Hi Everyone,
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Mary Ferguson-Paré, Vice President Professional Affairs and Chief Nurse Executive has been appointed President of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO), representing more than 20,000 registered nurses. Mary's voluntary, two-year term takes effect today, following RNAO's Annual General Meeting.
As many of you know, Mary is a passionate leader and advocate for the nursing profession. What you may not know is that it was her mother -- also a nurse -- who inspired her to pursue this rewarding career. We could not be more proud that Mary's career eventually brought her to UHN!
Since she joined UHN in 2001, she has been a trailblazer on many fronts to advance nursing and to foster a rewarding and collaborative work environment. Mary is leading our Patient-Centred Care (PCC) initiative, which continues to build a more caring and integrative approach to the way we deliver care across UHN. She has spearheaded the 80/20 research project, at Toronto Western Hospital's 9A Fell unit, which demonstrated that providing dedicated time for professional and program development for nurses leads to improved patient and staff satisfaction, improved retention, and decreased sick time and overtime.
Prior to joining UHN, Mary held a number of nursing executive positions at the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Toronto, and Baycrest Centre. She is also an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Nursing.
Mary's experience and dedication has distinguished her as a voice for nurses on the national, provincial and local level. She is also actively involved with the Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses, the Canadian Nurses Association, the Toronto Academic Health Sciences Network, the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario, and the Canadian Patient Safety Institute. Her expertise has been sought by several provincial and national committees, most notably the National Committee on SARS and Public Health chaired by David Naylor.
On behalf of UHN staff, congratulations Mary on this exciting and prestigious appointment by the RNAO!
Bob
