Intimate and honest conversations with leaders about the joys and challenges of driving change in our complex and demanding healthcare organizations.
HIROC (Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada)
Rebecca Shields and her team at CMHA York and South Simcoe have strong throughlines in place for their 2025-2028 Strategic Plan. A key driver of this plan is the update of their mission and values, and their new vision which is all about a cure for mental illness. This disruptive and exciting thought stems from CHMA's belief that true recovery is possible when institutions globally work together towards this goal. What does this vision mean for their organization? “It means that we begin more and more to look at how do we partner in research, how do we ensure that we're adopting promising, evidence-based best practices, how are we adopting better data analytics and decision making,” explains Rebecca. In this episode of Healthcare Change Makers, Rebecca also shares insight into York Region's first Mental Health Community Care Centre. She speaks passionately about how healthcare organizations can work together to move the needle around mental health and addiction issues, and the importance of equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and reconciliation strategies. Quotables: “The field of mental illness because of stigma has been left behind, in research, investment, in care; and so bringing people along is helping them believe and turning that belief into action that things can actually improve.” “Mental illness can be treated, people can recover. And that I think we can all get behind.” “And that collective vision is, what do we need to do to ensure that somebody's first mental health crisis is their last.” “I just want to say a huge gratitude to all of our partners, and Ontario Health and the government, for stepping up and supporting this work. This is about system change, and although we're leading it, everybody is committed to a collective vision and we can't do it without going back and believing in the possible.” “All of us have to lean in right now as we see an erosion of, and people trying to dismantle the respect and identity of each and every person and their own personal identities.” “We know that there's a tie between racism, oppression and mental health. It is a stressor. It is morally disruptive, you know absolutely that kind of ongoing trauma of racism, discrimination and oppression actually impacts somebody's wellbeing.” “I've always thought back about Dr. Ian Dawe who used to say, all of us as healthcare providers, we might be able to treat the symptoms and treat mental illness, but mental health is a home, a job, and a friend.” “The value of each person, and the perspective and what they bring actually will be part of what makes communities resilient and allows for the recovery and support of people for all of us, and our kids, our families and our seniors.” “I feel that governance is incredibly important. Good governance really supports an organization to achieve great things.” “We are trying to solve wicked problems together – and good governance and leadership are part of that.” Mentioned in this Episode: · CHMA York and South Simcoe · CAMH · Dr. Ian Dawe · Health Common Solutions Lab (Sinai Health Systems) · Human Services Planning Board of York Region · IABC Communicator of the Year Award · Ontario Health Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence · Ontario Health · Share Scale Repeat: A Podcast by HIROC · Southlake Health Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Andrew Williams and his team at HPHA are steadfast towards innovating to provide exceptional care for Canadians. One of the many efforts towards achieving this is through the completion of the Cancer and Medical Care Clinic and Pharmacy at Stratford General Hospital. This initiative is a strong testament to the fact that facilities have a positive impact on the quality of care provided, and the relationship between hospitals and their communities are key. “We would not have been able to do this had the community not stepped forward and donated their hard-earned money towards this project. It's fantastic for care, it means an awful lot to the patients who are receiving care now and to those who will need to access the unit moving forward,” explains Andrew when speaking to the new clinic and the importance of strong community relations. In this episode of Healthcare Change Makers, Andrew shares invaluable advice on being a strong leader, engaging board members, tapping into community support to leverage initiatives, and planting the seed to create strong partnerships and connections. Quotables: “Our vision is innovating for exceptional health, and I think it really speaks to where we see healthcare today and the role that it plays in not only the work that we do in the hospital sector, but also the broader health and wellness of the community.” - AW “The most important criteria for any successful partnership is a high level of trust where you're confident the interest of all is equally viewed by the participants.” - AW “Facilities and contemporary facilities have a really positive impact on the quality of care you're able to provide, both through the lens of the patient and the staff member.” - AW “There's no such thing as not changing, you either proactively change and go a certain direction or you fall behind. Everyday you're not adapting yourself, growing yourself, or focusing on where the organization is going, you're slipping a little behind.” - AW “It's a privilege to work in the healthcare space and I always believe that with privilege comes an accountability to make a difference.” - AW “Bloom where you're planted, in other words make sure you're focusing all your energy and effort in doing the absolute best you can in whatever role you're in.” - AW “The most important thing you can do to have a successful career track is excel in the role you're in in the moment, develop yourself, and make sure you're focusing on what I believe to be the really important attributes to leadership: being accountable for your actions, making sure your actions are founded in integrity, and make sure you're in tune to those you represent.” - AW “Those who know me know that I'm a strong proponent of integration and working together, there's a lot of different organizations in the healthcare space but we all support the same population. We all have a role and that's important, but the more we can work together the better it will be for those we serve.” - AW Mentioned in this Episode: · Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance · Stratford General Hospital · Ontario Hospital Association · Healthcare Collaborative Benefits · London Health Sciences Centre Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Health is driven by more than what happens in a clinic or the operating room, it is driven by long-standing system decisions. One of the ways Dr. Andrew Boozary and the UHN are impacting health equity is through the inception of Dunn House, Canada's first hospital-led supportive housing initiative. This unique model couples health and social care by improving health outcomes for unhoused Torontonians, embedding concreate solutions to UHN's most vulnerable patients. “This brings a wholistic approach to healthcare, that it's not just about access to physicians and nurses, that there's really a more integrated way to think about health, and Dunn House is real action on that kind of thinking and philosophy.” In this exciting episode of Healthcare Change Makers, learn more about UHN's social medicine program, the impact of Dunn house, and the value of partnership with community organizations. And stay tuned until the end to hear Dr. Boozary's take on medical TV dramas and which musician helps give him an energy boost. Quotables: “How do we recenter humanity in healthcare for those of us who work in the system, for families, for caregivers, and most ultimately for patients.” “Health and so much protection in society are system choices or policy choices, and it's not about individual failures but how resources, protection, power, and privilege, really play roles in worse health outcomes.” “The idea that some lives matter more than others is the fundamental issue or injustice that we face in the world.” “Whatever it is that grips you, that you lose sleep over, that makes your blood boil, whatever it is that you feel this sense of injustice, to not lose that feeling and energy, and pursue it however you can.” “If the University Health Network is really serious (which they are) about advancing health and not being the university healthcare network, but truly about heath, we need to be able to take different approaches in how we reach people… who need it most.” “Housing and health are inextricably linked.” “This is what I think is really the secret sauce, is the partnership and the willingness to think differently about the solution – that the band-aid fixes are not going to work. That there is a moral distress that becomes imposed on health workers seeing the same revolving door… and how can we start embedding, building concrete solutions for people.” “I think it's really important to shout out the incredible work of community health centres that have been leading social medicine work for 50 years or more.” “Preventing some of these feelings of despair or burnout is understanding this is part of the work, and how do you hold and create space for some of it, because trying to deny it or push it out or discount it has its own downsides as well.” “We don't need a magic wand, we need real investment in people, and that we can see magical outcomes if we actually dedicate that focus.” Mentioned in this Episode: · HIROC's 2025 Conference, Save the Date · University Health Network (UHN) · Dr. Kevin Smith · UHN's Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine · UHN's Dunn House · Dr. Jeff Turnbull · Wendy Muckle · Dr. Paul Farmer · Emmanuelle Gattuso · City of Toronto · Fred Victor · The United Way · Angela Robertson, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre · Camden Coalition · Kendrick Lamar · The Knick (tv drama) · The Pitt (tv drama) Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Karen and her team are full steam ahead with all the initiatives at Nova Scotia Health today. She speaks with pride about their work around improving patient care and much more. One of the initiatives they're working on includes the West Bedford Transitional Health facility which helps enhance the chances of patients going back home successfully. Another proud initiative includes the YourHealthNS mobile app, which over half the population in NS have already downloaded enabling them to better navigate the healthcare system. “We're on quite a pace, quite a tear, and there's going to be no rest that's for sure,” explains Karen when speaking to the dedication of her team and the magnitude of their efforts. On our newest episode of Healthcare Change Makers, learn more about the initiatives Karen and her team are proud of, the collaboration between NS Health and Life Sciences Nova Scotia, and ways to be supportive of those around you! Quotables: “I like to sit down with the members of the team and basically say, that was then this is now – your history is irrelevant, I'm turning a page.” – KO “I really like to give people a fresh start with a new leader and it's something that has worked really well for me. Even in this current role, I can think of a number of people with a fresh start that just blossomed.” – KO “I want to serve my province in this role and hopefully make a difference.” – KO “I love having an opportunity to showcase the innovation and intellectual pros of some of our professionals. And they could come from any part of our system, these are people who want to make positive change for the better.” – KO “Success breeds success, it energizes you and you need the energy to get through the bad.” – KO “You need to have people around you that care about you, not about your job but about you, and can help separate the important from the urgent. We all get stressed out over the urgent, where it's the important things you have to stay focused on.” – KO “I think for the leader, it's important to find the ways to raise people, to develop people, so they can give voice to what it is they care about and are passionate about.” – KO Mentioned in this Episode: · Nova Scotia Health · NS Health's More Than Medicine · Dr. Angela Merkel · Dr. Jane Philpott · Margaret Thatcher · Chelsea Handler Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
With the insights from 2024 under her belt, Catherine is filled with ideas, hope, and confidence in the magic of the reciprocal model for the upcoming year. One of the initiatives Catherine is looking forward to includes continuing to meet Subscribers where they are across Canada through joining Subscriber forums, conferences, and quality days. Another exciting thing on the horizon is finalizing HIROC's strategic plan for 2026 onwards by tapping into the phenomenal guidance from staff, Subscribers, and the board. On our final episode of the year, reflect alongside Catherine as she shares some of the new things she has learned in 2024, the top trends and success stories she's heard from Subscribers, and what brought her joy this year. You'll even hear about her new puppy, stay tuned until the end! Quotables: “We've done lots of work around ensuring we're staying focused on service, that's such a dominant feature for HIROC and its staff.” - CG “It's amazing to me how creative and talented the people who work in this system are.” - CG “When you listen to what Subscribers are able to do with $20,000 or less, it's absolutely amazing to me. Whether that's making sure newborns' temperatures are kept constant or how we use the implementation of oxytocin protocols as a driver across the system.” - CG “There's this predominant underpinning of change, and yet the things that are important stay very true for Subscribers in all of those jurisdictions.” - CG “How do we learn from each other so that these are not pockets of things that are innovative and so they really spread? HIROC is in the midst of that, and we have the beauty of seeing everything that's happening in so many parts of the country and supporting it.” - CG “We as a group focus on where things didn't go marvellously well, but the fact is that the overwhelming majority of the time, we're delivering exactly what people in this country need and I'm grateful for that.” - CG Mentioned in this Episode: HIROC Staff Café HIROC Safety Grants, Learn More HIROC East Coast Safety Symposium HIROC Prairies and Territories Safety Symposium André Picard True Reconciliation Book Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Gail Hunt's team at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Ontario describe her as being good at breaking down complicated things from a strategic perspective – a quality that helps lead the organization into the next decade. RVH recently announced a new 10-year strategic plan which has been carefully curated to ensure staff and the larger community feel connected, equipped, and excited long term. “With the population growth in this area of the province, what do we need to be able to meet the needs of the future, meet the patient expectations, and have the team members here be able to fill all the roles”, says Gail when explaining one of the main priorities with their new strategic plan. On our newest episode of Healthcare Change Makers, learn more about how RVH's leadership will keep the momentum going with their strategic plan, ways in which Gail ensures she is approachable to staff, how to balance being an introvert in leadership, and much more! Also, stay tuned until the end to hear about Gail's love for Jiu Jitsu! Quotables: “The relationship with medical schools really helps ensure you have that feeder system coming in that's going to help you, make sure you have the specialists and physicians that you need as you grow.” - GH “RVH does so much research right now, we have an amazing team here and we run the largest clinical trials for community-sized hospitals.” - GH “We mapped out what some of our big moves are, and everything we do now ties back to asking where is it taking us? Where is that big move? So, the team here can feel connected.” - GH “We felt we needed to embed our values in actions that people can relate to. Do great things, inspire trust, be kind, the things we could imagine ourselves doing and that's how we make our choices.” - GH “Really connecting with a couple layers away from you on a regular basis gives you that feedback about if the culture is building in the direction I'm aiming for and what my expectations are, do people