From the Burgundy Chairs Santis Health

Delivering world-class care and research, Ontario’s hospitals play a pivotal role in diagnosing, treating and coordinating care for a growing population.
 
But Ontario’s health system is under incredible pressure. Hospitals are faced with a series of unique challenges including capacity restraints, staffing shortages, rising infrastructure costs and the evolving needs of patients. Tackling these challenges is top of mind for hospital leaders with the ultimate goal to deliver efficient, accessible and high-quality care.
 
Hosted by Santis Health Executive Associate, Saäd Rafi, this podcast episode offers a pulse check on Ontario’s hospital system. Bringing together three hospital leaders from across the province, we explore the shared challenges and overarching themes for sector-wide improvements.
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Dr. Frank Martino is the President and Chief Executive Officer of William Osler Health System, one of Canada’s largest community hospital networks, serving Brampton, Etobicoke and the surrounding region with over 1.1 million patient visits each year. A strong advocate for quality patient care, Dr. Martino has dedicated his over 30-year career to improving the health of individuals and communities to effect change for the betterment of patients. Dr. Martino joined Osler in 1991 and has held progressively senior roles – including serving as Interim Vice-President of Quality & Medical Affairs, Chief of Staff, and Chief of Family Medicine. He has practiced family medicine in Brampton for decades.
 
Lynn Guerriero is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Niagara Health. She came to Niagara Health as an accomplished leader in the Ontario health care system, with more than 30 years of leadership, management and clinical experience within a variety of health care provider settings. Lynn has also held senior roles at Cancer Care Ontario and prior to joining Niagara Health was Assistant Deputy Minister for the OHIP Division of the Ontario Ministry of Health.  
 
Cynthia Davis is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lakeridge Health. A registered nurse by profession, Cynthia has a passion for patient-centred care, which she fosters through engagement and partnerships. Over the course of her time in this position, she has led the organization through many transformative changes as it continues to realize its vision as the integrated health system in Durham Region. She has also advanced the development and opening of a new long-term care home and the site selection process for a potential new hospital in Durham Region

The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated capacity and health human resource (HHR) challenges across health systems in Canada, and around the world. The extent of these challenges has necessitated governments, providers and organizations to think differently about their respective roles and commit to real change.
One of the key challenges in addressing the HHR crisis is identifying how to retain health workers in their roles amidst long-standing and systemic pressures on the workforce – including a high-needs, aging population, staffing shortages, and inadequate focus on worker well-being and retention in recent history. Improvements to workplace culture and workplace mental health are critical to retention efforts.
In this podcast episode, Victoria Wiebe sits down with Eduardo Castro, Ashley Kim, and Nancy Hood from CMHA Ontario to discuss Your Health Space – a free workplace mental health program developed by CMHA Ontario to support health workers’ psychological health and safety in the workplace.  Ed, Ashley, and Nancy will share more about the imperative for change, how the Your Health Space program is inspiring change in health care workplaces across Ontario, and the program’s impact to-date in addressing recruitment and retention challenges on-the-ground.
This is the third part of Santis’ three-part series on health human resources. In November, we held a webinar with thought leaders from across the country to speak about “what it will take” to advance change for Canada’s health human resources crisis. In January, we held the second part of this series, exploring the government perspectives on what it will take to advance change for Canada’s health workforce, current initiatives underway, and the role of collaboration in driving the change we wish to see. You can view both of these webinars on the Santis Health YouTube channel.

