Healthcare Quarterly

Healthcare Quarterly 11(4) September 2008 : 12-14.doi:10.12927/hcq.2008.20085
Columns

Awards and Appointments

Awards


Ryerson University Names School of Nursing

Ryerson University is naming its School of Nursing in honour of Daphne Cockwell, recognizing her family's ongoing support for Ryerson and its Master Plan development. Jack Cockwell, group chairman of Brookfield Asset Management, is a member of the Ryerson University Board of Governors. His family has made lifetime contributions of $11.5 million to the university, including a recent gift of $5 million directed to the School of Nursing.

The Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing is named after Mr. Cockwell's mother, who started her career as a nurse. This is Canada's first university nursing school to be named for a nurse. The family's most recent gift will be used as capital funding toward a new facility for the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, which will be developed within the framework of Ryerson's recently completed Master Plan.


Funding Renews for Canadian Patient Safety Institute

The Canadian government recently announced renewed funding of up to $8 million a year, over the next five years, to the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI), to continue providing leadership and building a culture of patient safety and quality improvement in the Canadian healthcare system. Since it was established in December 2003, CPSI has worked to foster collaboration between governments, regulatory bodies and stakeholders, and to develop effective patient safety strategies, frameworks, tools and practices.

CPSI has laid important groundwork to advance patient safety. The Safer Healthcare Now! campaign has engaged some 830 healthcare teams across the country to reduce preventable injuries or deaths in hospitals. The recently released Canadian Disclosure Guidelines represent the commitment to protect patients' rights to be informed in the event of an adverse event.

Over the next five years, in collaboration with its network of national and regional partners, CPSI will build on these successes and focus on four key areas: (1) education, (2) research, (3) tools and resources and (4) interventions and programs. It will continue to promote patient safety as a focus in health sector education and training and facilitate the development of curriculum competencies. CPSI will also enhance patient safety research capacity, provide tools to foster accountability and improve patient safety practices and processes and develop pan-Canadian programs to enable timely implementation of patient safety practices.


First Canadian Scientist to Win $470,000 Kyoto Prize

Tony Pawson, a distinguished scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital's Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, was one of two Canadians awarded the prestigious Kyoto Prize, Japan's equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Dr. Pawson was cited for his groundbreaking work on how human cells communicate with another, which has improved our understanding of many diseases, including cancer, diabetes and immune disorders. The Kyoto Prize is the latest in a long list of honours that Dr. Pawson has received for his work, including the Michael Smith Prize from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Gairdner International Research Award. The other Canadian winner of the Kyoto Prize was Dr. Charles Taylor, a professor emeritus of philosophy at McGill University. The Kyoto Prizes are administered by the Inamori Foundation, established in 1984 by Japanese businessman Kazuo Inamori.


Saint Elizabeth Health Care Wins Healthcare Safety Award

Saint Elizabeth Health Care was recently the first recipient of the Canadian College of Health Service Executives' new award to recognize a leading healthcare organization that is committed to improving safety within the healthcare environment through leadership, culture, best practices, innovation and change management. Saint Elizabeth's Client Safety and Quality Management Team is one of the most successful initiatives the organization has developed to ensure evidence-informed decision-making is taking place at every level throughout the organization, from front-line staff to the senior leadership team and board of directors. This team has delivered numerous safety initiatives including a Hand Hygiene Campaign and the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies for documentation, with the goal to decrease the amount of risk for clients in the community and to continue to improve outcomes for clients of the future.


Accreditation Canada Signs Deal with Kuwait

Accreditation Canada International has been commissioned to develop the national accreditation program for the Kuwait Ministry of Health. The ministry intends to implement an accreditation program for healthcare quality and to ensure national standards developed specifically for Kuwait are followed. This two-year agreement is the largest contract that Accreditation Canada has signed with the Middle East.

The Ministry of Health, one of the largest ministries in Kuwait, was established in 1936. The healthcare network in Kuwait is one of the best in the Gulf region and among the finest in the world. Kuwaitis receive medical services at government clinics and hospitals free of charge. Public healthcare is maintained by an intricate network of primary and secondary health centres, specialized hospitals and research institutions.

The ministry chose Accreditation Canada to provide technical services for the development and implementation of a model for health services accreditation. Accreditation Canada will establish an accreditation agency that will include the development of customized standards and survey process. It will also include the recruitment, development and training of accreditation coordinators and surveyors.


CIHR Rewards Four Mentors Who Have Helped Create Tomorrow's Researchers

CIHR recently recognized the efforts of four mentors who stimulate the scientific minds of Canada's youth. Through its Synapse - Youth Connection initiative, the following people received 2008 Synapse Awards: Mr. Anteneh Argaw (graduate/postdoctoral fellow), Dr. Lisa Robinson and Dr. Jane Roskams (tied; individual researcher) and the Toronto Teen Survey research team (research group).

CIHR's Synapse initiative acts as a scientific junction that brings together health researchers and young students across Canada. More than 4,000 CIHR-funded health researchers have already signed up to become CIHR Synapse mentors - and the number increases on a daily basis. Synapse, in collaborative partnership with national science outreach organizations, connects these mentors with high-school students through hands-on training experience that will help create the next generation of Canadian health researchers.

This represents the second year that all three of these awards have been presented. The first award, in the graduate/postdoctoral fellow category, is worth $5,000; the second award, in the individual researcher category, is also worth $5,000; and the third award, in the research group category, is worth $10,000. These awards all recognize the exceptional efforts of each recipient to promote health research among Canada's high-school students. Through mentorship, each recipient regularly motivates young Canadians to consider both the value of health research as well career opportunities that exist within various scientific fields. The recipient is nominated by someone who understands the nominee's direct scientific contributions to young people and is ultimately chosen by the members of the CIHR Youth Outreach Advisory Board.


