For decades, he has worked to improve health care for children. In the early 1960s, he focused his research and advocacy on alternatives to extended hospital care, bringing about innovations such as surgical day care, medical day care and care-by-parent units. He was also instrumental in establishing the first provincial programs for children with hearing disorders, visual impairments and other disabilities. Retired from the University of British Columbia, he has become a leader in the area of fetal alcohol syndrome, increasing research in the field, defining the scope of the problem regionally, and helping to establish outreach and prevention programs.