The inaugural UHN Mission Excellence Awards recognized individuals and teams who make outstanding contributions to help UHN realize its vision of A Healthier World.
"When we acknowledge the dedication, ingenuity and creativity of TeamUHN, we contribute to fostering excellence and continuous improvement throughout our organization," Dr. Kevin Smith, UHN President and CEO, said at the event on Thursday, March 20.
"This is part of our DNA."
The UHN Mission Excellence Awards combine the previous Local Impact Awards, Inventor of the Year and Global Impact Awards with several new accolades, presenting them together in one program to elevate recognition and celebration.
"These awards serve to motivate and inspire," Dr. Smith said. "Showcasing the exemplary work and achievements of exceptional members of TeamUHN helps focus all of us on our primary value — the needs of patients come first."
The incredible contributions recognized include:
UHN Experience Excellence Award
This award recognizes TeamUHN members who have gone to extraordinary lengths in support of the mission of UHN, driving trailblazing innovations and discoveries. The award aligns with UHN's strategic direction of
transformative experiences.
- Individual Winner:
Dr. Gerald O'Leary
- Team Winner:
Cancer Program Patient & Family Experience Committee
Dr. Gerry O'Leary was recognized for his unwavering commitment to the mission of UHN — bringing the highest standards of compassionate care to his patients and their families — particularly for those faced with significant suffering, complex emotional needs and multifaceted challenges related to end-of-life decisions.
UHN Princess Margaret Cancer Centre's Cancer Program Patient & Family Experience Committee is a cross-functional team that led the implementation of the Patient Reported Experience Measures program, which utilizes Your Voice Matters, a survey tool created Cancer Care Ontario. The team is capturing patient experience feedback from outpatient clinics at the Princess Margaret and using it to implement more than 100 quality improvement initiatives at UHN as well as to benchmark data for Ontario Health and regional cancer centres.
UHN Health Solutions Award
This award, which is aligned with UHN's strategic direction of solutions beyond boundaries, recognizes TeamUHN members who drive groundbreaking innovations and discoveries, pioneering tomorrow's health care solutions today.
- Individual Winner:
Dr. Santhosh Thyagu
- Team Winner:
Data & Analytics
Dr. Santhosh Thyagu was honoured for his work leading the REACH Clinic at UHN's Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, which functions as an emergency clinic for oncology outpatients in need of stabilization, investigation and possibly admission. From a pilot project launched in 2009 it now cares for nearly 2200 patients annually, helping UHN cancer patients obtain urgent care. It has improved patient and caregiver satisfaction while reducing pressure on the Emergency Department.
UHN's Data & Analytics team received a record number of nominations for its work to support a number of critical initiatives across UHN. These include: integrating artificial intelligence and automation to reduce manual efforts and enhance data accuracy in Health Records Management; collaborating with the UHN Centre for Mental Health to significantly reduce wait times for the UHN Eating Disorders Program; introducing "MyAnalytics" to unify data access; partnering with the Patient Experience team to transform patient feedback into actionable insights; and partnering with the surgical team to develop the surgical monitoring tool to optimize surgical operations, reduce nursing overtime pressures and improve overall efficiency.
UHN President's Environment & Social Impact Award
Aligned with UHN's strategic direction of
transformative experiences, this award recognizes outstanding examples of dedication to building A Healthier World through environmental and social impact stewardship in action.
- Team Winner:
Dunn House Project Team
- Team Winner:
Wastewater Energy Transfer System Project Team
The Dunn House Project Team was recognized for their exceptional collaboration in creating Canada's first Social Medicine Housing Initiative. This team blended clinical insights, social needs and data-driven strategies to address the root causes of poor health while ensuring marginalized populations receive the complex care and support they need. Dunn House, a 51-bed housing unit for the most frequent users of UHN's Emergency Department, marked an important milestone in UHN's efforts to improve health equity and outcomes for vulnerable patients.
UHN's Wastewater Energy Transfer System Project Team was recognized for their work launching the world's largest wastewater energy transfer system, which is nearing completion at Toronto Western Hospital. When fully operational, 90 per cent of the heating and cooling needs for the hospital and UHN's Krembil Discovery Tower will be provided from wastewater heat recovery, reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of removing 1811 cars from the roads.
