​I'll start by thanking everyone who attended or watched last week's AGM. My remarks are posted here if you didn't have a chance to attend or watch the webcast and the video on preventable harm in Canadian hospitals can be seen here for the location on UHN's YouTube channel. I would like this to be a jumping off point for us to begin deep thought and meaningful conversations about how we here at UHN will take our quality and safety programs to the next level – focusing on preventable harm to patients and employees, and on workplace safety for all of us.

I'd also like to highlight the piece on the Local Impact Awards which were presented at the AGM and are new this year. The story on the intranet lists all of the nominees for the award – people who have clearly made a difference to the lives of our patients and in the lives of the people they work with every day. My thanks to the people who took the time to nominate their colleagues – clear evidence of the value of team at UHN. My congratulations to Victor Trotman, winner of the Local Impact award for the workplace, Dr. Sam Sabbah, winner of the individual Local Impact clinical award and the S.C.O.P.E. team which won the Local Impact award for a clinical team and Dr. Pauline Pariser accepted on the team's behalf.

You will also find stories on the winner of the Global Impact Award – Dr. Jenny H​eathcote and the UHN Inventor of the Year – Dr. Milos Popovic – on the website.  Dr. Heathcote's contributions over the course of her career are deep and wide in the treatment of hepatitis and liver diseases. The video of Milos' device which allows spinal cord injury patients to regain motor control of their upper limbs is a 'must watch'.

Last Monday, Chris Paige,Vice President of Research at UHN let everyone know that he would be stepping down after 18 years of leading research. To say that his leadership has made a huge difference is to underestimate the impact of his tenure. Under Chris' leadership research space increased fivefold, there has been a 40% increase in the number of researchers, the number of trainees and staff has tripled and there's been a fivefold increase in the research funding with $344 million being spent on research in the last fiscal year. Chris will continue to lead research until his successor can be found through an international search and his counsel will prove invaluable as we look for his successor. I hope that the UHN research community will also provide me with advice through the recruitment process and I look forward to the further development of UHN as an internationally renown research hospital.

Peter​

Quicklinks
Back to Top