Good afternoon, 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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We begin with a note of gratitude for all TeamUHN members who worked in service of patients, colleagues, and their community on Victoria Day. We are sincerely grateful for the dedicated professionals who step up each day to ensure high-quality care for the patients we are privileged to serve.
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It's time again for TeamUHN to celebrate the life-changing work done at UHN each day as select areas undergo Accreditation next week,
an important opportunity to gain feedback on what we are doing well and where there are opportunities for improvement. Clinical areas within Toronto Rehab, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Western Family Health Team, the Transitional Care units at the Hillcrest Reactivation Centre and Queen's Estate, and Lakeside Long-Term Care Centre will all be assessed. System standards for this survey will include infection prevention and control, leadership, medication management, governance, and emergency and disaster management. I deeply appreciate all the hard work from TeamUHN members over the past year to prepare for this Accreditation period. I encourage TeamUHN to share all the great work you do each day to put the needs of our patients first. Questions? Contact
accreditation@uhn.ca.
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It was a great pleasure to visit Apple Canada's offices last week for a fireside discussion about UHN's embrace of technology to solve problems and pioneering work with integrated care. This model aims to give patients the seamless care experience they deserve and help them return home sooner with one integrated professional team, one digital record, and one 24/7 phone number. I also spoke with the group about our experiences with Epic, our health information system. At UHN, we recognize how technology can help us deliver better patient experiences, outcomes, and efficiencies, and unlock tomorrow's care.
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Best wishes to Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, who has announced she will resign from her position at the end of the year. Dr. de Villa has led Toronto Public Health, the largest local public health agency in Canada and one that serves more than three million people, since 2017. We here at UHN appreciated her leadership and teamwork, particularly during the worst waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, and her efforts to see as many residents get vaccinated as possible. We wish her well in her future endeavours and look forward to working collaboratively with whomever is chosen as her successor.
Learn more from CBC News.
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Don't miss
this UHN News story exploring how the Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) Program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre provides comfort and community for young adults whose lives have been upended by their diagnosis. The AYA Program, launched in 2014, helps young adults navigate their journey with the help of a medical director, program coordinator, advanced practice nurses, a social worker, and a school and work transition counsellor. Brendan Yhip, who at 27 underwent surgery at Toronto Western to remove a brain tumour and treatment at Toronto Rehab to regain his vision, speech and cognitive functions, said the AYA program "connected, uplifted, and inspired" him. Not only did he find comfort and community in the program, but in time, he became that same source of support for other patients as well. Now he continues to give back as a Patient Partner at UHN, giving his life new meaning.
Read the full story in UHN News.
Video of the Week
And now… our
video of the week. In this clip, we get a look inside the Ex-Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP) process.
Feedback?
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leave anonymous feedback here.
Have a good week,
Kevin
