Last week I sent an All Users about UHN's budget for this year and next and I wanted to thank the people who have taken the time to give me feedback. I am committed to keeping everyone aware of the plans that we have to balance. Plans about our strategies will also be coming through your managers and directors. If you have worked in Ontario healthcare for any length of time, you will have seen these challenges before and know that UHN will take this on with input from across the organization. The solutions we put in place this year will also set us up well for 2016-17.
There has also been a lot of discussion recently about Toronto's readiness to respond to the Syrian refugees who will be coming to Toronto. Tomorrow we can expect that the federal government will announce their plans and, as healthcare is a critical part of the plan, I am encouraged by the statements made by the federal government about the restoration of the funding for the healthcare of refugees. I'm also encouraged to know that the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care has been part of the planning necessary and the Ministry will expect support from our hospitals and all others. So, UHN will have a role to play and we will be part of Toronto's response, under the direction of the MOHLTC.
As you know, I offered to host lunch for a unit at the first hospital to reach 100 per cent in response to the Speak Up For Safety survey. The draw was held from amongst all the units at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and I will be joining the staff of 17A/B for lunch on January 8th in the new year. There was also a draw from amongst all of the units which reached 100 per cent across UHN -- an overwhelming total of 50 units reached that mark -- and I will be joining the Toronto General Emergency Department for lunch on January 15th. My thanks again to everyone for an incredible effort to work together to participate. The valuable insights that we will gather from the survey will position us to learn together as we move towards a shared commitment to employee, workplace, and patient safety.
Our Flu Campaign officially ended last week, but flu shots are still available from Occupational Health & Safety, our pharmacies or your local pharmacy. As everyone knows, flu season begins about now and we all need to do whatever we can to stay healthy – for our families, our patients and ourselves. So, if you didn't get your flu shot during the campaign, take the time now to protect yourself, your family, and our patients.
Peter
