and family partners, and nearly 1,100 physicians working together to deliver pediatric services where, when, and how families need them. CHEO is a founding member organization.
• University of OttawacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHEO partners with the University of Ottawa for teaching and education purposes. The hospital is an academic teaching facility with connections to the Faculty of Medicine for medical education and training.
• Kids Health AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKids Health Alliance is a partner organization referenced in CHEO's digital health ecosystem, enabling shared platforms like MyChart for patient access to health records.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SickKids (Hospital for Sick Children): SickKids is Canada's largest stand-alone pediatric hospital in Toronto and CHEO's closest peer: same pediatric specialty model, shared Epic EHR instance, and a direct co-lead on the $35M precision mental health initiative.
• CHU Sainte-Justine: Montreal-based university-affiliated pediatric hospital and a CIPHER/SmartRequisition network partner. CHEO and CHU Sainte-Justine compete for French-language pediatric patients and Quebec/Nunavut referrals.
• IWK Health: Maritime pediatric and women's hospital that co-leads the CIPHER network with PhenoTips alongside CHEO. Operates a similar stand-alone pediatric specialty model in a different region.
• BC Children's Hospital: British Columbia's primary stand-alone pediatric academic hospital, comparable in scale and specialty breadth to CHEO; serves as the natural western counterpart for benchmarking pediatric service models.
• Stollery Children's Hospital: Edmonton-based pediatric hospital within Alberta Health Services and a CIPHER/SmartRequisition partner with CHEO. Similar academic pediatric tertiary-care mandate serving a large geographic catchment.
• McMaster Children's Hospital: Hamilton-based pediatric academic hospital within Hamilton Health Sciences; comparable specialty pediatric service mix and Ontario public-funding model to CHEO.
• London Health Sciences Centre — Children's Hospital: Pediatric hospital embedded in London Health Sciences Centre in Southwestern Ontario; another Ontario academic pediatric peer with overlapping service lines and funding model.

Broad incumbents

• Boston Children's Hospital: Largest U.S. pediatric academic medical center and global leader in pediatric research and digital health. Useful as a strategic benchmark for where CHEO could position its precision pediatric medicine agenda.
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP): Top-ranked U.S. pediatric hospital known for genomic medicine and pediatric research scale. Comparable to CHEO as a reference point for advanced pediatric specialty and AI-driven care programs like SmartRequisition.

Others

• Kids Health Alliance: A CHEO partner organization enabling shared digital platforms including MyChart; functions as a pediatric network and technology alliance rather than a competitor, but is structurally aligned with CHEO's pediatric service network strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CHEO
• Facebookfacebook.com/CHEOkids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cheo-ottawa
• Instagraminstagram.com/cheohospital/?hl=en
• Xx.com/CHEO

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cheo