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its report “Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future.” The report detailed how colonization historically undermined the health of Indigenous Peoples and how past policies continue to contribute towards the persistent health gap between Indigenous communities and the general population.
At the same time, the Commission released 94 calls to action for reconciliation between Indigenous Peoples and Canadians. Among them was a call to action to “those who can effect change within the Canadian health care system to recognize the value of Indigenous healing practices and use them in the treatment of Indigenous patients in collaboration with Indigenous healers and Elders”.
One example of an organization effecting change is St. Joseph’s Care Group. Located in Thunder Bay, St. Joseph’s Care Group is a catholic health care organization with a unique focus on caring for those with unmet needs. They operate a hospital and several long-term care facilities, while also providing housing support, mental health and addictions support, rehabilitation and palliative care. Given their northern location, they also provide care and support for a large Indigenous population.
In this episode, Pia Lindemann Kristensen is joined by Paul Francis Jr., Vice President of N’doo’owe Binesi, the Indigenous Health, Partnerships and Wellness division of St. Joseph's Care Group. They discuss the importance of culturally safe care for Indigenous Peoples and explore St. Joseph’s Care Group’s journey to recognize and implement Indigenous healing practices in its health care settings.
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Paul Francis Jr. is the Vice President of N’doo’owe Binesi (Healing Thunderbird), the Indigenous Health, Partnerships and Wellness division of St. Joseph’s Care Group in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
A registered social worker, Paul is a graduate of the Master of Social Work Indigenous Field of Study Program at Wilfrid Laurier University and a member in good standing with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. Since 2019, he has maintained a small private practice, Shkode Mkwa Counselling. Paul is committed to his Anishinaabe spiritual practices and enjoys attending and helping with traditional ceremonies. Paul believes in the power of Indigenous healing practices and that possibilities exist to integrate them within the mainstream health care system for the benefit of all.  
Paul is Odawa (Anishinaabe) and mixed European ancestry, a member from Wiikwemikong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island and is a member of the Bear Clan. Paul is a proud father to Tristan, Royal, Harlow, Ailee and Siinese, with his wife Kyla.

Pharmacists’ scope of practice has expanded and evolved in recent years, and Canada's pharmacists are doing more for their patients than ever before. Pharmacists in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario have seen their prescribing powers expand significantly this year — with Ontario further expanding the list of common ailments pharmacists can treat just a few weeks ago.
There is increasing evidence that better health outcomes are achieved when patients are able to access pharmacist-delivered health services. While all pharmacists across Canada currently have some level of prescribing authority, this varies greatly by jurisdiction. From both a cost and patient wellness perspective, the role of pharmacists in the health system is key. However, when red tape, jurisdictional complications and an increased workload prevent pharmacists from practicing to their full scope, patients don’t receive the best possible care.
Advocates across Canada are calling on governments and the broader health sector to not only recognize the essential role of pharmacists in the health system and utilize this valuable resource accordingly, but also to explore the innovative tools and resources that are rapidly becoming available to the pharmacy sector. By enabling innovation, pharmacists can be empowered to drive forward positive change in how Canadians access high-quality health care.
Joined by Sandra Hanna, CEO of the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada, and Blair Laufman, Vice President of Medication Management Solutions at BD-Canada, we explore the evolution of pharmacists’ scope of practice and the role of technology within the sector.
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Sandra Hanna is the CEO of the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada. Sandra is a graduate of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto, a practicing pharmacist, and has completed her masters in law and the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program. She has served as CEO of Neighbourhood Pharmacies since 2019, after serving for two years as the Vice President, Pharmacy Affairs at the Association. Sandra is focused on helping to navigate the pharmacy industry through transformation while continuing to build strong, productive relationships with stakeholders. Prior to her role at Neighbourhood Pharmacies, Sandra’s counsel was sought by pharmacy retailers, manufacturers, and service providers in her capacity as Chief Innovation Officer at Gold Links Health Solutions. She continues to practice in an independent pharmacy in Guelph, Ontario and has a passion for innovation in health care.
Blair Laufman is the Vice President of the Medication Management Solutions (MMS) business unit at BD (Becton Dickinson and Company) Canada. Blair leads a customer-centric and innovative team focusing on the safety of medication delivery and management for better patient outcomes. Blair is responsible for driving and executing the MMS business strategy in Canada and overseeing the growth and P&L responsibilities for a category growing with recent mergers and acquisitions. Having joined BD in 2007, Blair has held several commercial roles in sales, business development and marketing with increasing scope and responsibilities. Blair holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biology from McMaster University and a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

