Good morning, TeamUHN!
It is a pleasure to connect with you across care, research, and education through this weekly CEO update – all in service of A Healthier World.
Key reminders and updates
- UHN has released a refreshed Corporate Scorecard online to better monitor our organizational performance. UHN's Corporate Scorecard has been reviewed quarterly since April 2018 until the onset of COVID-19. The pandemic demonstrated how effectively TeamUHN can work together to serve patients when focused on a few key objectives. The Corporate Scorecard outlines 17 key performance indicators (KPI) which are organized by seven "North Star Objectives" in alignment with our collective goals, strategy, and opportunities for quality improvement. Corporate Facilitators and their teams have developed targets and annual workplans to support improvement on these KPIs, and share results quarterly with the Executive Leadership Forum. Q2 results were shared earlier this month and can be found through this interactive link built by the Data & Analytics team. Q3 results will be available in February. For additional questions, please contact Megha Bhavsar, Manager, Strategy & Transformation, Clinical Support & Performance, at megha.bhavsar@uhn.ca.
- UHN's Holiday Schedule is also available online and on the main page of the Corporate Intranet. The schedule was crafted for continued safe and excellent care during the holidays by ensuring no patient care service shall be unavailable for more than 73 hours over the holidays and clear escalation processes if a patient is waiting for a treatment-limiting or discharging limited procedure/test. Questions? Contact Brenda Kenefick, Director, Patient Flow, at Brenda.kenefick@uhn.ca.
- On Thursday evening, I was privileged to participate in the Partners for Discovery Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel, hosted by the UHN Foundation. I was pleased to speak to members of the UHN donor community about the incredible work TeamUHN does each day on behalf of patients, discovery, and scholarship, and thank them for the support that helps propel our world-class programs and services. It was a true pleasure to honour Tennys Hanson at this year's event. Tennys will be stepping down as CEO of the UHN Foundation next year – after 22 years of superb performance and exemplary leadership. The attendees rightly responded with a spontaneous standing ovation. My sincere thanks to all members of the UHN Foundation for organizing such a tremendous event.
- Last Friday, UHN sites held in-person Remembrance Day services for the first time since 2019. My sincere thanks to Suraj George, Manager-Discipline Head, Spiritual Care, and all those who organized these important events to honour Canadian veterans who have defended our freedom throughout history. A recording of the service at Toronto General can be watched here.
- The confidential IDEAA Self-Identification and Inclusion Survey can be sent to the personal email of TeamUHN members if they prefer. WorkTango, the vendor that collects and manages the data, has made this possible as another avenue for staff to feel completely confident in the privacy and confidentiality of this process. Contact support@worktango.com if you would like the survey sent to your personal email. Those who have not yet completed the survey will receive reminder emails from pulse@worktango.io with a survey link (contact support@worktango.com for help). An employee ID is not needed to take the survey via the WorkTango email. This survey is for everyone and the results will benefit all. It takes just 15 minutes to complete. And absolutely no one at UHN has access to your identity or comments in the survey. The survey will close before the end of this month so please do not miss this incredibly valuable opportunity to share your experiences at UHN so that we can make this a more inclusive, accessible place for all – a key UHN objective.
As of this morning, 4,687 TeamUHN members have completed the survey, representing a response rate of 22.9%
- Don't miss your chance to recognize colleagues with UHN's 2022 Local Impact Awards. Submission forms on the Intranet are open until Nov. 23 (Corporate Intranet > Departments > Public Affairs and Communications > UHN Local Impact Awards Submission Form). There are 10 different individual and team awards in categories that align with our five Strategic Priorities.
- Talk about a picture being worth a thousand words! Last week, Dr. Gelareh Zadeh, a neurosurgeon, Senior Scientist, and co-Director of the Krembil Brain Institute, took to Twitter to share a photo of a "remarkable," all-woman surgery team. "This would be one of the very few times where we've all been women: the nurses, the patient, me, my fellows, and the anesthesiologist were all women," Dr. Zadeh said. "And two decades ago, I would never have thought it would be the case." She added that the experience was a "milestone" in her mind because "it's a sign that things are changing."
Closing Notes
Saturday was World Pneumonia Day, an annual event to raise awareness and spark global action about the single largest infectious cause of death in children worldwide. Pneumonia, a form of acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs, can be caused by viruses, fungi, or bacteria. More than 740,000 children under five died of this preventable and treatable disease in 2019, according to the World Health Organization, with deaths highest in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Very old adults are also at greater risk from pneumonia, particularly those who are exposed to air pollution or smoking. At UHN, pneumonia is a frequent cause of illness and admission in our immunosuppressed patients, including transplant and oncology patients, and one of the most common causes of GIM admission. We salute all those in our organization who treat those dealing with pneumonia with compassionate and exceptional care.
Today is World Diabetes Day, which spotlights diabetes as a global health issue and a top chronic disease in Canada. This year's theme, "Access to diabetes care," highlights how millions of people still lack access to diabetes care, technologies, and support. According to the World Health Organization, about 422 million people worldwide, the majority of whom live in low- and middle-income countries, have diabetes. The disease, which occurs when the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin or the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces, is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, stroke, heart attacks, and lower limb amputation. At UHN, at least 30 per cent of admitted patients have diabetes, impacting most clinical programs but particularly cardiac, organ transplant, and cancer units. In UHN's Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, patients receive multidisciplinary diabetes care for some of the most complex cases from a team of endocrinologists, nurse practitioners, nurse educators, and dietitians. This is done under the leadership of Dr. Minna Woo, Division Head; Dr. Phil Segal, Clinical Lead; Joanne Zee, Clinical Director, and Jacqueline Cooper, Nurse Manager. UHN is also proud of its leading diabetes research, headed by Dr. Woo as the Metabolism Group Lead at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, and the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre, directed by Dr. Woo.
Congratulations to KITE trainee Shaghayegh Chavoshian, whose asthma and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) research work has been recognized with a pair of important awards. After winning the 2022 University Health Network Women's Health Program Summer Student Scholarship Award, Chavoshia was also awarded the 2022-23 Mount Sinai Hospital Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology. She is investigating the factors that lead to a prevalence of asthma and OSA in women that is two times higher than in men. Read more here.
And now, the TikTok of the week. This Monday, we explore the Siri-like technology used by our healthcare workers.
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Have a good week,
Kevin