feel they can speak up about things, do they feel connected to the vision?” - GH “Whether you're introverted or extroverted you bring your own strengths and gifts to every role you're in. Instead of trying to be something you're not, own what you are and let the team know that's what you're like and where they have to help lift you up.” - GH “I have certain underlying values about really supporting other organizations in the community. A lot of times hospitals are the big player in the community and fundraising, and the smaller agencies in the community have a harder struggle raising money.” - GH Mentioned in this Episode: Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) RVH Foundation Pamela Ross Telus Friendly Future Foundation Dancing with Easter Seals Stars Adam Grant Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Advocating for change and collaboration in our healthcare supply chain is part of Christine Donaldson's purpose, this shines through in her leadership approach. Her team's advocacy work is reflected with action as HealthPRO Canada recently became an Aboriginal Procurement Champion with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB), thus making strides towards a more inclusive healthcare supply chain and system. “Part of our Indigenous journey and reconciliation of where we're heading into the future is to do it through business partnerships,” says Christine when explaining the importance of collaborating with CCAB. Christine also shares her leadership approach centred around collaboration, transparency, openness, and meeting people at the level they're at. And collaboration is a big part of the work Christine and her team are doing on moving toward a more sustainable procurement model. Don't miss our special 70th episode of Healthcare Change Makers! It's a great chance to hear from Christine about how HealthPRO is focusing on sustainable practices, their strategies to ensure constant supply for its hospital members, and Christine's advice to healthcare organizations on implementing a collaborative culture! Quotables: “Sustainable products have always been an interest of mine, how do we really take the weight of the system, be more climate friendly, look at greening our healthcare environment, it's always fascinating to me from back to my clinical days.” - CD “My professional clinical background has been unbelievably important in how I've taken different leadership roles in my career.” - CD “In the end, we look different on the outside but we're really the same and that's really that spirit of getting at the ground floor, really getting to know each other goes a long way towards that healthy new world we're building for the future.” - CD “I want all Canadian patients to have the same access, the best products, the highest quality, and how can we make that happen? Some of that is organic and getting the right people together.” - CD “The legacy of any issues or mistakes is you move forward, and you create the stronger and better systems moving forward.” - CD “In your career you want to have a purpose for the greater good of the system or greater good of what you do, and I think what drives us is we have an important role in the whole machinery of how things operate.” - CD “We're using procurement as a gateway to create some better practices.” - CD “Too often we start off with contributing challenges, problems, and issues, I like to flip it on its head and say let's talk about some of the positive first and get to a place of where we can really understand each other.” - CD “You learn as much from the person you're mentoring as much as they learn from you, it's a two-way street and it's part of that very healthy way of challenging each other and dialoguing.” - CD Mentioned in this Episode: HealthPRO Canada U of T Pharmacy Dr. Fiona Miller Dr. Zubin Austin Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
For this episode of Healthcare Change Makers, we sat down and had a captivating conversation with Dr. Steven Harrison, the CEO of Tri-County Mennonite Homes. Steven has a wealth of experience as a seasoned leader in long-term care. Throughout the episode, you'll hear all about his insights from working internationally and how this experience has shaped his views about Canada embracing global perspectives and solutions for challenges at home. We also learned more about Steven's career journey, beginning as a PSW and his decision to pursue a career in leadership focusing on system design and change, rather than becoming a clinician. Furthermore, Steven also discusses overcoming the most pressing issues in seniors' care, such as the damage caused by the pandemic, and the coordinated efforts needed to recover and adapt. We also talk about a much-needed shift from large-scale institutional models to more personalized, community-based care, emphasizing the importance of adapting to modern societal needs. When speaking about his leadership values, Steven believes in the importance of hard work, resilience, giving back to his community and learning from failure. As a healthcare leader, Steven says it's critical to be vulnerable and selfless, especially when it comes to inspiring his staff and providing a safe space for them to express their concerns. Steven also talks about how impactful it is for his staff to create opportunities for them to be their best selves by focusing on their strengths and pushing them out of their comfort zones. Quotables: “Leadership is truly a privilege. You hear people say that a lot, but it is. It becomes very real when it impacts you directly as a leader. So, I always take that approach that you have to be selfless, supportive, community oriented, focused – those kinds of things, but it's not a birthright being in a leadership role. What this also taught me is be ready for tomorrow and learn from every single opportunity that presents itself to you.” – SH “Vulnerability is key to leadership. It's not about crying in a meeting or anything like that. It's really about understanding that you have a role and a place within the organization, and people look up to you constantly.” – SH “In my home, in the community, working for home care, the experiences all those years ago is so different from today. Our needs have changed. The system's changed. Expectations have changed. But what has stayed core to all of this is that compassion, the perseverance, the willingness to go above and beyond. That's what makes you a great clinical support person and PSW.” – SH “I always joke with people – my luggage feels heavier coming home than when I go out into the world because I'm bringing that much more depth and understanding of people and all that work I've done when I come back.” – SH “Most people I've met in health and social services come into the field out of a place of wanting to help in some way. You don't come here because you want to be a millionaire. There are other options to do that. You come here because this is your calling, so to speak, and as one of my team would say here, it gets you in your feels like it really is an emotional response to things. That makes the job a whole lot easier when you start from that place.” – SH “I look at our organization, and we are not just a building. It's bricks and mortar, but what happens inside that building is what will set us apart. It is inspiring people to operational excellence. It's not the edifice that will make this house a home, it is what they will do inside this home that will make it rich and lively and I think that is the most important part.” – SH “I was once told, compromise when you can, but never be intransigent. Always remember, shifting your position is not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of learning from the room, growing your position and actually inspiring others.” – SH “You need to manage your reputation, but you have to stay true to who you are, stay true to that character, and hold that near and dear to your heart. It's not a popularity contest being in leadership, so don't expect everyone to love you, but certainly don't expect everyone to hate you either. Find your middle ground but be comfortable in you own skin and who you are.” – SH Mentioned in this Episode: Tri-County Mennonite Homes AdvantAge Ontario Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) Infection Prevention and Control Canada (IPAC) Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get you favourite podcast. Email us at communications@hiroc.com.
John Yip and the team at SE Health are growing their social impact by bringing hope and happiness to different segments of society. As SE Health celebrates its 115-year anniversary, they've continued to stay true to their long legacy of service through leveraging powerful initiatives such as operating hospices for the homeless, investing in start-ups in the health space, running a technology company, and supporting communities across the country, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. Through these initiatives, SE Health keeps their vision strong by impacting how people live and age at home. “It's the combination of business and social mission that makes SE Health a perfect landing spot for me,” says John when explaining why his organization is so special to him. In this exciting new episode, learn all about a few of SE Health's main priorities and their balance between business and social impact, how being a first-generation Canadian helps shape John's values, his practical tips for emerging leaders, how running triathlons positively impacts his life, and so much more! Quotables: “If you have a room full of providers, we'll talk provider talk and that means full of acronyms, but you bring a patient, a care giver, and family member, it becomes real, and that tangible experience helps shape and influence the direction of where these Ontario health teams would go.” - JY “There's enormous pressure to perform and as a result a lot of young leaders aren't themselves, so the first piece of advice I would give is to be your authentic self, lead with empathy, be kind, be thoughtful.” – JY “My parents really instilled those values of work ethic and around kindness as a means to integrate into Canadian society where they really believed that they were so lucky they were able to leave where they came from which was war-torn China.” – JY “We have 8,000 staff that serve 22,000 Canadians every day and we want to make sure we take care of our own.” – JY “You don't need to go very far to experience adventure, you can do it in your own backyard.” - JY “It's healthy to have different interests and do different activities and that leads to a very positive lifestyle.” – JY “Everyone has their own brand with how they lead, and it takes time to figure out what your personal brand is.” – JY “I'm a big supporter of the public library system because I spent a lot of time there, I read everything and it still sticks with me, so I think reading creates that sense of curiosity.” - JY Mentioned in this Episode: SE Health McMaster DeGroote School of Business Unity Health Toronto Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Michael Green understands that forging relationships with those who support Canada Health Infoway's mission is crucial to navigating our complex system and accelerating innovation. With this understanding top of mind, Canada Health Infoway works with different systems and stakeholders across the globe to strategize, innovate and advance digital health. “Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel in Canada or any other country, it's often better to try and take the best international practice, and then try to implement that at home,” says Michael when explaining the importance of collaborating with international organizations who set health standards. In this fascinating episode of HIROC's Healthcare Change Makers, learn all about how Canada Health Infoway is impacting the advancement of digital health in Canada, Michael's expert strategies for finding partners to support Infoway's mission, how his team is adopting and securely implementing artificial intelligence (AI), as well hearing who inspires Michael, and much more! Quotables: “We're an organization that is focused on digital health and innovation.” - MG “Our concept is to work with all the different systems across Canada and really try to help them innovate faster than they can do on their own.” - MG “In a complex health system like Canada there's so many stakeholders that are into play, and so we really try and make sure that we connect with the best people that are responsible for digital health, for example, in each of the provinces.” - MG “One of the big roles we have is liaising with some of these big international organizations that set standards, and really helping provinces across Canada to synchronize and link into those to effectively get their systems speaking to each other.” - MG “There's tremendous potential with AI and at the same time, there's so many different solutions appearing, so what we try and do is provide advice to people to help guide them through the AI forest.” - MG “I think one of the things that most people in the organization including myself feel, is that we're making a difference and helping to improve healthcare, and that's a very exciting challenge.” – MG “We try and help front line institutions and care providers with tools to prioritize privacy and cyber security.” - MG Mentioned in this Episode: Canada Health Infoway Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and x, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Paris Semansky is Director, Communications and Public Affairs at CAMH. This role urges her to wear a variety of hats, including being a brand protector, advocate, and problem-solver. Patricia Hoffer also wears a number of hats while being Chief Communications Officer and Vice President, External Relations at St. Joseph's Health Care London. She takes pride in leading a diverse and dedicated group of communicators and storytellers. In this episode, Paris and Patricia share key strategies that help them ensure their teams succeed in the healthcare setting, their thoughts on strategic integrated communications, the importance of removing the noise that comes with their jobs, and more! Quotables: “We're known for the what and the how, but when we go back to the why then that's where the strategy comes in and that's where the purpose and the matter come in.” – PH “When you have a team approach, you bring much more diversity and thought, much more creativity, and much more strategy to the table.” - PH “Make sure that Communications has a seat at the leadership table, because without it we don't have a line of sight on not just the issues, but opportunities that others won't think about from a communications perspective, storytelling perspective, or brand perspective.”- PH “One of the core things we can do to make our team successful is to have our team not all be the same, in experience, socioeconomic background, racial background, religious background, there's so many different components to that.” - PS “Our goal is to take your plan and enable success and make it sing no matter what it is, whether it's an issue we're trying to manage or a great story that we're trying to tell.” – PH “When communicators have the opportunity to be at decision making tables in the middle of a crisis, we show our full scope of practice. We show our ability to be strategic and to think about the broader community.”– PS “The role and value of communications is all about driving culture, improving and strengthening our brand and reputation, and making that alignment of what are the priorities of the organization, what is the strategy, and how does that all converge with our community we serve.” – PH “We're the boundary spanners and environment scanners, we're looking at what's going on in the world, we're that contact with the outside world.” - PS “Provide time and opportunity and space to be proactive versus reactive because that fuels creativity and allows time for that strategic opportunity.”- PH “Why am I throwing the covers off in the morning?” - PH Mentioned in this Episode: CAMH St. Joseph's Health Care London Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Dr. Devin Singh refused to be a bystander when he recognized inefficiencies in health systems, and he jumped into action by co-founding Hero AI – a clinical automation platform which aims to improve patient safety and wait times. Devin fuels Hero AI by tapping into his experiences and expertise as Emergency Physician at The Hospital for Sick Children to recognize the needs of providers and patients. “It was really important to think through what the real barriers are to improving care in our institution and beyond”, says Dr. Devin Singh when explaining the early stages of creating Hero AI. In this episode, Devin shares his journey on becoming an entrepreneur including the barriers and lessons learned, advice he would give to other healthcare leaders on driving innovation and change, and how the sports space inspires his career. Quotables: “I'm so blessed that SickKids was willing to take this new technology on - there are hard questions to tackle, and as an institution rather than shying away SickKids said this is important let's figure this out.” -DS “Although there's so much cool technology that's evolving, the technology isn't the most important part – it's actually about the humans, and it's about the workflow that is being adopted and enabled by the technology.” -DS “Don't let what feels like brick walls you run into again and again early on in the journey actually feel like these are reasons not to continue. They're actually exciting opportunities to break ground on something that's new and novel.” -DS “Early on in the entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial journey, you want to find the people who are going to say no quickly. It means they represent a really different opinion or potential landmine or roadblock down the road.” -DS “I always find in the athletics or sports space it's surprising to see how much failure someone has to go through to be great. And so that's something I've really taken to heart around this idea of truly promoting a fail fast fail safe culture.” -DS “No one can ever take education away from you.” -DS Mentioned in this Episode: The Hospital for Sick Children Hero AI Special Olympics Ontario University of Edinburgh Cambridge University Dr. Jason Fischer Dr. Sasha Litwin Dr. Anna Goldenberg Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
