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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Last Friday, Accreditation Canada Surveyors presented early findings from their week-long survey at
University Health Network, sharing strengths and opportunities to inform UHN's journey of continuous quality improvement. This survey focused on clinical areas within Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehab, Toronto Western Family Health Team, the Transitional Care units at the Hillcrest Reactivation Centre and Queen's Estate, Lakeside Long-Term Care Centre, and several corporate programs. I was proud that the Surveyors could feel a real sense of pride and mission from TeamUHN, describing it as a "small town feeling in a big city health system." From our "just do it" approach to our efforts to build strong connections in our community and involve patient partners, the Surveyors expressed confidence in what they called “bold and courageous" strategic imperatives. This process is key to ensuring we meet our primary value of putting the needs of patients first. Once again, I thank all the teams who worked incredibly hard to prepare and highlight the great work they do each day. Please watch
this recording of the Accreditation Week report-out from lead Surveyor Sonia Pagura and Patient Surveyor Susan Dunn.
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It was a pleasure to again host Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Ontario Energy Minister Todd Smith, and other dignitaries at UHN last week to celebrate a plan from Bruce Power to double production of life-saving medical isotopes. Representatives from Bruce Power and their partners, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Isogen, and ITM, came to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre last Monday to announce Bruce Power will install a second isotope production line for the isotope lutetium-177, used as a targeted therapy for a range of cancers, including prostate cancer. As Dr. David Kirsch, Head of Radiation Medicine Program at the Princess Margaret, told the group, "It is simply great news that lutetium-177 can be produced at home in Ontario. In the long run, this will result in Radiotheranostics treatment being more accessible for patients." At UHN, we know that accomplishments in medicine and science are so often the result of dedicated people working together in pursuit of a shared goal. UHN appreciates the collaboration underpinning this project and teamwork in the global fight against cancer.
Read more from Bruce Power.
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A policy paper from UHN's NORC Innovation Centre recommends establishing dedicated home care teams in residential high-rise buildings with a significant population of older adults. More than 70,000 older adults in Toronto are living in 489 buildings that qualify as NORCs – “naturally occurring retirement communities" – where at least 30 per cent of residents are over the age of 65. The recently released report –
A Home Care Model for Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities in Ontario – proposes a model that would see one lead home care agency per NORC and dedicated Personal Support Workers (PSWs) supporting multiple clients with minimal travel to provide care that is “client-centred, efficient, and better for workers." This model could deliver more than 750,000 additional hours of PSW services, worth nearly $26.8 million annually, without incurring extra costs, according to the report.
Learn more on UHN News and
watch this segment from CBC News shining a spotlight on UHN's NORC initiative. With Canada's senior population expected to grow by 68 per cent over the next 20 years and more older adults seeking to age in place, this is yet another example of how UHN is staying ahead of the curve to find solutions for our system and community.
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Congratulations to Dr. Tirone David, who was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the European Society of Cardiovascular and EndoVascular Surgery (ESCVS) last week. Dr. David, who holds the Melanie Munk Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and serves as a professor of surgery at the University of Toronto, received the accolade at the 72nd Congress of the ESCVS in Istanbul, Turkey, after delivering the "Rene Leriche Lecture," titled, "The imperative of innovation in cardiac surgery." Throughout a career spanning more than four decades, Dr. David has built a sterling global reputation as a cardiovascular surgeon, researcher, and educator, and has pioneered numerous operative procedures to treat patients with heart valve disease and other challenges. We congratulate him on this achievement and his lifetime of service and thank him for all he has done for UHN, our patients, and health care in Canada.
Video of the Week
And now… our
video of the week. In this clip, In this clip, we learn more about the work of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre's Dental Oncology team.
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Have a good week,
Kevin