In February 2023, the Government of Canada announced it will increase health funding to the provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years. Included in this funding, in an effort to address Canada’s overdose crisis, is targeted support for mental health and substance use to ensure Canadians have equal access to “timely, equitable, and quality mental health, substance use, and addictions services.”
With rates of addiction rising across the country, community organizations like Addiction Services Central Ontario (ASCO) offer services including bed-based treatment slots, drop-in programs, peer support, counselling, case management, harm reduction and psychoeducation to those affected by addictions.
On International Overdose Awareness Day, the world’s largest annual campaign to end the overdose crisis and acknowledge those who are affected by addiction and overdose, Santis Health is proud to share this conversation with Penny Marrett, Executive Director of ASCO. We discuss the current state of addictions services in Ontario and across Canada, some of the challenges being faced today and the steps we can take together to strengthen the addictions sector.
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Penny Marrett is the Executive Director of Addiction Services Central Ontario (ASCO), a leading government funded clinical treatment provider for substance use, problem gambling and mental health concerns. 
Under Penny’s leadership, ASCO operates more than 13 programs from different locations in York Region, South Simcoe and North York, embracing a holistic, biological, psychological, social and spiritual approach to understanding addiction. This year, ASCO celebrates their 40th anniversary. Since 1983, the organization has served thousands of clients each year, providing a range of addiction and mental health programs and services, supports and referrals for adults, youth (12+) and their families. 
Over the span of her 40-year career in the not-for-profit sector, Penny has also been an active volunteer. Her volunteer experience has included serving a Board Member of Addictions and Mental Health Ontario, the Windsor Family Health Team, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the Trillium Chapter of the Canadian Society of Association Executive and the Canadian Soccer Association. She has also volunteered at Distress Centres of Greater Toronto and the Assaulted Women’s Helpline, among others.

Artificial intelligence has made remarkable advancements in recent years, with the potential to revolutionize the health care industry. From aiding in disease diagnosis and treatment planning to optimizing patient care and streamlining administrative tasks, AI systems can enhance medical outcomes and improve the overall efficiency of health care delivery.
However, along with these promising advancements, we must also critically examine the ethical dilemmas and regulatory hurdles accompanying AI integration in our health care systems.
In this second episode in Santis’ AI Podcast Series, Ben King and Zahava Uddin discuss the use of artificial intelligence in health care, specifically through the lens of administrative efficiencies. We talk about the GE HealthCare Command Center approach and how it's used to optimize acute care utilization. Zahava also shares her industry perspective on the role of predictive analysis and machine learning across hospitals to balance work loads, improve patient flow and support transitions in care.
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Zahava Uddin is a Managing Director with GE HealthCare’s Command Center team. She helps health care organizations re-engineer clinical operations and implement capabilities for real time orchestration of patient care delivery.
At the core of this work, is the planning, design, build and activation of Real Time Apps that prompt timely action by expediters and front-line care teams across the organization to eliminate delays, solve care progression barriers, level-load demand and de-risk issues. In many instances, the deployment of these Apps is accompanied by the development of a hospital command centre department that proactively monitors capacity pressures and other risk and provides a centre of gravity for learning and culture change.
Since joining GE HealthCare (GEHC) in 2000, Zahava has worked in both Canada and the US on hospital capacity strategy, workflow re-engineering, health care facility design, capital equipment planning and hospital command centers. Prior to GEHC, Zahava worked in administration at an academic health sciences centre in Toronto and at a health care consultancy that develops functional programs for Canadian hospital redevelopment projects.
Zahava has an MBA in Health Services Management and a BSc in Biochemistry, both from McMaster University. She is a Six Sigma Black Belt and a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders. She routinely presents on topics related to seamless patient care and digital transformation at forums that have included the Brazil National Congress of Private Hospitals, TECHNA, Canada’s National Health Leadership Conference, DASH Toronto and Canadian Healthcare Infrastructure.