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
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We will hold a Virtual Open Forum tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 18, from 12-1 p.m. This meeting will give us a chance to discuss some important priorities over the coming weeks, including the
IDEAA Self-Identification and Inclusion Survey, recruitment efforts, the SAP project, and Building Strong Care Teams at UHN. We look forward to answering questions, which can be submitted to
OpenForum@uhn.ca.
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I'd like to again encourage TeamUHN members to take the IDEAA Self-Identification and Inclusion Survey. As of Oct. 14, 1,029 TeamUHN members have had their say. This 15-minute, anonymous and confidential survey will help us better understand TeamUHN and the challenges for equity-seeking individuals. One of the key
strategic priorities in our plan for A Healthier World is to “empower and invest in a diverse TeamUHN," where the best and brightest can strive for excellence each day. The information we collect from this project will help us do just that. The survey is open until Oct. 26. The easiest way to complete the survey is through the invitation email that our partner, WorkTango, sent to TeamUHN members on Oct. 12. The survey can also be completed on the landing page,
yourvoicemattersuhn.ca, which requires an Employee ID. If you need to find your Employee ID, check your pay stub -- it's above your name and formatted CORP XXXXXX X – which can be found in the Employee Self Service Portal (Corporate Intranet > Employee Tools > Employee Self Service). You can also reach out to
employeeID@uhn.ca. For more information, watch a replay of
last week's IDEAA town hall, consult the
Survey Toolkit, including Frequently Asked Questions, or email
your.voice.matters@uhn.ca.
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UHN's 2022 flu campaign is underway until Nov. 3 and I'd like to thank everyone who has already joined me in rolling up their sleeves or scheduling a shot. If you haven't already done so, you can
book an appointment here. If you still have questions about whether the vaccine is right for you, I encourage you to read
UHN's robust Flu FAQs, as well as UHN News's recent story, "Get the Facts, Not the Flu," where Dr. Alon Vaisman, an infectious diseases and infection control physician with UHN's Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC), busts five of the most common myths surrounding the flu. One common myth Dr. Vaisman debunks is that you should spread out your flu shot and COVID-19 boosters. UHN is offering both vaccines at the same time, but only if you book at one of the stationary clinic locations listed here.
- TWH - 2WW pod 4 (previous Family Health Team clinic location)
- PMH – 5-408 Caring Safely Room (610 Building)
- TGH - 7EC 316
- TRI-UC - Lecture theatre Basement
- TRI - BC HS office, N109
- TRI - LC HS office, B22
The COVID-19 booster is not available through the mobile carts managers can book for their units. You can find out if you're eligible for a COVID-19 booster
here. Thank you for doing your part to keep yourself, your loved ones, and our UHN community safe.
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Refer a candidate, get up to $2,000! UHN's Employee Referral Program is still in full swing and we want to hear from you. Have someone in mind who would be a great fit to join Team UHN? Refer them through our program and receive a $2,000 reward: $1,000 after your candidate's start date and $1,000 on the one-year anniversary of the employee's hire date. It's a win-win! To get rewarded, follow these simple steps:
- Head to the UHN home page on the Intranet and click on
Employee Referral Program banner on the right side. (Corporate Intranet > Departments > People & Culture > Employee Referral Program)
- Click the 'Refer a candidate here' button or copy and paste
the URL if the form is not loading.
- Fill out the form letting us know which role you are referring the candidate to.
- Once submitted, our Talent Acquisition team takes it from there! We will track the application and if the candidate is hired, you will be notified via email.
- Rewards are paid out quarterly (April, July, October, January).
Please note: this can be a challenging approach to administer so please ensure your referral is received at the time of the candidate's application. In order to be eligible to receive a reward, you must follow the steps outlined above. Questions or feedback? Contact Referral@UHN.ca. Managers: please inform staff who don't have regular access to a computer about the proper steps outlined above in order to be eligible for the employee referral program.
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Ontario has opened up bivalent booster appointments for all those aged 12 and over, effective today. The province received its first shipments of the Pfizer bivalent vaccine from the federal government last week. Appointments can be booked
through the provincial COVID-19 vaccination portal or by calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900. Read more from the
Province of Ontario website.