When Dominic Giroux transitioned into the role of President and CEO and Hôpital Montfort, he took a unique and personalized approach. This approach included having 1 on 1's with a variety of people in the organization to get to know their views and what's important to them. “You need to get to know your people first and earn their trust, and they will tell you what your priorities should be”, says Dominic when explaining the importance of engaging with staff and providing a listening ear. In this episode, Dominic opens up about what helped him transition into his CEO role, what patient safety means to him personally, his hopes about healthcare moving in one direction, and more! Quotables: “What I love about healthcare is the teamwork, the level of commitment by, quite frankly, the smartest and most dedicated professionals I've ever met.” -DG “Montfort has really become a social symbol for linguistic communities across the country, so it's definitely a source of pride and privilege to be leading Montfort at this time.” -DG “I find that the challenge in healthcare is to sustain improvements made around safety. I prefer to pick an area of focus and be relentless about it for years in a row.” -DG “We need to continuously benchmark ourselves around patient safety. We're fortunate to be surrounded by a lot of data in healthcare and we need to confront the brutal facts.” -DG “I find that serving on so many boards instilled in me something that I was lucky to learn early in my career, that governance matters in organizations. I would submit that no where is that more important than in healthcare, given both the challenges and opportunities we have in the system.” -DG “If I had a magic wand, having a clear long term capacity plan for healthcare in Ontario is paramount. For me, the capacity plan is health human resources and its capital.” -DG “I find that the internal conversations change when patient family advisors are in the room. The focus shifts from the care providers to the patients.” -DG “There's always insightful information we receive from HIROC that we use for our risk management framework, our audit committee, the board, and frontline managers.”-DG Mentioned in this Episode: Hôpital Montfort Ontario Hospital Association Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
In this latest episode of HIROC's Healthcare Change Makers podcast, Dr. Frank Martino, President and CEO of the William Osler Health System, reflects on his leadership journey while emphasizing the importance of remaining positive and aiming high in your career, especially in the context of leading one of Canada's largest community hospital systems. Dr. Martino highlights his organization's ambitious initiatives, including the adoption of an advanced hospital information system, new redevelopment projects, and a groundbreaking partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University's (TMU) School of Medicine. Our discussion also touches on Osler's commitment to innovation, such as incorporating technologies like artificial intelligence into future healthcare delivery. Throughout the interview, Dr. Martino's passion for healthcare and his commitment to building strong partnerships and a resilient, patient-centric culture shines through. He talks about the importance of cultivating a positive workplace, building psychological safety within his organization, and the value of learning from failures. Dr. Martino also delves into his thoughts on his outstanding healthcare team at Osler and their unwavering commitment during challenges posed by the pandemic, and how his organization has evolved to respond to the complexities of serving a growing and diverse community since he joined in 1991. Our conversation even turned personal for a moment as Dr. Martino shared a few heartwarming memories from his experience, including a critical life-saving moment early in his career, showcasing his dedication to his healthcare team. Quotables: “We were very proud of receiving accreditation with exemplary standing. Something that is the highest achievement that you would receive from Accreditation Canada. That allowed my staff to understand that they were exceptional healthcare workers and continue to be. Aim high and always be positive.” – FM “We as an organization have had to evolve. We've had to expand. We've had back-to-back redevelopments in our health system expanding the capacity that this community deserves.” – FM “And that is what we focus on, in addressing those challenges, with innovative projects and initiatives. Assuring that we communicate with our community. We go to them for advice when a new initiative or strategy has been put in place. We want to make sure we get the patient and caregiver perspective on how we should grow programs and what initiatives and innovations we should put in place, and whether they actually work for them.” – FM “When I go and do rounding, we call it ‘Let's be Frank,' or ‘Frank Conversations,' and during these frank conversations we work around a huddle board and it's been a huge success!” – FM “Our job is really to keep an eye on the future. Look at what healthcare will be like in 10, 20, 30 years. One area that we're going to start to focus on is looking at how artificial intelligence becomes part of the way we deliver care in the future. Harnessing it in an effective way, both in our workflow and in the way we intersect with patients.” – FM “I think culture is what really defines and organization. We at Osler look at people as one of our foundational enablers to our strategic plan. We are to deliver patient-inspired healthcare without boundaries. To achieve that, you need to have the ‘people' component of your organization inspired to provide the best care for both patients and families.” – FM “One mentor once told me, ‘you need to surround your yeses with a lot of no's,' so you need to focus on the things you know you can achieve and do them well and prioritize.” – FM “If I would give anyone advice, it's get out of your office, out of your chair, and walk. I love walking meetings.” – FM Mentioned in this Episode: Toronto Metro Metropolitan University School of Medicine Brampton Civic Hospital Etobicoke General Hospital Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health & Wellness The College of Family Physicians of Canada Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well by Amy Edmonson The University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) Family Medicine - Western University Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
With a new year on the horizon, Catherine is looking forward to so many things – the continued efforts in Health Human Resources, advancing the work in the main areas of Risk, the future of Collaborative Benefits, and so much more. “My optimism is around people that surprise me every day. When I think you can't help but be defeated, human spirit and strength comes forward every time”, says Catherine when explaining her positive outlook for 2024. In this episode, Catherine gives us a glimpse into the mind of a CEO, including her zest for learning new things and how she recharges and stays inspired through even the most difficult of times. Before we let her go, a surprise guest joins us to chat and gives us a sneak peak into what family time looks like for Catherine! Quotables: “There are these juxtapositions of so much that is going on, yet there's reason for hope because the bedrock of what we provide in our healthcare system and the people that provide it is so very strong.” - CG “I'm continually impressed by the people I work with everyday and the people that we have the true pleasure of serving in the healthcare system who are doing the work that is fundamental to the lives of so many citizens of this country.” - CG “We have a population of employees who know that when they provide feedback, they will have a response and I think that's phenomenal.” - CG “Our strength will always be that we have brilliant and caring people who are willing to spend time with us so we learn what they're doing, and we can take that knowledge and put it into forms that are used more generally.” - CG “Lately I've been focused on how there are women who are coming into leadership, how they historically have not been facilitated to have a voice, and now are so strong in our system.” - CG “If you're feeling like you're not accomplishing what you need to or want to, or you're making no progress at all, give yourself the 5 minutes to walk around the block and compare where your life is today with how it was 6 months ago, and you'll be inevitably inspired by that.” - CG “Of course there are really hard times, and we're all at times feeling defeated, but the people I interact with, the people that provide care in our system, the people at HIROC, there's huge optimism on all those fronts.” - CG Mentioned in this Episode: TOH's Innovation Framework Ontario Hospital Association HIROC Safety Grants Program Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Stress and burnout within IT have been on the rise, which is why it's transformative to create a sense of work life balance which leaders can help implement. Nimira believes that it's important to check in with her team's wellbeing and be there for each other outside of work to establish solidarity and balance. “You take care of yourself first, then you take care of others,” says Nimira when explaining the importance of prioritizing one's health and leading by example for her team. In this episode, Nimira offers her wisdom on preventing burnout, embracing technological change within IT, the importance of sharing learnings, and staying connected with patients and their families. Quotables: “Let's think about how to use these technologies efficiently, how do we develop guiding principles around the ethical use around these technologies, and how do we also make sure that we think about some of our inclusion principles.” -ND “Try to bring in those people we don't normally bring to the table just to hear their voices, and sometimes they may even bring in something we never would've thought about.” -ND “My goal at the end of the day is if a hospital or healthcare organization is able to take away one or two steps where they can be better prepared and they're better supported, I think we've done a good job.” -ND “There were incidents like the cyber incident where you need to be directive, so in that point in time I had to really step up, make some decisions, drive some decisions forward, and bring in the right people. I needed to collaborate with the right people and ask for help when needed.” -ND “The foundation of being able to support each other is grounded in the ability to understand each other.” -ND “I strongly believe this partnership and communication between IT and communication teams or public affair teams is foundational.” -ND “I actually would appreciate when my team members share with me some of the challenges of that they're going through because that way I can help them, and we have all of our team members that can support them.” -ND Mentioned in this Episode: The Hospital for Sick Children Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Midwives play a vital role in supporting patients through their pregnancy journey, establishing strong connections with both the expectant individuals and their families as they prepare for parenthood. This close relationship uniquely positions midwives to recognize and address instances of family violence that their patients may experience. To support midwives in addressing family violence and abuse, Elvira Truglia, Knowledge Translation Lead at the Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM) and Carol Couchie, Indigenous Mentorship Lead at the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives (NCIM) have developed a comprehensive curriculum in their continuing education workshops and expert resources. Tune into this episode of Healthcare Change Makers to learn more about how their innovative project empowers both current and future midwives in providing trauma-informed care, and how they work to collaborate with their essential partners at McMaster University's Midwifery Education Program and the NCIM. Quotables: “We try to talk about very complicated ways of looking at our society and prepare our midwives to be able to handle situations and look at the bigger picture.” – CC “Family violence can take many forms, it's not just about physical violence, it can be psychological, emotional and even financial.” – ET “We're hoping to sew the seeds of healthy relationships for families that are experiencing violence. With this project, we're hoping that early intervention could mitigate the impact of family violence.” – ET “We really try to talk to the midwives and students that you're never going to know all the answers, you're not necessarily going to become some kind of expert on how to handle families who are experiencing violence. But what we want you to do is find out what's out there, find out your resources, get your back up.” – CC “Trauma informed care is about welcoming and making people feel comfortable, forgiving missed appointments, asking people if they'd like a glass of water, thanking them for coming, and understanding how difficult it may have been for them to get there.” – CC “Kindness and love and patience are really what is needed for the most vulnerable in our community.” – CC “We're hoping that through some of this work we're creating a conversation that starts to take away the taboo of talking about violence.” – ET “As midwives we really have this beautiful opportunity to greet brand new human beings that come onto the planet and see that change happening and I want to greet those babies in a way that's least violent as possible.” – CC Mentioned in this Episode: Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM) McMaster University Midwifery Education Program National Council of Indigenous Midwives Graphic Novel: Something Is Off CAM – Family Violence Resources Community Midwives of Ottawa Association of Ontario Midwives Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
