Good Monday morning,
1. Highlights on UHN's Essentials
UHN's Essentials are essential to the work we do as a leading academic health sciences centre – hence the name!
Read here to learn more. Below, you'll find highlights on UHN's Essentials from last week.
Partnerships UHN named Canada's top research hospital for the 9th year in a row – my thoughts on what this means:We have been named the country's top research hospital every year since RE$EARCH Infosource Inc. began its annual rankings in 2011. Some of you may wonder what this means for UHN – and some of you may even be getting desensitized to this recognition! – so I want to remind everyone that being Canada's top research hospital is more than an achievement. It's a responsibility. We lead the country in research investment which means we are a key driver when it comes to elevating Canada as a world destination for research. Not just in terms of amazing science and discovery (which we have already!) but also for commercialization. By doing this, we can build our country's future knowledge-based economy and lead Canada in working to expand jobs for highly qualified personnel – also leading to new manufacturing centres in Ontario. Thank you to the remarkable researchers and research staff who work here and the visionary donors, Foundations, and Federal and Provincial partners who fund this work at UHN.
People and Culture Addressing Bill 124 – the "Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act": Recently, Bill 124 became an act and part of Ontario law. For those who don't know, Bill proposes to "ensure that increases in public sector compensation reflects the fiscal situation of the Province" and limit public sector salary increases to 1%. The Bill introduces 3-year "moderation periods" which will commence at different times for different employers. During these moderation periods, wage and salary increases are capped at 1% per employee for 12-months.
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Does this impact UHN right away? For unionized staff, the Bill does not impact collective agreements currently in place. Speak to your Union Representative if you have questions about when your agreement is next up for negotiation. For non-unionized staff, it will be implemented in the next fiscal year.
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When will this impact UHN? For unionized staff, the 3-year moderation period will impact future collective agreements. For non-unionized employees, increases will be impacted for the next three fiscal years.
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Does this mean salary increases cannot be made based on service and performance? Certain adjustments that are part of an ongoing compensation system are still permitted. Human Resources can provide you with further details.
Please know we are doing all we can to empower and invest in a diverse TeamUHN while managing our serious clinical and financial pressures. We'll keep working together to create the best UHN possible.
Partnerships Last week, the Government of Ontario
sent an update on integrating our health system into the agency known as Ontario Health. On Dec. 2, five agencies – Cancer Care Ontario, eHealth Ontario, Health Force Ontario, Health Quality Ontario, and Health Shared Service Ontario – will join Ontario Health. In addition, 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) have been grouped into five interim geographic regions. Each region will be led by a single transitional regional lead. The purpose is to ensure the sustainability of our health system by reducing the duplication of roles, responsibilities and back-office efforts. We look forward to continuing our work with Tess Romain, the transitional regional lead for the Toronto area, as well as other government stakeholders and community partners in service of patients.
2. Visit from our patron Her Royal Highness The Princess Edward, Countess of Wessex, and attending the Partners for Discovery dinner
Her Royal Highness, The Princess Edward, Countess of Wessex is Royal Patron of Toronto General Hospital and Toronto Western Hospital – this was her fourth visit since 2005. We were also joined by The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor. It was a pleasure hosting these distinguished guests at UHN and showing them what exemplary care, research and education looks like at Canada's leading academic health sciences centre. Her Royal Highness and Her Honour also joined us for Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation's 10th annual Partners for Discovery dinner. This was an opportunity for us to temporarily set our Canadian humility aside and celebrate with some of the donors who are making a profound difference in the health sciences by supporting UHN. Thanks to their generosity, we are collectively transforming the lives of countless patients and contributing to a healthier world.
3. My appointment to the Plexxus Board of Directors
Last week, Plexxus announced my appointment to their Board of Directors
[Editor's Note: Link is no longer available]. I am volunteering my services alongside some esteemed colleagues who are already on the Board including Gary Newton (President & CEO, Sinai Health System) and Sarah Downey (President & CEO, Michael Garron Hospital). For those who don't know, Plexxus is UHN's medical supplies distributor and a key partner that directly impacts our ability to deliver safe, quality care. Ontario's hospitals are facing significant budgetary pressures and we are working closely with the Plexxus leadership team to create more value in service of our health system. I look forward to working with the Plexxus Board Chair Michael Young (Chief Administrative Executive, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre) and the rest of the Board to provide oversight to Plexxus' decision-making and processes while improving service to owners and customers.
Have a good week,
Kevin
