Dr. Michael Baker proved better systems lead to better care throughout his career at UHN.
Now retired, Dr. Baker — a clinician-scientist and former physician-in-chief — helped unify UHN sites, streamlined transitions between research and clinical treatments, and developed complex integrated care models that significantly boosted patient outcomes.
His leadership helped make UHN a leading academic hospital and brought world-class care to Canadians and beyond.
"Michael was most alive when the conversation was about how we could make care better for patients, research better for scientists and quality of work life better for people at UHN," says Dr. Kevin Smith, President and CEO of UHN.
"Michael helped promote the integration of UHN's member organizations and advance academic medicine at its finest."
Following specialist training in internal medicine and hematology at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, Dr. Baker joined
Toronto Western Hospital in 1972 as one of the first staff hematologists. He soon became an influential figure at UHN's division of hematology and helped build a successful team by attracting talent from around the world.
Dr. Baker conducted over 25 years of original research in leukemia biology and authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications in leading medical journals.
Having worked in both the clinical and research realms, Dr. Baker helped translate complex laboratory discoveries into tangible leukemia treatments using immunotherapy — a bench-to-bedside approach that become a defining feature of UHN’s research institutes.
Driving leadership in leukemia care
According to Dr. Frances Shepherd, Dr. Baker's work helped elevate UHN's reputation on the world stage and strengthened Canada's standing as a leading institution for leukemia care.
"You don't become one of the best institutions — not just in Canada or North America, but globally — without strong leadership," says Dr. Shepherd.
"Dr. Baker provided that leadership."
Dr. Shepherd first met Dr. Baker when she was a resident at Toronto Western Hospital. He had recently returned from New York and was studying leukemia and the immune system — an area that scientists would struggle to understand for decades.
"Today, immunotherapy is a major focus and a mainstay of treatment for leukemias, hematologic malignancies and solid tumours," she says. "Dr. Baker was so far ahead of his time that 50 years ago, he was already studying the immune system's role in cancer."
He was appointed physician-in-chief in 1992, at what was then The Toronto Hospital, to take on a governance role, but continued his consulting practice in both hematology and general internal medicine. He continued in that role for an unprecedented 16 years, until 2008.
In 1999, he supported the merger of Toronto Western, Toronto General and
Princess Margaret hospitals to form University Health Network.
During this transition, Dr. Baker was responsible for overseeing medical practice at all sites. He led and supported UHN's physicians, set quality standards for patient care and merged clinical operations with research and medical education across the network.
He also built one of the first large-scale, operational complex care programs in Canada, which supported cancer patients with overlapping illnesses by co-ordinating care across specialties.
Many current UHN initiatives, such as the
Integrated Care Program and the Centre for Innovation in Complex Care, trace their roots back to these early models of whole system care for highly complex patients.
He was appointed to the
Order of Canada in 2008 for this work. He also joined the
Order of Ontario in 2009 for his contributions in advancing leukemia research and treatments.
Shaping staff culture in medicine
Dr. Kathryn Tinckam describes Dr. Baker as a "giant in Canadian health care."
"He has had an impact not only on the Department of Medicine, but on how the hospital has run and the decisions we've made that have impacted the health system as a whole," says Dr. Tinckam, UHN Physician-in-Chief.
Dr. Tinckam recalls meeting Dr. Baker for the first time before starting as a physician at Toronto General.
"He took time to understand who you were, what was important to you, why you might be a good fit at the organization and that you mattered," says Dr. Tinckam.
His approach to leadership — prioritizing the growth and well-being of his team members above his own — had a profound impact on shaping a culture that supported women in medicine.
In 1994, he instated a parental leave policy in the Department of Medicine’s practice plan allowing new parents to take paid time off with protection of their position. The change was transformative for physicians who previously had no paid parental leave at all.
That decision, says Dr. Tinckam, opened doors to generations of female physicians who may not have otherwise found a career in this space.
"It's a legacy that's measured not in the papers you publish, the talks you give, the hundreds of committees chaired, but in the people," she says.
The UHN Foundation has named a Chair in Internal Medicine Leadership at UHN in Dr. Baker's honour, and will raise $5 million for future funding.
'The doctor's doctor and the clinician's clinician'
Tony Fell, former chair of the UHN Board of Trustees, says his leadership shone through in how he treated his patients. As a patient himself, Fell says that's when Dr. Baker was most honest, humorous and compassionate.
"Dr. Baker has an incredible sense of humour," he says. "Whenever he walks into a room, he always has a quick joke or a quick comment and he lights up the room. He's a very people-oriented person.
"He demonstrates real empathy with the patient, which is always important."
For Fell, that captures the essence of Dr. Baker — a physician who led with clarity and conviction, but never lost sight of the human being sitting in front of him.
"Michael is an important part of the secret sauce that has made UHN such an outstanding success in recent years, and also the second-best hospital in the world," he says.
Dr. Baker was also someone many UHN physicians turned to for their own medical care.
"Michael Baker is the doctor's doctor and the clinician's clinician," says Dr. Shepherd.
"I think I can say almost universally that when physicians at University Health Network need medical help, they go to Dr. Baker."
For those who follow in his footsteps, Dr. Baker's influence endures.
"I think Michael's legacy at the University Health Network will be as an incredible role model for the incoming wave of new doctors," says Fell.
"And believe me, there's no better role model in medicine than Dr. Michael Baker."
