Philanthropy Catalyzes ‘Hospital at Home’ Cancer Care for Kids

This story originally appeared in the Calgary Herald on March 7, 2026

Sitting on a La-Z-Boy, hanging out with his dog Loki and playing video games, Kasser Mohamedali looks like any other 15-year-old relaxing at home — except he’s receiving life-saving cancer treatment while he does it.

This care is provided through Hospital at Home — the first program of its kind in Canada — which takes chemotherapy and other treatments outside the walls of the Alberta Children’s Hospital and into a space where a child feels most comfortable: their own home.

Established with generous community support, Hospital at Home was created to make treatment a little easier for families and patients needing hematology, oncology and blood and marrow transplant (BMT) care.

Patients like Kasser. Last April, he began experiencing pain in his back and his family initially chalked it up to muscle strain from his active lifestyle. However, as the pain persisted, bloodwork revealed an unexpected diagnosis: B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

When Kasser and his parents, Michelle and Shab Mohamedali, received the news at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, they were also given hope — hearing in the same breath, “there’s a cure.”

Over the past 11 months, Kasser has been receiving treatment from the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Frequent appointments, admissions and long drives quickly became part of his daily life. While the team at the hospital delivers world-class care, the reality is that chemotherapy can be incredibly taxing, both physically and mentally, on kids and their families.

Fortunately, some of Kasser’s chemotherapy can be delivered through the Hospital at Home program. This has meant less time commuting to and from the hospital and more time with family, which has allowed him to be there for milestones like his brother’s high school graduation.

Through Hospital at Home, a nurse comes to a family’s home with all necessary medications and equipment. The visit begins with a physical exam, including a check of blood pressure, temperature, oxygen saturation and heart rate.

The patient is then given chemotherapy or other supportive treatments via a portable medication pump through their central line — a small tube that provides safe access to the bloodstream. This reduces hospital visits and even allows children to receive treatments faster.

“This has made a huge difference in Kasser’s world. Being able to receive treatment in this way gives him a sense of normalcy during a difficult journey.”
– Kasser’s mom, Michelle

“Steady advancements in cancer care, like Hospital at Home, are essential,” says Dr. Lucie Lafay-Cousin, a pediatric oncologist at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and researcher at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute. “Hospital at Home allows kids to receive life-saving care in a way that also supports their spirits and mental health.”

While more children are surviving cancer than ever before thanks to the remarkable progress made in treatment over the past few decades, hearing the words “your child has cancer” still turns a family’s world upside down.

“By providing care in the home, we are saving families multiple days in hospital and relieving some of the stress that comes from that,” says Dr. Lafay-Cousin. “The familiarity of family meals and getting to sleep in their own bed are invaluable to these children and their families.”

The program continues to expand and offer care to more children as more medications and treatments are deemed safe to deliver outside the hospital.

Over the last year, 93 children and their families have benefitted from this specialized, innovative care though 1,892 Hospital at Home visits.

Hospital at Home was created in 2012 and is made possible through the generosity of donors to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.