For Dr. Jackie Schleifer Taylor, being a healthcare leader and change maker is more than simply being the one at the helm. In this episode, Jackie offers a deep dive into her background, her experience in healthcare, and how she takes actions to cultivate an impactful organizational culture. Underscoring the importance of authenticity in leadership, Jackie believes leaders should be genuine and true to themselves. “It takes time to develop trust and that commitment to be believed and understood,” says Jackie, emphasizing that healthcare leaders should always be creating a culture of empathy, continuous learning and excellence within their hospitals and healthcare communities. Throughout the episode, you'll be able to hear about LHSC's commitment to health equity and community engagement, which shines throughout the discussion. She stresses that healthcare professionals have a duty to look beyond hospital walls and consider the social determinants of health, working with community partners to make a difference. She shares personal experiences and valuable advice on the courage to speak up and be oneself in leadership, encouraging others to do the same. Her vision of leadership as an opportunity to bring kindness, community building, and purpose-driven leadership to healthcare is truly inspiring. Quotables “I was so focused when I entered healthcare. I was completely motivated by the fact that I grew up with disability in my family. My memories are always revolving around how the health system intersected with everything in our lives. I found at a very early age that something seemed not as perfect as I hope it would be, and I was motivated to see how in some small way that I could be part of the system and make it better.” – JST “When you go up in leadership, it becomes, in many ways, a lonelier space. But I learned it doesn't have to be if you're the same and create more overt ways and demonstrate you want to be the same person, people just come into that.” – JST “I've doubled down on creating the space of accessibility to me, so that I can create that opportunity to continue to learn myself.” – JST “My philosophy, personally, is that as many decision that can be made locally by those who would know, ought to be support to be made locally.” – JST “What do we have to do differently now to not only keep people on the path to leadership, but also seek out and encourage people in their interest they might not even know.” – JST “It takes time to develop trust and that commitment to believed and understood.” – JST “I would say HIROC is the catalyst for excellence across the system. We don't take the support lightly. We feel as though it's a partnership with HIROC in all candor. It's the conversations and the materials and relationships that you develop with hospitals, every one that I've worked in throughout my career, it's been the same and it's so incredibly important that it's two way.” – JST “I don't think anyone reaches any level of success without a circle of people who just lift them up in every way.” – JST “Culture is created a person at a time. It starts at the very top with the board, CEO, and leadership team, being the culture that they want to exist.” – JST “I spend time with my family and friends. That energizes me. I would say I don't get enough time with my husband, adult children, and my friends. So, when I'm with them, I'm very present. I work hard, but also love hard, play hard any time I'm with my family or friends.” – JST Mentioned in this Episode: London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
When HIROC put a call out at the 2023 Alliance for Healthier Communities Conference for changemakers, the community delivered. We heard about some amazing healthcare changemakers across the province of Ontario – people like Sonia Hsiung and Natasha Beaudin, and the social prescribing initiative they have been involved in. Sonia is with the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing and the Canadian Red Cross, and Natasha works with the Alliance for Healthier Communities. On this latest episode, Philip De Souza sits down with Sonia and Natasha to talk about how the social prescribing pilot started with just 11 sites working in collaboration with providers and clients. They share the ripple effect the initiative has had in community health across Ontario, Canada and internationally – how work like this is changing the culture of our health system towards connection and belonging. Quotables “I saw how it improved our model in so many ways. So, it helped us really integrate our work. Helped make those connections between the clinical side of things and our health promotion side.” – NB “It really was work that was already happening in community health centres and other Alliance members. And it was more around building a bit more of that intentionality, the structure pathway, the measurements, within our system.” – SH “There was just so much creativity within each centre as well, where the teams ended up supporting each other.” – SH “I think part of how this work has been so successful is because everyone sees themselves in the pathway, everyone sees themselves as a contributor…” – NB “That ability to track outcomes were just powerful. We saw an overall decrease in people's sense of loneliness by 49%, and that is huge – that was over just a nine-month period.” – SH “And what was really important, as an outcome of this pathway, is that people said they felt that they were seen and heard as whole persons, even when they were in their clinical appointments. And that made such a shift in people's sense of self-confidence, their sense of purpose, their sense of ‘yes I can manage my own health'.” – SH Mentioned in this Episode: Alliance for Healthier Communities Canadian Red Cross Centretown Community Health Centre Cormac Russell: The Connected Community National Health Service Older Adult Centres' Association of Ontario Public Health Agency of Canada Rexdale Community Health Centre Social Prescribing Network The Ontario Caregiver Organization 211 Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Today's guest is President and CEO of University Health Network, Canada's largest academic health sciences centre. Kevin Smith pursued his education in Canada, the U.S. and Great Britain, studying psychology, science, public policy and medicine. If Kevin's had a frustrating day, one of his best experiences is talking to young people who are enthusiastic and filled with hope. He says the system is in good hands with the generation in training today. Open forums and site visits are a regular part of Kevin's life at UHN, and he sees the challenging questions he gets as a sign of a healthy culture. In fact, when he feels the news is too positive, he'll precipitate a tougher conversation, asking people to tell him what they are scared of, and what's not going as well as it should. Quotables “I actually think this is the challenge of our generation in healthcare – adequate health human resources with appropriate quality of work life not only in Toronto or Ontario but around the world.” – KS “Our workforce should look like those we serve.” – KS “We're looking at what can we do to support nurses who are early in their career trajectory. A large portion of that is making additional investments in mentorship.” – KS “We are seeing students now with a massive social conscience who are much more aware of population health and well-being.” – KS “We have really embraced the model that says integrated care is about invisible points of transition, both for patients but also for providers.” – KS “We have a responsibility to help our political and policy makers better understand that research is the lifeblood of the future economy, it is the lifeblood of building a civil society, and at the moment we are falling behind.” – KS “I see people embracing that AI working with humans can dramatically improve the healthcare and science experience and result.” – KS “The question now is how will we balance the needs of our patients and not make those people who provide that care ill from overwork.” – KS “We all have something to learn, we all have something to teach, but nobody has all the answers.” - KS Mentioned in this episode: University Hospital Network The Michener Institute for education at UHN Inspire: UHN Nursing Strategy 2023-2028 Rotman School of Management DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster Canadian Institute for Health Information Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect The Match King by Frank Partnoy
Dr. Glaucomflecken has a unique backstory as he made the pivot from performing stand-up comedy to becoming a physician. TikTok is now his stage with over 2 million followers, creating comedic skits about the healthcare world. Besides comedy, he also uses his platform to spread awareness about his sudden cardiac arrest in 2020 and his diagnosis with testicular cancer. On this episode, Dr. Glaucomflecken explains his introduction to content creation, the evolving idea of professionalism in the medical field, keeping a positive mindset, and more. Quotables: “I love making people laugh and exploring that creativity… it's so different than what you do in medicine a lot of the time.” “I'm able to learn a lot about the healthcare system by trying to put together these skits and relate to my patients better from a different perspective.” “Doctors are regular people going through regular things, we have senses of humour and like to laugh and cry.” “It's really a wonderful that this idea of professionalism is changing to allow everyone in medicine to express themselves more because we need the public to see that side of us.” “I started doing content creation because it was a way for me to take those difficult things in my life and add humour to them, present it to others and share a laugh.” “I think more in the moment, which has helped me maintain positivity.” Mentioned in this Episode: Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens Dr.Glaucomfleken's TikTok Dr. Amy G Dala Dr. Bryan Carmody Mama Doctor Jones (Dr. Danielle Jones) Dr. Emily Silverman Medlife Crisis (Dr. Rohin Francis) Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Burnout is a prominent issue for healthcare workers and a topic Dr. James Maskalyk is passionate about. This led to the creation of a wellness program at St. Michael's Hospital and later across 15 hospitals in the GTA through the University of Toronto. The program promotes facets such as peer support for providers, critical incident debriefing, and more. On the episode, Dr. Maskalyk also touches on small yet important steps that can be taken to boost overall mood in the emergency department, such as mindfulness practices, and snacks. Quotables: “…medicine is not something that just happens in the emergency room, but something that very much follows us home as practitioners and patients.” “It really is just about beginning the conversation that doctors are people too, and nurses are people too, and the people who are there who support us as porters, the people who cook the food, we are human beings working in an increasingly inhumane system – to be honest.” “There is an opportunity for us to speak to each other about what's happening inside of us that could be more clear, because vulnerability is not a skill that we learn in medical school, or I never did.” “You standing there, beside these people, doing the best you can, is one of the most beautiful acts ever completed by a human being.” “Life ultimately is a temporary situation. So, then the question becomes, what do you do with what you've been given… it sounds trite but the answer is just be kind, to yourself and other people.” “It's an honour to be here and to have the trust of my patients and my colleagues, who are in the ER this very moment helping people.” Mentioned in this Episode: St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health University of Toronto Dr. Sara Gray Dr James Orbinski Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Denise Lalanne is the Director, Digital and Client Services at IWK Health Centre, where she focuses on delivering the best care through leading strategic and operational plans. Carrie Ricker supports IWK Health Centre's Innovation and Research departments acting as legal counsel. Her passion lies in encouraging innovation through strategic business and legal advice. Denise and Carrie joined forces for the Chez Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Home initiative where their mutual passion for innovation and providing high-quality care was amplified. Using technology, this initiative will provide NICU families with the education and tools needed to be fully engaged in the care of their baby. In this episode, Denise and Carrie touch on how the Chez NICU Home initiative came to be and how it's improving care at the IWK Health Centre. Quotables “We wanted to focus on the families and creating an environment that made them as comfortable and engaged as possible.” – CR “Having that ability to phone in and find out how their baby is doing and participate in rounds is really helpful and really makes parents feel like they're part of the process.” -DL “At the IWK, how we approach it is really focused on promoting care for patients as well as the experience for the families that we serve.” – CR “A small change in practice can actually have a huge difference from a patient and family perspective.” -DL “It's never easy but when it gets there and you see a mom saying how wonderful it was to be able to learn something or be able to see her baby today, it's makes it all worthwhile.” – DL “The reality is innovation brings with it some risks, change is risky, and everything we do in healthcare has some risks associated.” – CR Mentioned in this Episode: IWK Health Centre Cisco Canada Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
System change is a big topic across healthcare in Canada right now. HIROC's Catherine Gaulton sits down with Adam Topp to learn about the transition undertaken by Shared Health Manitoba, and the importance of engagement at every step along the way. Adam also touches on his organization's approach to the current HHR crisis – having good practices in talent management, retention, and embedding a people leader in senior management. Stick around until the end to hear about Adam's past life as a DJ – we promise it's worth it. Quotables: “A laser focus on doing one thing at a time, I think is probably the best approach to transformation and to leadership that I've come across.” – AT “What we tried to do is learn from the benefits we've seen from the other provinces… take the best of those and put them in a system that is patient centred.” – AT “The goal was not to reduce the autonomy of the regional health authorities; it was really to facilitate so that they could focus their efforts on operations.” – AT “We need to listen well; we need to serve well.” – AT “It does continue to amaze me when I see significant health organizations who don't have a leader of people… someone on the senior executive team who is responsible for people management. That's a regular deficit in organizational structures of our healthcare system.” – AT “I think it's really important that HIROC continue its work towards improving the quality of our healthcare system.” – AT Mentioned in this episode: 2023 AGM and HIROC Conference (April 24, Toronto and Virtual) CancerCare Manitoba Hay Group Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg IWK Health Centre moreOB Nova Scotia Health Authority Salus Global Shared Health Manitoba Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Today's guest has a special place in the HIROC archives. Sarah Downey was our first guest on Healthcare Change Makers when we turned on the mike in 2018. The years that followed that fun interview have been busy for Sarah. For 7 and a half years she was the CEO of Michael Garron Hospital where she shepherded the hospital through a major redevelopment project that included the newly opened Thomson Centre. Six months ago, Sarah made the decision to move into the President and CEO position at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, better known as CAMH. Leaving Michael Garron and the East York community was tough, but the pull to the mission of CAMH was stronger. Sarah believes mental health is the most important health issue of our lifetime. It's a new place and a new culture to learn about, but Sarah always comes back to the importance of being human and being vulnerable in a leadership role. Where talking to people in the coffee line-up is one of the most important things you can do as a CEO. Quotables “You forget until you have to make those transitions how emotional they are.” – SD ”It's thrilling to see these latest two buildings. The spaces are bright and airy. They're respectful, and focused on recovery, healing and dignified care.” – SD “It's not just a one in five who will get mental illness in their lifetime. It's in everybody's family. It's in all your social circles, in all your employees. It's everywhere.” – SD “I had forgotten until I came back how many people call to get advice on how to navigate the system.” – SD “Who's more important for us to invest in than our young people? They are our future and we need them to be healthier and more resilient.” “You need to regularly connect with people, use a bit of humour. They want to know that their leader is real.” – SD “It's become even more important the last few years to find a break and a space, but what an opportunity to learn.” - SD “I hold my dad's lessons in my heart every day and try to act in a way that would always do him proud.” – SD “We should tell people every day in the moment how much they mean to us and how they're helping us change our lives.” – PDS Mentioned in this episode: Michael Garron Hospital CAMH: The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health The history of the Toronto Lunatic Asylum Dr. Hilda Tremblett Princess Margaret Cancer Centre - UHN Dr. J. Downey, Past President, University of Waterloo (1993-1999)