Synapse Award - Graduate/Postdoctoral Fellow

Anteneh Argaw, a PhD candidate at Université de Montréal, passes on his knowledge of science to elementary and high-school students in a variety of ways. He is one of the primary organizers of the Montreal chapter of the Brain Awareness Week, which teaches Canadian youth about the value of the brain, its role and its function. He also delivers accessible lectures regarding celebrated scientific African Americans at McGill's Black Student Network's Children's Day. He has provided homework assistance for students at a Montreal community centre called Maison d'Haiti, and has tutored student athletes in the Université de Montréal football program for science/math.


Synapse Award - Individual Researcher (Tie)

Dr. Lisa Robinson, a staff physician and scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), an associate professor at University of Toronto and a Canada research chair, co-created the Kids Science program as a way to make science an understandable, entertaining and hands-on educational subject for "at risk" young Canadians who do not have equal exposure to science and technology awareness experiences. These youth, which include patients with chronic illness at SickKids and elementary/high-school students from Toronto and Northeastern Ontario regions, experience accessible one-to-one scientific conferences with graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and established researchers and also have the chance to visit different laboratories around the SickKids Research Institute.

Dr. Jane Roskams, an associate professor in the department of zoology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and member of the Brain Research Centre, encourages youth to both develop an appreciation of science and excel with their creativity. She is the founder of the UBC Mentor Centre that encourages the British Columbia-based research community to speak in elementary/ high-school classrooms, an organizer of conferences that demonstrate how people of different backgrounds can become established researchers, a keynote speaker for conferences that offer teaching advice for elementary/high-school teachers and a facilitator for high-school students to both visit and help in various research laboratories.


Synapse Award - Research Group

Dr. Sarah Flicker, an assistant professor at York University's Faculty of Environmental Studies, and Dr. June Larkin, principal investigator of Gendering Adolescent AIDS Prevention at the University of Toronto, created the Toronto Teen Survey research team, made up of professionals who trained members of Toronto's youth community to collectively develop a survey tool that evaluates the assets, gaps and barriers that exist in sexual health education among Toronto's youth. The team has since developed the survey and gathered information from 1,200 participants and hopes to turn it into a strategy that will increase positive sexual health outcomes among the affected youth.


Appointments


New Scientific Directors at CIHR

Dr. Nancy Edwards was recently appointed scientific director of CIHR's Institute of Population and Public Health. Dr. Edwards is a professor in the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Edwards is also senior scientist at the Institute of Population Health and Elisabeth Bruyère Research Institute, and academic consultant for the City of Ottawa's Public Health Services. She was the inaugural director of the Population Health PhD program at the University of Ottawa and currently holds a chair in nursing funded by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, CIHR and the Government of Ontario. Over the years, Dr. Edwards has been appointed to a variety of board positions in Canada and internationally.

Dr. Morag Park was recently appointed scientific director of CIHR's Institute of Cancer Research. Dr. Park is a James McGill professor in the Departments of Oncology, Biochemistry and Medicine at McGill University, where she serves as director of the Molecular Oncology Group at the McGill University Health Centre. Dr. Park is a member of the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec, Réseau Cancer. She was the associate director for fundamental research at the McGill University Health Centre, was a member of the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance advisory committee and served on and chaired research review panels for CIHR, the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance and the National Cancer Institute of Canada.


Smart Systems for Health Appointment

William Albino, chief executive officer (CEO) of Smart Systems for Health Agency (SSHA), has announced Chris Renaud as vice- president of strategic planning and architecture. Renaud brings over 20 years of senior information technology (IT) and health sector experience to SSHA. Most recently, he held the position of chief information officer, health services information and information technology (I&IT) cluster, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Prior to that time, he held IT delivery positions at the vice-president level and led a number of innovative strategic initiatives and alignment of I&IT with business directions and process change to improve service delivery.


BC Physician to Head International AIDS Society

Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, part of Providence Health Care, has been appointed president of the world's leading independent association of professionals in human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Dr. Montaner assumed the prestigious position of president of the International AIDS Society at the conclusion of the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, on August 8, 2008. His role as president will be a two-year term and, following that, he will have the position of past president for two years.


Saskatchewan Announces Change in the Senior Public Service

Dan Florizone, former CEO of the Five Hills Health Region, joined the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health as deputy minister on August 1, 2008. Mr. Florizone brings both excellent credentials and strong health sector experience to this important role.


New CEO at Providence Healthcare, Toronto

Neil McEvoy will step down as CEO of Hotel Dieu Hospital in Windsor effective September 26, 2008. Mr. McEvoy will be assuming the role of CEO at Providence Healthcare in Toronto.


Ellen Malcolmson Takes Helm at Canadian Diabetes Association

The Canadian Diabetes Association recently announced the appointment of Ellen Malcolmson to the positions of president and CEO effective September 1, 2008. With successes in telecommunications and the not-for-profit sector, Ms. Malcolmson brings a wealth of leadership and management experience to the roles of president and CEO at the Canadian Diabetes Association. Most recently the senior vice-president of customer experience for Bell Canada, Ellen has held a number of senior leadership positions over the past 25 years in the Bell Canada family, including senior vice-president of operations, president and CEO of Expertech Network Installation, senior vice-president of customer care at Bell Mobility and vice-president of operator services.

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