Good morning, TeamUHN!
It is a pleasure to connect with you across care, research, and education through this weekly CEO update – all in service of A Healthier World.
Key reminders and updates
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Congratulations to UHN Foundation and all TeamUHN members who enthusiastically embraced last week's launch of the UHNITED campaign. This is an exciting time for UHN as we continue to tell our incredible story, one that is only possible because of TeamUHN. Be sure to visit
uhnited.ca.
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I had a wonderful time meeting with the 2024 Emerging Leaders Program last week to discuss leadership at UHN. A total of 57 TeamUHN members are enrolled in this unique, six-month program, now in its 11th year, which showcases leadership as a potential career choice and gives a better understanding of what it means to be a leader at UHN. Many thanks to Alyssa Roebuck, Sr. Advisor of Leadership Development, and all involved in organizing this program. It was a pleasure to be reminded of the incredible leadership talent that we have at UHN, and to mark the start of our roll out of the UHN Leadership Framework that was endorsed by ELF last Spring.
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I was also pleased to join an in-person Epic Executive Strategy Session last week hosted by the Ontario Epic Collaborative. This event gave leaders from all of the Epic hospitals in Ontario a chance to hear directly from Epic executives and experts about the future directions and innovations of our health information system partner. We explored the application of Artificial Intelligence and its benefits to patients, providers, researchers, and policymakers. We also explored how Epic is advancing support of home-based care and services – key to our integrated care programs and UHN@Home. My thanks to Dr. Sarah Muttitt, VP and Chief Information Officer, Leah Patterson, and all else involved in organizing such a collaborative event.
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An international research team led by a UHN Senior Scientist has proposed a new model for classifying Parkinson's disease (PD), an important step toward more advance research and precision therapy for the disease. The group led by Dr. Anthony Lang, a neurologist at UHN's Krembil Brain Institute, has proposed a biologically-based classification system for PD, rather than diagnosing the disease on the basis of clinical features, such as tremors. "We know Parkinson's exists in the brain for one to two decades, or longer, before the clinical manifestations present," Dr. Lang told UHN News. "So, we believe current research must be driven by biological determinants of the disease, rather than limited clinical descriptions of its signs and symptoms." Learn more why this is a “radically different way of looking at this disease" at
UHN News. Read this recent article in
Lancet Neurology on the team's proposed "SyNeurGe" model.
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Be sure to read this
powerful and personal essay from UHN Emergency physician Dr. Jennifer Hulme on her experiences with long COVID. Weeks after her 2022 diagnosis, Dr. Hulme experienced a number of difficult symptoms, including post-exertional malaise, fatigue, and cognitive impairment, and sent her on a “desperate quest for answers." I am pleased that UHN's long COVID clinic, led by Dr. Angela Cheung, helped her feel seen and supported on her journey. In this piece, Dr. Hulme shares what she wants the public and physicians to know about long COVID, including the need to ask for the right tests.
Read the full essay in UHN News.
Closing Notes
KITE Research Institute has launched a new storytelling campaign – "This Is KITE" – to celebrate its 5 th anniversary. The campaign shines a light on the remarkable people behind KITE's groundbreaking discoveries, with monthly feature stores and a series of videos chronicling key projects under the institute's research pillars: Prevention, Restoration of Function, and Independent Living/Community.
Learn more online and watch the
video linked below.
And now… our video of the week. This
clip introduces Galadriel, a UHN nurse practitioner reshaping how mental health support is provided to patients receiving cardiac care.
Feedback?
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Have a good week,
Kevin