Our guest Dr. Katharine Smart does it all - she's a pediatrician working in Whitehorse, former Canadian Medical Association (CMA) president, the podcast host for Spark: Conversations, and holds a strong platform on social media. Through all her roles, her focus remains steady on advocating for kids' health across Canada, holding the unwavering belief that all kids deserve the same opportunity to be healthy. Quotables “I think kids all deserve the same opportunity to be healthy.” – KS “I really believe that providing healthcare is about building relationships.” – KS “I really believe that the right solutions have to benefit patients and providers.” – KS “I think having and maintaining the trust of the public right now is so critical as we continue to battle misinformation broadly, not only about science, but about many things.” – KS “I'm feel grateful to be in the healthcare space right now because even though it's really challenging, I think there's a lot of opportunity for us to really be reconsidering how we can rebuild our healthcare system in a way that's going to be sustainable and really provide high-quality care for Canadians.” – KS “I think being around the right people and having gratitude for the privilege of the work we do are things that really help keep the focus on the right things.” – KS Mentioned in this Episode: BC Children's Hospital Canadian Medical Association Children's Healthcare Canada Government of Yukon HIROC Spark: Conversations Podcast Women Executive Network Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Marking Healthcare Change Maker's 50th episode, we're in the mood to celebrate. HIROC CEO Catherine Gaulton and Director of Communications and Marketing, Philip De Souza jump right in celebrating the podcast, and HIROC's 35th anniversary. Team HIROC is also celebrating a brand-new strategic plan, launching in 2023. Catherine previews what Subscribers can expect to see as a focus – topics like HHR and board education. Also on the horizon, HIROC and the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) are collaborating on the launch of a brand-new start-up – Collaborative Benefits, simply known as Co. The two partners came together to determine the viability and approach for a universal provincial employee benefits strategy – co-designed by healthcare, for healthcare. With so many new initiatives coming in 2023, Catherine is also cognizant of self-care – that of her staff and everyone working in the healthcare system, including leaders. Before we let her go, Philip asks Catherine what gives her joy. Hearing her family play music, and seeing little kids pop up on Zoom meetings are just a few of the things that make her laugh and smile. Quotables “The stories that say, you allowed us to take care of people, they make me not just smile… they make me grin every day.” – CG “If it keeps our Subscribers up, it keeps me up.” – CG “We need everybody working in this system – and that includes leaders.” – CG “The compassion and strength of our leaders in the system is absolutely integral to how it is we deliver on what we need to for patients.” – CG “Subscribers will see a focus on more direct supports, on actioning patient safety, and looking at the science of implementation of patient safety.” – CG “Our work of course is to do what we can for not-for-profit entities that are delivering on healthcare in this country.” – CG “That's true innovation – 35 years later, a company that's still innovating, still thinking outside the box.” – PD “It's very clear that you do what you love.” – PD Mentioned in this Episode: HIROC The Ontario Hospital Association Collaborative Benefits – Co (coming soon) HIROC Top GTA Employer for 2023 2022 HIROC Hackathon 2023 HIROC Strategic Plan (coming soon) The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Our guests David Kay and Doran Walker have had a mentor/mentee relationship since 2018. Doran is an RN with an MBA, owner and Healthcare Consultant for BioMD consulting and a Patient Care Manager for Specialized Geriatrics, Glenrose for Alberta Health Services. He's also the National Cochair for Emerging Health Leaders Canada. The fact that they came together well before the pandemic Doran says is fortuitous, since he had someone to turn to when his professional life became more challenging, and he became a new father. David runs his own healthcare and professional regulatory management consultancy. He says much of what he learned about being a good mentor comes from having strong mentors in the early stages of his career. One of those was a CEO of a large teaching hospital who shared his insights with David on long drives around Saskatchewan. This CEO would call fellow CEOs after hours to have open and casual conversations, something that imprinted on David the value of compassionate leadership. David and Doran talked to us about what they've learned from each other, what defines a good mentoring relationship, and the fact that we all probably have more mentors than we realize. Quotables “This was really another opportunity to give back to the next generation and to the profession” – DK “I believe goal-setting is important for all of us – both personal goals and professional goal setting. It helps provide some focus.” – DK “In some of those circumstances that we discussed I hadn't lived it, but I could draw on something that might have been a little similar or at least this is how people might be feeling about what they're hearing and ‘the why'. What do we do about the why, what's the what and the how.” – DK “Because of the mentorship relationship and our discussion on goals and values, what changed for me was a deeper understanding of who I was and what I needed to value. For that I'm grateful.” – DW “There's usually four or five different people who have mentorship within our lives in different ways. I think that's going to be the next way forward for mentorship research and literature.” DW “I like to call it a kitchen cabinet. I've been fortunate throughout my career of having a network of people around me whose opinions I trusted and who could be honest with me.” – DK “Mentorship is probably the most direct way that knowledge can be passed on. It also has the added benefit of providing wellness to emerging leaders. Because when they come to stressful situations, they already have someone formally they can talk to about it.” – DW Mentioned in this Episode: Emerging Health Leaders Canada Canadian College of Health Leaders American College of Healthcare Executives Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Our guest CJ Blennerhassett, began her career as a midwife in a busy Toronto practice. She has since moved back to her home province of Nova Scotia where there are just 16 midwives who deliver reproductive care in an area that has both urban and large rural pockets. CJ is still a practicing midwife but now combines her duties with her role as Vice President of the Association of Nova Scotia Midwives and President-elect of the Canadian Association of Midwives. In those roles, CJ is honoured that her midwifery colleagues trust her to push health authorities, government, and decision-makers to think about creative solutions to the primary care crisis in Nova Scotia and across the country. So many people in her province are without care, she says, while midwives are here and willing and excited about delivering that care. Quotables “When the opportunity presented itself to be back here in Nova Scotia, I really jumped at that – to be closer to family but also to participate in growing the profession in an area where it's really needed.” – CJB “Unfortunately, in Nova Scotia we turn away as many people as we take in to midwifery care. We're only able to care for 50% of people who request midwifery care.” – CJB “British Columbia has a model where they try their best to ensure the right care provider for the right patient at the right time.” – CJB “I think about leadership as being somebody who is speaking on behalf of the will of the group.” – CJB “We really want to see Indigenous midwives working in all Indigenous communities in Nova Scotia not only to bring birth and care to people in their home communities but to improve birth outcomes for those communities.” – CJB “We offer a kind of care that is really unparalleled in this country and that's something to be supported and celebrated.” – CJB “One thing I have always felt strongly about in terms of midwifery care and ways it can benefit the healthcare system in lots of other areas is this focus on informed choice.” – CJB “I'm really inspired by people who blend creativity with policy work.” – CJB Mentioned in this Episode: Association of Nova Scotia Midwives CAM knovember 2022 Canadian Association of Midwives Kensington Midwives Jessica MacDonald National Aboriginal Council of Midwives Alisha Julien Reid, Mi'kmaq Midwife Canadian Alliance of Racialized Midwives Jennie Joseph Stacey Abrams Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Our guest Brian Goldman is a longtime staff physician at Sinai Health System, and a podcaster – host of White Coat, Black Art on CBC Radio One and the CBC podcast The Dose. He's also the author of three books. Many people who read his most recent book The Power of Teamwork have an ah-ha moment when they realize that they're not actually working on a team but a group. As Brian explains, many teams flounder because the members of that team are more focussed on individual goals than team goals, they haven't had much input in setting those goals, and they don't help one another. Whether it's in healthcare, the military, aviation or a corporate environment, for real team problem-solving to happen, Brian says everybody must feel safe to say what they see. That means breaking down longstanding hierarchies, taking chances and leaning into uncertainty. Quotables “Everybody talks fast. Everybody wants to cut to the bottom line, get to the answer quickly. And that is death to a team meeting.” - BG “We hate uncertainty so much that we prematurely close conversations.” – BG “To me the Rosetta Stone was meeting Alexa Miller at dotmd 2019 and eventually forging a friendship with her. I think the world of her and think Visual Thinking Strategies really deserves a stronger public airing.” – BG “You have to know their superpower because you have to position them to function on a team that brings out the best in them, that doesn't keep asking them to do what they're not best at.” – BG “You know you're in a silo if you tend to see the world as insiders and outsiders.” – BG “The highest compliment people tell me is that they feel I've taken them into the world of medicine, to my side of the gurney, and they understand more than they did before.” – BG “I firmly believe that medicine has become so complex there is no ‘I alone' anymore. We can't understand everything, know everything. I've discovered that I work better in an environment where I can be prompted.” – BG “Cross-over wisdom is something we practice a lot at HIROC and we do it on our team, speaking to people outside our sector – we learn a lot from looking at things from a new lens.” - PDS Mentioned in this Episode: Sinai Health System White Coat Black Art The Dose Alexa Miller - Visual Thinking Strategies Dr. Joel Thorp Katz Emily Mathieu Erin Byrnes Dotmd – A Festival of Medical Curiosity Dr. Trevor Jain The Spy Who Knew Too Much by Howard Blum The Ezra Klein Show Dr. Teodor Grantcharov - The OR Black Box David N. Titcher Save the Date – the 2022 HIROC Conference Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Welcome to Healthcare Change Makers, a podcast produced by HIROC. I'm Ellen Gardner with Michelle Holden and Philip De Souza. Today's guests are Janice Kaffer, former President and CEO of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor and Bill Marra, current President and CEO of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. Although she formally retired from the CEO position in January, Janice has stayed involved through a project looking at re-establishing the hospital's role in long-term care. She's also taking an Executive Coaching course at Royal Roads University. Bill and Janice have a connection based on mutual respect, admiration, and camaraderie, some of it formed through working closely during the pandemic and their shared passion for the mission of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. Bill's association with the hospital goes back to his teen years when he worked in the dietary department. Although his career took him in many diverse directions – including serving six terms as a municipal councillor for the City of Windsor – he never fully stepped away from the hospital. He stayed involved through his work on the foundation and as VP, People, Mission, Communications and Corporate Affairs. When Janice approached Bill about being part of the CEO succession plan, he was humbled and flattered. The hospital is engaged in many development projects and a key area of focus for him right now is attracting new talent and developing the leadership team. Bill is comforted knowing he's got Janice on speed dial whenever he needs her. __________________________________________________________________________ Quotables “Hôtel-Dieu Grace is always going to be a priority for me and anything that the hospital and Bill needs, I will always be there.” – JK “I wanted to ensure that every moment of every day that I served in that capacity was creating impact.” – BM “I still pinch myself every once in a while, to be honest with you. It's a very humbling experience to be asked to lead an organization of this nature.” – BM “One of the really important leadership pieces is to always remember the mentorship piece. There are people watching you and learning from you, so we have an obligation to ensure that what they're taking away from us is positive and reinforcing and inspiring.” – JK “One of her qualities that I admired the most was her authenticity with our staff. Her authentic effort to get to know, to understand, and respect the people around her.” – BM “It may not always be great news, but the respect and admiration you'll get from those you lead because you're communicating with them, keeping them engaged – they're going to feel part of the organization.” – BM “It's so incredibly important particularly in healthcare, that CEOs don't lead from their office desk, that they're out and about in the organization, hearing directly from the frontline staff and from patients and families.” – JK Mentioned in this Episode: Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Bill Marra and Municipal Politics Royal Roads University The Heart of Coaching by Thomas G. Crane Change is Good but You Go First by Tom Feltenstein and Mac Anderson June's Journey
