Today I'll start off with what's top of mind: I know you're all waiting to hear who our next CEO will be. The announcement is coming out very soon so stay tuned.
In the meantime, I'd like to thank everyone who came to the CEO Town Hall last week. It was on International Women's Day so it was fitting that we held it at Michener Institute, founded by the extraordinary Dr. Diana Michener Schatz. Thank you to all the talented and dedicated women we have here for making UHN a better place.
For those who were unable to make the Town Hall, I'll share some highlights: Your questions let leadership know what your concerns are. We used an online Q&A tool so that people could submit questions anonymously and received a lot more engagement than we expected. In fact, we reached the maximum number of submitted questions allowed. I apologize to the folks who tried to submit questions after we reached this limit – we'll be sending out a Town Hall survey soon and invite you to submit additional questions there. And of course, you can always email me directly. Following this, I'll be sending out written responses to questions asked as well as a video recording – so keep an eye out for that.
During the Town Hall, it was clear that the pressures on UHN and on the system are felt throughout the organization. You have my gratitude for continuing to provide care for all of the patients who come here. I will continue to make the case that funding for UHN and for hospitals in the system needs to increase. We also need to steward the resources we have and think strategically and creatively about how we use those resources. I know that this can feel as if I'm saying 'do more with less'. What I truly believe is that we have to 'do more in new and creative ways' which means asking for good ideas from all parts of UHN.
On Thursday evening, we held a wine and cheese event to celebrate our staff with 25+ years of service at UHN. While I always enjoy attending our formal annual recognition dinner, I am glad we find additional ways to celebrate our dedicated staff. I felt energized by the event – it reminded me that UHN staff are cut from a different cloth and that we're capable of extraordinary things.
Last week I also had the opportunity to accompany the Ontario Hospital Association to a meeting with Francine Gelinas MPP, the NDP Health Critic. It was clear that she is well acquainted with health issues and we spent some time with her talking about the challenges in the system and the need for investment in hospitals. I also emphasized that health care was the responsibility of all three parties and that, whatever the political differences in their platforms, that health care is something that is expected by all Ontarians and that we're all in this together.
For those who would like to read the abstracts which were presented a couple of weeks ago at The Lancet's Global Health conference on cancer, you can click
here. It is an open site and you will see that many of your colleagues are represented and thinking about cancer control and global strategies.
Finally, to those who are taking this week to spend time with their family for March Break, have a safe and well-deserved time off.
Charlie