Closing Notes
October 17–23 is Waste Reduction Week! Contribute to UHN's culture of sustainability by joining the Waste Reduction Week Inter-Hospital Challenge, organized by our very own Energy & Environment team. The challenge puts TeamUHN head-to-head with staff from hospitals across the GTA, Hamilton, as well as CHEO in Ottawa.
The challenge is simple:
Complete the three-minute Waste Reduction Week Quiz. The organization with the greatest participation rate wins – there's also a chance for individual prizes.
Click here to take the quiz. Don't forget the
five Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (compost). Visit the
Energy & Environment team blog Talkin' Trash for more information. Good luck!
This Thursday, Oct. 20th is Spirit Day , which raises awareness of the bullying and harassment that many in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community continue to face. Marked on the third Thursday of October, this observance urges us to rededicate ourselves to the work of ensuring UHN is a safe and welcoming place for 2SLGBTQIA+ people, whether they are patients, staff, or visitors. We are also mindful of the young people struggling to find acceptance while seeking to live as their authentic selves. Many will wear purple Thursday as a show of support for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and against bullying, and as an act of remembrance for 2SLGBTQIA+ who have died by suicide. Learn more about this from GLAAD. I thank the UHN 2SLGBTQIA+ Steering Committee for their unwavering commitment to raising awareness and visibility for 2SLGBTQIA+ people in our organization and the work we must all do to advance inclusion. Please check out the 2SLGBTQIA+ Steering Committee's learning and resources centre for helpful information (Corporate Intranet > Departments > People & Culture > IDEA > 2SLGBTQIA+ >2SLGBTQIA+ Learning & Resource Centre Sharepoint) and be sure to sign up for the group's newsletter.
This Friday is Canadian Library Workers' Day, which provides us an opportunity to salute UHN library professionals for their invaluable help with learning, research, and patient care. UHN is proud to have library professionals working in various areas throughout the organization, including the Health Science Libraries, where they support staff, researchers, clinicians, and learners find the best evidence for decision-making; in the Patient and Family Learning Centres, where they provide expert support to patients and families in their quest for the best information; at the Michener Institute of Education's Learning Resource Collaboratory, where they support faculty and students; and in various other departments not directly tied to a traditional library, where they provide research and information-management support. Our library professionals provide incredible guidance that enriches our work. We are very grateful for their service, this week and every week.
October 16 was World Spine Day and we are recognizing teams across UHN who are pioneering spinal cord care and research. More than 85,000 people are currently living with a spinal cord injury (SCI) in Canada (both traumatic and non-traumatic). The mission of
Krembil Brain Institute's Spine Program is to provide leading comprehensive medical care & treatment to our patients, and to accelerate the discovery of novel treatment strategies for disorders of the spine and SCI through innovative clinical and basic science research. Learn more in this
Your Complex Brain podcast episode featuring neurosurgeon and senior scientist, Dr. Michael Fehlings.
Toronto Rehab's Lyndhurst Centre is home to Canada's largest Spinal Cord Rehab program, where teams are dedicated to improving patients' functional abilities, so they can live as independently as possible. Program Medical Director, Dr. Cathy Craven, is also co-leading a network of hospitals and community partners, on a shared mission to provide optimal, equitable care, regardless of where a patient lives. "Patients with SCI deserve the best available care, and they cannot wait for the traditional translation of research into best practice. That's where we come in," says Dr. Craven, of the Spinal Cord Injury Implementation and Evaluation Quality Care Consortium (SCI-IEQCC), which is now in it's second year. The
KITE Research Institute is home to one of the largest SCI research programs in the world as well as the KITE Innovations and Rehab Clinics, which is making access to novel therapies possible by simultaneously supporting ground breaking research and patient care.
October 15 was Global Handwashing Day, a day that stresses the importance of proper hand hygiene and the vital role it plays in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Thank you, TeamUHN, for practicing proper hand hygiene throughout your day to help keep everyone safe.
Feedback?
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Have a good week,
Kevin