At HIROC, we recognize the critical importance of good governance in healthcare, and its impact on safe, quality care. What makes for a positive relationship between a senior leadership team and their board? This year, we are digging deeper on Healthcare Change Makers and talking all about governing with impact. Today HIROC's CEO, Catherine Gaulton, sits down with Jo-anne Marr, President and CEO, and Mike Arnew, Board Chair at Oak Valley Health. The two talk about the importance of healthy debate around the board table, where both leadership and the board need to approach decision making with a bit of humility. This is a great episode for emerging and seasoned leaders who are looking for a clear path forward. Quotables “Governors work in partnership with the CEO and senior leadership team with respect to addressing key issues and decisions.” – JM “Certainly, in my role I always think about, well if I was on this board, what would I want to be hearing? What level of conversation would I want to have?” – CG “You have to trust that you can share the good, the bad and the ugly.” – MA “I think we have to expect that board members, as Mike said, will ask lots of hard questions. I think we have to be really open to all of them, and maybe guiding a little bit when it's too operational.” – JM Mentioned in this Episode: HIROC Oak Valley Health Ontario Health Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Welcome to Healthcare Change Makers, a podcast produced by HIROC. I'm Ellen Gardner with Philip de Souza. Today's guest is Susan Bisaillon, CEO of The Safehaven Project for Community Living. Susan started her career in healthcare as a nurse in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, later moving west to St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto, then to UHN where she worked as a clinical nurse specialist and nurse manager in the CCU. She moved on to direct the Neuroscience Program and oversee Clinical Operations at Trillium Health Partners. Before joining Safehaven, Susan was the Chief Operating Officer at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. She grew up in a small community in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, and says it was a strong sense of curiosity and desire to keep learning that motivated her to move to the bigger centres. Early in her time at Safehaven, Susan and her leadership team noticed the lack of education and support for people working in the community. The subsequent development of education programs has moved far beyond their walls to the point where the organization is now seen as a leader in the delivery of education. In recognition of their role as Infection Prevention and Control Lead Champion for Toronto Region during the pandemic, Safehaven received the Celebrating the Human Spirit award from the Canadian College of Health Leaders. HIROC is proud to play a role in supporting that award. The award goes to an organization that provides acts of caring and compassion that go above and beyond – having a profound and lasting impact. __________________________________________________________________________ Quotables “The continuum of care for individuals with complexities is really not developed well in Ontario, and I just felt that the timing was there to be able to make some changes that could potentially help other families and individuals in the community.” – SB “I do think the next big frontier is community care. And I see it every day – it's tough work.” – SB “Our goal is to try to let these kids have fun, and go to school, and participate in a way that it's not all about appointments and care – it's about living your best life.” – SB “I think HIROC is an organization that we all look to – it's an organization that really helps keep us safe, on track… Having that award from HIROC that really recognizes the spirit of the work that was done in the last two years is incredibly meaningful.” – SB “I know our board has been great, our community has been great, in terms of just small touches… it let the staff know that we understand.” – SB “Everybody who comes to the table, no matter who they are, what position they are in, everybody has something to offer, everybody has something that's valuable… that's teachable.” – SB “I think understanding what your value is, what your gift is, but also sharing. Because when you share, you learn so much more.” – SB “Share liberally and share freely, and you will reap the rewards of that.” – SB “We all belong. We all have differences. We all have abilities.” – SB “I think breaking down some of the barriers and inequities that exist in our system, I see some glimmers of hope but we're not quite there in many respects.” – SB Mentions Accreditation Canada Canadian College of Health Leaders Halton Healthcare HIROC Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Memorial University Rotman: University of Toronto Safehaven SickKids St Joseph's Health Centre Trillium health Partners UHN
Welcome to Healthcare Change Makers, a podcast produced by HIROC. I'm Ellen Gardner with Michelle Holden and Philip de Souza. Today we're talking with Zayna Khayat and Will Falk. Zayna is Vice President, Client Success and Growth at Teladoc Health. Will is a Senior Fellow at the CD Howe Institute and has an appointment at the University of Toronto as an Executive-in-Residence at Rotman. Zayna and Will have collaborated in many different ways over the years and delight in wading into the messy problems in healthcare. They don't always agree, but Zayna and Will are united in their desire to use technology to move care forward. That task, they readily admit is hard work. As they call it, the clash of the static and the dynamic – when the industrial age and technological age collide with not always pleasant results. The real satisfaction comes from breaking down the barriers to thinking big and getting stuff done. The tools they're using and approach they're advocating doesn't just improve access to care, it delivers culturally appropriate care to communities that have been isolated in the past. It's all about hanging out with the future, something Zayna and Will agree is a highly privileged place to be. Quotables “The thing that really gets me going these days is working with young founder teams who are dealing with tough problems.” - WF “One of the great things about having to teach MBA students and other learners is having to explain yourself in front of really smart people.” – WF “As soon as I see the doubt, the skepticism, hear ‘it's impossible', then I think time to double down, that's the lock and I got the key!” – ZK “In talking to people, many of whom were on the frontlines during the pandemic, I was blown away by how hard people worked in spite of the technological choices that are available.” – WF “A study done by Dr. Eric Topol and the NHS in the UK concluded that 90% of all jobs will change because of what's happening now and coming in tech. That's a massive reskilling, retooling of the current workforce, let alone how you breed and train the next generation.” – ZK “As soon as our tools can de-couple time and place from care, you've got a real gamechanger for access.” – ZK “If you think economically about the fact that a public visit to a free provider costs the average Canadian $99 – that's a big barrier for a lot of people.”– WF “I'm not conceding the compassion high ground to anyone who's advocating physical care over virtual care because it is not at all clear to me that the compassionate answer for most people is to insist that they show up in your office when other alternatives exist.” – WF “No matter where you are – student, administrator, clinician, department chair – I always say, at least 10% of your capacity, 1/2 a day a week has to be blowing up the past and putting it together for the future.” – ZK Mentioned in this Episode: Teladoc Health Verto Health Chris O'Connor - FirstHx Rotman School of Management Computer Sciences Corporation Robert Wachter – The Digital Doctor Why Doctors hate their computers by Atul Gawande John Nosta – The Emerging Role of TQ Matthew Mendelsohn – Mowat Centre Dr. Eric Topol Scripps Canada Health Infoway The State of Virtual Care in Canada as of Wave Three of the COVID 19 Pandemic: An early Diagnostique and Policy Recommendations by Will Falk Revera Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Today we're talking with Kathryn Nichol, who is President and CEO of VHA Home HealthCare. She stepped into the role in early 2021 after several years at VHA working as Vice President Quality, Best Practice, Research and Education. Our aging population, movement towards a community-based model of care, and the pandemic have put the spotlight on homecare like never before. For Kathryn, this has reinforced homecare's crucial role in facilitating the flow of people out of hospital so they can return to their homes where they want to be. Her initial desire was to go to medical school but when that proved too expensive, she happily went to nursing school and worked as a frontline nurse for several years before discovering her passionate interest in research. Having a clinical background in a leadership position Kathryn says is valuable – not just for her but for all healthcare leaders – because it enables them to lead from a place of compassion. Quotables “There is a ton of pride because homecare never stopped for a moment.” - KN “There was a realization that homecare is a very safe way to provide care in a pandemic. It's much safer than providing care in an institution where there's many more people involved, and you have to be closer together.” – KN “If we don't have people who want to work in our sector and who are compensated at an equal level, they're going to leave.” – KN “The capacity issue is more acute than it ever has been before.” – KN “If I had superpowers, homecare would be recognized as a clinical specialty and our workers recognized as clinical specialists because it takes a very unique set of skills to be able to operate in this kind of environment.” – KN “Those people who were self-deployed for a month into LTC, that is the most remarkable example of courageous leadership I can share with you.” – KN “Homecare is significantly understudied yet it's an incredibly important part of our healthcare system.” – KN “Health system leaders with some kind of clinical background is more important than ever before because you're leading from a place of compassion in a field that is people-based.” - KN “When you find yourself at the top of ‘S curve', it's time to disrupt yourself. You have to jump to your next curve.” - KN Mentioned in this Episode: VHA Home Healthcare Dr. Samir Sinha Disrupt Yourself by Whitney Johnson Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Nadine Persaud and Dr. Amit Arya have a deep passion for seniors' care that extends beyond healthcare facilities with their community work, advocacy, education, and so much more. You'll be able to catch them presenting alongside their colleague Dr. Naheed Dosani at the 2022 Advantage Ontario Convention with a session titled “Adopting a Specialist Palliative Care Program in Your Home.” Again this year, HIROC and AdvantAge Ontario have come together to produce the Inspiring Impact podcast mini-series. This four-part series highlights several amazing presenters at the 2022 AdvantAge Ontario convention, and explores the innovation and passion at play in the long-term care sector. In today's episode, HIROC's Marc Aiello and Philip De Souza speak with Nadine and Dr. Arya from Kensington Health in Toronto to gain their perspective on the current state of palliative care in Ontario, what they'll be speaking about at the convention, and the future they envision for long-term care. Quotables: “I came to Kensington and felt that it's different. This doesn't feel like long-term care. This actually feels like a home. And it's these misconceptions that you hear in the media about what long-term care is. This isn't actually happening in many long-term care homes.” – NP “When you step into homes like Kensington, where beautiful moments are happening every day, we see such powerful moments, we learn stories of individuals that really make it an honour for us to care for them.” – NP “I think my experience has really taught me that we need a lot more recognition about the palliative care needs in long-term care, because this is just the norm. Complexity in acuity is rising and unfortunately, long-term care is under resourced and understaffed.” – AA “A second myth that we often encounter is that palliative care means giving up on other treatment. That is absolutely not true. Palliative care can and should be integrated along with other life prolonging treatments. It simply means that there's proper care for the whole person.” – AA Mentioned in this Episode: AdvantAge Ontario Kensington Health Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
When Denise Koster was asked to identify the body of one of her elderly clients 35 years ago, her life and career changed forever. Since then, Denise founded Koster Consulting & Associates in Toronto and has dedicated her life's work to ensuring elder abuse never happens again with services such as abuse investigations, threat management, and mediation. Again this year, HIROC and AdvantAge Ontario have come together to produce the Inspiring Impact podcast mini-series. This four-part series highlights several amazing presenters at the 2022 AdvantAge Ontario convention, and explores the innovation and passion at play in the long-term care sector. In today's episode, HIROC's Marc Aiello and Philip De Souza sit down with Denise to talk about the outstanding work she provides for seniors and their families, her session at the convention, and more. Quotables: “The most important thing about being an investigator is making sure they have emotional intelligence and they're able to comprehend how a person much feel when they're trying to recount details.” – DK “Norma is the reason that I'm talking to you today. Knocking on Norma's door actually change the entire direction of my career and my life.” – DK “Every interview is different, even the interview we're having right now. My response is going to depend on your next question.” – DK Mentioned in this Episode: AdvantAge Ontario Koster Consulting & Associates Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Laura Tamblyn Watts believes that the future of seniors' care is about taking a care-at-home approach, and reserving 24/7 long-term care for those who need it most. As CEO of CanAge, Laura works with long-term care operators, families, and caregivers to educate, inform, and advocate. Again this year, HIROC and AdvantAge Ontario have come together to produce the Inspiring Impact podcast mini-series. This four-part series highlights several amazing presenters at the 2022 AdvantAge Ontario convention, and explores the innovation and passion at play in the long-term care sector. Today HIROC's Michelle Holden and Philip De Souza sit down with Laura to chat about her presentation at the AdvantAge Ontario convention. Laura's session delves into the two national standards drafts on long-term care, highlighting what operators, families and caregivers need to know. Quotables: “Our organization, CanAge, represents seniors and really all Canadians as we age.” “In a perfect world our seniors' care would be informed by overcoming ageism.” “The good news is this, we know the recipe for improved seniors' care. We know we need to move to a care-at-home approach.” “Those walls of long-term care should be walls of safety and inclusion in community…” “I think as we are more multicultural and more diverse, we also need to understand that people don't just become heterogenous white men magically when they come into long-term care. And so a greater understanding of diversity and inclusion around gender, sexual orientation, sexual expression…” “The good news is it's not that hard, a human-based approach just means that we need to come together as diverse communities and support the planning of the physical space, the operations, and the programming. It allows us to be better.” “You don't want to miss the AdvantAge Ontario conference.” Mentioned in this Episode: AdvantAge Ontario CanAge Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Lisa Levin's passion for seniors' care started when she was just a child, watching her young and intelligent grandfather battle dementia. Today, as CEO of AdvantAge Ontario, Lisa and her team are the voice of not-for-profit seniors' care, dedicated to supporting their members in creating the best possible aging experience. Again this year, HIROC and AdvantAge Ontario have come together to produce the Inspiring Impact podcast mini-series. This four-part series highlights several amazing presenters at the 2022 AdvantAge Ontario convention, and explores the innovation and passion at play in the long-term care sector. Today HIROC's Philip De Souza chats with Lisa about her organization's work, what delegates can look forward to at the convention, and what drives Lisa to push for change in the sector. Quotables: “We want people to feel that they are at home, because long-term care is peoples' homes.” – LL “Did you know that we've lost 75 per cent of our volunteers in long-term care during the pandemic?” – LL “We need to work together, and have partnerships to learn from one another and help each other out.” – LL “We get through tough times by helping each other out because you can't always do it alone.” – LL “We need to be genuine leaders, we need to be vulnerable.” – LL “I think you and your entire team at AdvantAge are doing something to change the world to be a better place, and we really value and appreciate that.” – PD Mentioned in this Episode: AdvantAge Ontario Administrator Leadership Program Ministry of Health Premier of Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Ministry of Long-Term Care Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development Ministry of Finance Treasury Board Secretariat St Joseph's Health Centre Guelph Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
At HIROC, we recognize the critical importance of good governance in healthcare, and its impact on safe, quality care. What makes for a positive relationship between a senior leadership team and their Board? This year, we are digging deeper on Healthcare Change Makers and talking all about governing with impact. Today HIROC's CEO, Catherine Gaulton, sits down with Krista Jangaard, President and CEO of IWK Health Centre and Catherine Woodman, IWK Board Chair. Krista and Catherine W. open up about what makes for good governance at the IWK. The two agree that it's about stewarding the organization, while respecting the boundaries between the roles of the board and the senior team. For Krista it's critical to get to know the board, and what they each wish to contribute – honing in on the unique wisdom of their members helps the senior team make better decisions. Since the start of the pandemic, Krista and Catherine W. have had to be nimble and work together to ensure staff are comfortable with change. Their work is also about positioning the IWK as part of the larger system, working collaboratively to meet the challenges brought on by COVID. Underscoring their wisdom around governance, is a passion and love for the IWK – a place that is making a lasting impact on lives for years to come. Quotables “I have a deep love for the organization, a deep love for the purpose.” – CW “In healthcare we are purpose-driven organizations because it's about making people better and keeping them healthy.” – KJ “Rapid change and uncertainty have really been the points of pressure for us in the healthcare system as we try to do our regular work, plus meet the challenge of the pandemic.”- KJ “Organizations have talked about being nimble for years, but I don't think we'd learned how to be nimble until this pandemic arrived.” - CW “Well, you spend time in Halifax, and you know that the IWK is frankly a magical place. We commonly refer to the secret sauce, that there's something really inherent to the core mission and purpose of women and children that excites everyone and focuses everyone who is part of the IKW community.” – CW “Children make up about a quarter of our population, but they are 100 per cent of our future.” KJ “It is part of peoples' families and once you are part of the IKW family, we never let you go.” – KJ “I think you build the best relationships with your board by finding out just where their wisdom truly is and making sure that you don't lose the opportunity to pull on it.” – CG “I think that one of the most important professional development opportunities every CEO should take on is to serve another board.” – CW Mentioned in this Episode: IKW Health Centre Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Early in her leadership journey, Janice Kaffer, Former CEO of Hôtel-Dieu in Windsor, realized that you need people around you who think differently than you and have different skillsets. Building that kind of team resulted in better decisions, including those that weren't always easy for Janice to make. Show Summary: Today we're talking with Janice Kaffer, who up until early January was President and CEO of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor Ontario. She's calling this time semi-retirement as she continues to work on a project that will keep her connected with the hospital for at least six months. Janice honestly admitted on social media last year that being a leader in a time of extended crisis takes a toll. When she did finally take some time off, she recovered her sense of self in a surprising and delightful way – by doing Lego. It grounded her in a way she could never have imagined. Janice says it took some time to understand she was more than a hospital leader – that she was a community leader as well. Her own modest upbringing convinced Janice that she had an obligation to talk about issues around poverty, politics and the social determinants of health because it all has an impact on health. Today she's proud of the part she played and continues to play in changing the perception in Windsor of what a hospital is and what it can be. Quotables “Through the last two years of the pandemic, Bill (Marra) has been at my side, we've been working together, we went into the nursing home together, we've led most of the response together.” - JK “Because the crisis has been going on for so long – it's not constant, it's ebbing and waning periods of intense activity – so you never really get a chance to step away from that time, to take care of yourself unless you make that time.” – JK “My grandkids love Lego, but they're brutal. I find little bits all over the house!” – JK “The team we built at Hôtel-Dieu Grace is incredibly diverse and very involved in the decision-making at all levels. I always benefitted from the fact that many members of the team felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas.” – JK “Over the years I developed a perspective that the job of the CEO for a community hospital it isn't just about leading your own team, it's also talking about those things in your community that affect health in the broader sector.” – JK “Hôtel-Dieu Grace is more than a service delivery organization. We've tried to be an organization that connects to the community and speaks to a longer-term contract to change health for the better.” – JK “Social media allows me to interact with people in a way that is super comfortable for me.” – JK “One of the things that was important to me when I became CEO at Hôtel-Dieu was to create an opportunity for patients and families to have voice, but also for staff so that there's balance.” – JK “Unless we start taking seriously that the healthcare system is too lean, is too efficient, is needing investment, retaining staff is going to difficult.” - JK “A lot of women hesitate to ask. Leaders have an obligation to make sure that everybody understands that we're open to mentoring and coaching, and we're here to share and assist.” - JK Mentioned in this Episode: Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Bill Marra ProsperUs Capital Health Chris Power Peter Senge The Hospice of Windsor & Essex County Inc. Mary Ferguson-Paré RNAO Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
In a special year-end episode, HIROC's CEO, Catherine Gaulton sits down with Philip De Souza, Director, Marketing and Communications. The two talk about the strong culture at HIROC, a culture of caring – caring about those we serve, and those they serve (patients and families). As a leader, Catherine knows how important it is to build in moments of fun, to ensure staff have an opportunity to breathe. When asked why people stay at HIROC, Catherine called on the notion of service to a greater purpose. Catherine shares some top topics from recent meetings with Subscribers, including cyber and health human resources. She and the leadership team at HIROC are focused on inspiring healthcare boards and leaders to think differently, and to ask the right questions on the issues that matter most. As for 2022, Catherine is optimistic that HIROC can continue to help Subscribers, and that together we can turn the corner on safety. Quotables: “I have for the entirety of my working career been proud to be associated with this healthcare system in Canada. And this year, the past 18 months, has just made that all the more acute.” – CG “The health human resources piece will be the issue; it is the issue.” – CG “That notion of service and of a greater purpose means people stay... we have this universal approach to service to each other and to Subscribers that gives us a mission that creates this culture.” – CG “HIROC is phenomenally privileged to be invited into boardrooms. These are busy people with a massive amount on their plate, and the fact that they make room for what we can offer means we have a big obligation to make our time with them very useful.” – CG “Your people are the only way you're successful… you need to have it be as much of a priority as getting the to-do lists done.” – CG “It's the fun that really will make the difference in the end… the fun together, both in how you feel about work but in how good your work is too.” – CG “And people say to me, ‘What would be your advice to parents?' It really is that you raise children who are kind and who find their way through a lens of kindness… There are all kinds of other measures of success, but I say kindness is a massive one.” – CG “I get up every day feeling that today is going to be the day that turns the corner for so many things.” – CG “I'm optimistic that we'll continue to take things off the plate of Subscribers… that we'll just respond to that need and free them up to do what they do best.” – CG “I think this year will show us that we're strong, that we've come through horrible times, that we're better for it.” – CG Mentioned in this Episode: 21 Questions: Guidance for Healthcare Boards on What They Should Ask Senior Leaders About Risk HIROC Recognized as One of Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2022) Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
At the 2021 HIROC Conference, we had the honour of hearing from Marni Panas, Program Manager of Diversity and Inclusion with Alberta Health Services (AHS). This episode is a recording of that incredibly information session, edited for length. While walking delegates through the work she and her team have done at AHS, Marni connected diversity and inclusion to patient safety and risk mitigation. Much of that work has meant collaborating with staff – involving them in policy, educational initiatives, and celebrations. We encourage you to share this episode with healthcare Human Resources and leadership teams. Marni and her colleagues have found that leaders want to support these important conversations but either don't know how, or don't have the language to do so. But if we want to change culture, we need to start here. Quotables: “We also know that in a world of healthcare, having people bring their whole selves increases innovation, creativity (which is something healthcare depends on), and all of this has a direct impact on patient safety, patient experience, and patient outcomes.” – MP “An investment [in] diversity and inclusion is an investment in risk mitigation.” – MP “We know that one of the most effective ways of reducing discrimination is being able to see yourself in your healthcare system, being able to see yourself in your leadership.” – MP “We can do all the education that we want but if the systems themselves aren't supporting an inclusive environment or providing inclusive care, then we're not going to make a lot of impact.” – MP “It is the system that creates an environment and a culture where leaders feel supported, and workers feel empowered to be inclusive and anti-racist.” – MP “We want to celebrate diversity as a strength in our organization.” – MP “In this time of COVID we cannot be oblivious to all the other impacts on the health and wellbeing of our colleagues, our patients, our families.” – Dr. Verna Yiu “Leaders at all levels, especially our frontline leaders, play a vital role in changing culture.” – MP Mentioned in this Episode: Alberta Health Services AHS – Diversity and Inclusion AHS – Connect Care Marni Panas Canadian Institute for Health Information World Health Organization Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
For this special edition of Healthcare Change Makers, HIROC has partnered with the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO) to bring you the voices of health leaders advancing emergent technologies in clinical practices. In today's episode, we speak with Dr. Ervin Sejdić, Research Chair in Artificial Intelligence for Health Outcomes at North York General, and Faculty Member at the University of Toronto. An engineer by training, early on in his career Dr. Sejdić identified a passion for data analysis and an interest in clinical medicine. His career today brings those two passions together. We talk with Dr. Sejdić about his team's ongoing research in dysphagia, sensor-based prediction of falls, analysis of electrocardiograms, and the analysis of electronic health records. Dr. Sejdić says the application of AI in medicine is still in its infancy. He sees the analysis of medical images coming as the next big splash for AI in clinical practice. We also talk with Dr. Sejdić about how we can make use of wearables, leveraging the sensors in our devices to learn about patient behaviour. The next challenge for Dr. Sejdić is finding ways to translate his research from university and hospital labs into real-world solutions. He's optimistic about working with start-ups and industrial partners to develop his research into products that can change lives. At the 2021 AFHTO conference, Dr. Sejdić presented a session on “Artificial Intelligence and Robots in Primary Care” alongside Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia. After this, check out Dr. Alarakhia's episode to learn more about how these experts are building a foundation for AI in medicine. Quotables: “I always knew that science plays a major role in every modern country, but it did not hit me until I was actually in the White House, meeting the American president, that it has that kind of a role, and that it is taken seriously.” – ES “I would encourage all young students to actually consider science and research as a potential way to contribute to society.” – ES “In theory, everything works. In practice, nothing works.” – ES “I think that's going to be the next big splash that AI will make in the medical world… we will be able to use AI algorithms to quickly analyze some of the medical images and come up with a summary for a clinician.” – ES “R&D is one aspect, but developing a product is a completely different beast. And typically, you cannot easily do it in a university lab.” “AI is about to change healthcare in ways we cannot predict. If our organizations don't act on it in a timely manner, they will be playing a catch-up game.” Mentioned in this Episode: North York General Hospital University of Toronto, Electrical and Computer Engineering Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Tom Chau Healthcare Change Makers, Episode 29 with Daniel Pepe Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
For this special edition of Healthcare Change Makers, HIROC is partnering with the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO) to bring you the voices of health leaders on the cutting edge of advancing emergent technologies in clinical practices. In today's episode, we speak with Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia about artificial intelligence (AI), automation in primary care, and what the future of healthcare could look like. Dr. Alarakhia is a family physician at The Centre for Family Medicine Family Health Team in Waterloo Ontario, a Faculty Digital Health Lead at McMaster University's Michael G DeGroote School of Medicine, and the Managing Director of the eHealth Centre of Excellence. When he's not teaching or caring for patients, Dr. Alarakhia is focused on seizing every opportunity to make clinicians' work easier by leveraging critical data and equipping clinicians with tools that automate day-to-day processes, such as his robot Bernie. Although the COVID-19 pandemic inspired many to try innovative technology solutions to assist in rapidly-evolving care conditions, Dr. Alarakhia wants to ensure healthcare staff are better informed of the associated risks and opportunities with evidence-based studies. At the 2021 AFHTO conference, Dr. Alarakhia presented a session on “Artificial Intelligence and Robots in Primary Care” alongside Dr. Ervin Sejdić. We encourage you to listen to Dr. Sejdić's episode of the podcast after this one to get a full understanding and appreciation of the critical work done by these experts. Quotables: “I think it's important for us to make sure that what we do is explainable. There's something called ‘Explainable AI,' which really allows a clinician to understand what's behind the hood. Why is the AI or automation doing what it's doing? And I think that's really key for us to gain trust and confidence.” – MA “Clinicians value evidence. They want to know why they're doing something, what the benefits are or lack thereof. So, when we go to talk to clinicians about different technologies like automation, artificial intelligence, we go with evidence about what it has done, where the gaps are, and just be very open about that.” – MA “One can be more effective if they've got their personal life in order, know when to start and stop doing things, and done self-care. A lot of leaders have been going full tilt for so long during the pandemic and they're struggling. So, I think it's important to have that balance.” – MA “I feel that we have a great system, but we can do more. We have an opportunity to do more and make it easier, so people don't fall through the cracks.” – MA “We're at the cusp of doing something quite different right now. I've thought for a while that we have a capability to leverage tools that we're using every day a lot better.” – MA “Just like any intervention in medicine, we need to have a particular amount of evidence around it. We need to have rationale for using it, and we need to demonstrate that it works in a real-life context.” – MA “It's not about ‘this is the greatest thing and why aren't you implementing it?' It's about here's another tool in your toolbox that you can use to help yourself and patients.” – MA Mentioned in this Episode: Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO) The Centre for Family Medicine Family Health Team McMaster University's Michael G DeGroote School of Medicine eHealth Centre of Excellence Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Today we're talking with Bruce Squires, President of McMaster Children's Hospital and Vice President, Women's and Children's Health at Hamilton Health Sciences. In this episode, we talk to Bruce about preventable harm and his approach to turning the corner on patient safety. Bruce says it's important to be explicit when talking about harm, sharing a realistic picture with clinical leads and teams. Like many leaders, Bruce is focused on health human resources. He speaks to the need to build immersive learning environments, where staff have the tools and support from leaders to identify opportunities and act on them. Bruce also speaks to the impact of COVID-19 on children and youth, describing it as disruptive and tragic. The measures imposed to keep our kids safe affected their physical, mental, and emotional health – effects that are most concerning for vulnerable children and youth. But Bruce is ultimately optimistic. In looking to the next chapter of children's health, he believes the dialogue should be driven by the voices of children, youth and families – they are our future. Quotables “If you're going to focus on safety as a healthcare priority, you have to name it and you truly have to prioritize that. You need to make it the core mandate.” – BS “I think wherever I've seen kind of breakthrough performance, it's where the organization has made that explicit commitment to improving safety performance… to driving to zero harm.” – BS “There's lots of things that you can do outside… but if you don't have at its core a frontline situation, a day-to-day at the worksite sense of an element of control over your own work, and an opportunity to improve, then it's not going to be healthy and it's not going to support learning.” “These kids and their importance in recovery needs to be prioritized.” – BS Mentioned in this Episode: McMaster Children's Hospital Hamilton Health Sciences Children's Healthcare Canada Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Canadian Medical Association Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association (NLMA) Ontario College of Family Physicians Mount Allison University Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Today we're talking with Liben Gebremikael, the first Executive Director of TAIBU Community Health Centre in Toronto. He's held the position since 2008. Liben is a social worker with over 25 years of experience in the primary healthcare sector, social services, and mental health field. TAIBU was created to meet the specific healthcare needs of the Black Community – and as it's evolved, addresses all the social determinants of health including, education, income, lifestyle, and housing. Their philosophy of care is built around a Zulu word ‘Ubuntu', which means, we don't exist as individuals, we exist as a family and as a community. All issues at TAIBU are addressed from that lens and that philosophy. For Liben, there's excitement and a sense of satisfaction at developing a culturally appropriate approach to specific illnesses that affect the Black community – illnesses like sickle cell disease and diabetes for example. The larger issue that preoccupies Liben and his colleagues at TAIBU is the necessity of systems change. Eliminating barriers to care for racialized populations means big changes are needed at the systems level. As Liben explains, it begins with the four ‘As'. Quotables “Sometimes the role of a leader is very strategic, but I believe you need to continue to put your feet on the ground and really listen to people and hear people. Once a social worker, always a social worker!” – LG “People talk about a broken system. We say the system is not broken; it's working perfectly as it was designed. The challenge is, it was not designed for certain populations.” – LG “One of the African principles of self-determination is that our clients participate in design, in decision-making, in planning of services. Critical ingredients when you're talking about culturally appropriate approaches and services.” – LG “People are really engaging with the issue of equity, which is promising, but it requires a lot of work because it's very difficult to change the system quickly.” – LG “We are moving from just doing programs – we are incorporating the concept of systems change in all that we are designing moving forward.” – LG “If we continue in the long-term to address the systemic issue, then every CHC, every healthcare facility, every youth-serving agency will be meeting the needs of those racialized and marginalized communities and the system would be working for everybody.” – LG “I usually say COVID is like an x-ray. It showed us how broken the bones were.” – LG “We came through this huge impact of COVID-19 and we're still functioning as a community. As staff and as an organization, and many other CHCs would share this view, we need to hang on to this resiliency” – LG “I would not use the word ‘consultation', I use the word ‘engagement' – engaging with communities and really being transparent and saying, ‘We're here to listen and we're here to support'.” – LG Mentioned in this Episode: Black Scientists' Task Force on Vaccine Equity TAIBU Community Health Centre Black Health Alliance Dr. Christopher Morgan The Ubuntu Village Project Sickle Cell Association of Ontario Black Creek Community Health Centre Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre Rexdale Community Health Centre Peloton Anti-Racism Initiative Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Today we're talking with Dr. Tim Rutledge, President and CEO of Unity Health Toronto. Tim was previously President and CEO of North York General Hospital. Tim is a physician, trained in Emergency Medicine. He developed a strong interest in medical education early in his career and chaired the committee that developed the University of Toronto's first undergraduate course in Emergency Medicine. From the earliest days of the pandemic, Unity Health put a strong emphasis on caring for and vaccinating people experiencing homelessness and Indigenous populations. Tim's own journey of leading the hospital during this turbulent time has led him to a new understanding of the lessons of anti-racism, equity and social accountability. A big part of Tim's life – and one of the important ways he unwinds – is through music. He discovered his love of playing at the piano as a young man and he now plays and records on several instruments. Healthcare and leadership are of course his central preoccupations but coming back to his music always gives Tim a feeling of joy and fulfillment. Quotables “One of the most important attributes in my experience of an effective leader is the ability to listen. I mean capital ‘L' listen. Listen to truly understand the issues.” – TR “COVID has really put into stark relief the fact that there was a disproportionate impact on vulnerable and racialized populations. It really has highlighted that equity is a key dimension of quality in healthcare. It's a major focus here at Unity and for me personally.” – TR “We need to recognize that we all have blindspots, as individuals and within our organizations. This is something we're going to have to put a lot of work into.” – TR “I think the most important thing we've been focussing on the last year or so is making sure that people have some time to unplug. We've been trying to be disciplined about that as well.” – TR “In Ontario we have fewer acute care beds per population than any other province, and fewer beds than any other country in the world. We're tied at the bottom with Mexico at 1.4 beds per thousand.” – TR “The power of the perspectives we get from our patients is not to be underestimated. Our patients are continually giving us great advice on how we can improve the care experience.” – TR “What we really need to focus on in the future healthcare provider is the human aspect. The clinician-patient relationship, connecting with patients in a way that optimizes their care and optimizes their experience. Plan for the many, deliver to the one.” – TR Mentioned in this Episode: North York General Hospital Unity Health Toronto Clay Christensen Donald Berwick Eric Topol Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
Today we're talking with Carmine Stumpo, President and CEO of Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital. Carmine joined Orillia Soldiers' in 2018 after spending 21 years at Michael Garron Hospital in East Toronto. Even if one of his first acts as CEO was participating in a polar swim fundraiser, Carmine has warmed up to every element of running a community hospital. This spring he was proud to unveil the hospital's five-year strategic plan under the banner “We Are One Community”. The pandemic necessitated a radical reboot in how they structured the plan but Carmine is determined that all staff, volunteers and partners see themselves in that plan. One of his proudest – and most difficult – moments during the pandemic was overseeing the hospital's support of a long-term care facility when it experienced a tragic COVID outbreak. Although he's been through crises before, Carmine said it was a humbling event that tested his personal resilience. Quotables “You need to be cognizant of the fact that there are really good practices and we need to celebrate that and appreciate that.” – CS “We were able to come up with a strategy that we believe reflects, in a very positive and forward-thinking way, the aspirations of this hospital and what aspire to be for our team.” - CS “The number one issue is, how do we continue to sustain the service and address some of our facility needs that we will have in the years to come which have been accelerated because of this tremendous growth. We see this as an opportunity.” - CS “As leaders, it was a humbling experience around an incredibly difficult situation and reminding ourselves why we're in the healthcare industry, how important it is to band together in these crises and do what we can to support because it is larger than any one organization.” - CS “The best advice I can give to an emerging healthcare leader is, leadership matters.” - CS “Volunteering to do that work, preparing vaccines was a ton of fun, great to work with our community, and was really re-energizing.” – CS With his avid interest in woodworking, near the beginning of the pandemic, Carmine challenged himself with building his office. It included a very attractive series of wine racks – and ‘in true pharmacist fashion' he has positioned his licence as a certified mixologist. Mentioned in this Episode: Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital Roberta Place Michael Garron Hospital Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
For this special series, Voices Lifting the Community, HIROC is partnering with the Alliance for Healthier Communities to highlight the work of several of the presenters at their online primary healthcare conference in June. Today we're talking with Cheryl Prescod, Executive Director at Black Creek Community Health Centre and member of the Alliance Black Health Committee, and Joelleann Forbes, Mental Health Therapist at Women's Health in Women's Hands Community Health Centre. Early data of the COVID-19 crisis, broken down by race, revealed that COVID-19 disproportionately affected Black, racialized, and poor communities at much higher rates than the general population. This comes as no surprise to Cheryl and Joelleann who in their respective jobs and communities, see the consequences every day of racism and discrimination on Black women, and how it creates unequal access to treatment. If there is an upside, the women are hopeful that the inequities and discrimination exposed by the pandemic lead to a permanent shift in attitudes – and activate the development of policies and programs tailored to Black communities. Quotables “For us, care is not only about having access to seeing a healthcare provider, but enabling folks to have the tools to access that care.” – CP “As a mental health therapist, witnessing how everyone has different boats and tools for how they're coping – some people don't have a boat at all, they might only have a piece of wood floating in the ocean.” - JF “For folks who were here alone in a new country and having to deal with settlement issues and perhaps not even knowing the language, it was really a double or triple pandemic because they were experiencing so much loss.” - CP “All this data that has been collected, and by that I mean the narratives and stories that our community members are sharing, cannot just disappear. It has to inform better policies in the future.” – JF “These stories tell us that people want to see themselves represented in the healthcare they're receiving. Even in the vaccination drive, this is an important piece and it will increase trust in our system.” - CP “It's always important to recognize that the Black identity is not a monolith. This means the experiences of the Black population should not be reduced to a single narrative.” – JF “It's not enough for us to say “I'm not a racist,” – we have to be equally invested in being anti-racist and that is an actionable thing.” – CP “Our community is so much our strength and we have to work with them hand-in-hand.” – CP Mentioned in this Episode: Women's Health in Women's Hands Community Health Centre Black Creek Community Health Centre Alliance Black Health CommitteeBlack Physicians' Association of Ontario (BPAO) Alliance for Healthier Communities Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.
For this special series, Voices Lifting the Community, HIROC is partnering with the Alliance for Healthier Communities to highlight the work of several of the presenters at their online primary healthcare conference in June. Today we're talking with Kate Vsetula, Director of Community and Organizational Development at the Guelph CHC. One of the many programs Kate works on is ACEs which stands for adverse childhood experiences. Research has shown that those experiences are common and universal and can increase the potential for negative health outcomes later in life. Together with her many community partners, Kate takes an upstream approach to ACEs that focusses on building resilience within individuals, the family and the community. It starts with how you pose the question – not by saying “What's wrong with you?” but “What happened to you?” Kate has been recognized with a Woman of Distinction Award, the University of Guelph Emilie Hayes Community Partnership Award, and The Alliance for Healthier Communities Health Equity Award. Quotables “ACEs are experiences in childhood that can shape who we are and set the stage for who we will become.” – KV “ACEs do not predict your future, they just raise the risk of potential lower health outcomes. How we can adjust for that is by building community and family resiliency.” – KV “I have experience with ACEs in my life and I have lots of people around me who have had those experiences and I see that ensuring protective factors and building communities that can support people through this is a really great long game.” - KV “What we know is in our community, according to a local study we did as a coalition is that 81% of adults in the Guelph-Wellington area have experienced one ACE and that 31% of people have experienced four or more.” - KV “I believe in the quote that every system is perfectly designed to receive the results it gets – we need to backsolve on our systems that don't actually work to support those most marginalized.” - KV “The passion in your voice Kate truly epitomizes what this series is called, ‘Voices Lifting the Community,' and not only your voice but the voices of your colleagues and the coalition.” - PDS “I feel so fortunate to work at the Guelph CHC because my work actually feeds my soul and keeps my passion going.” - KV Mentioned in this Episode: Guelph CHC Kingston CHC Toward Common Ground ACEs Coalition in Guelph and Wellington County Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Alliance for Healthier Communities Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes. Email us at Communications@HIROC.com.