Sarah Downey: A Time of Excitement and Challenge in Mental Health
Release Date: 03/08/2023
Paris Semansky and Patricia Hoffer: Communications Matters - Engage Early, Engage Often
Healthcare Change Makers
Paris Semansky is Director, Communications and Public Affairs at CAMH. This role urges her to wear a variety of hats, including being a brand protector, advocate, and problem-solver. Patricia Hoffer also wears a number of hats while being Chief Communications Officer and Vice President, External Relations at St. Joseph’s Health Care London. She takes pride in leading a diverse and dedicated group of communicators and storytellers. In this episode, Paris and Patricia share key strategies that help them ensure their teams succeed in the healthcare setting, their thoughts on strategic...
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Dr. Devin Singh: Tackling the Barriers to Efficient Care
Healthcare Change Makers
Dr. Devin Singh refused to be a bystander when he recognized inefficiencies in health systems, and he jumped into action by co-founding Hero AI – a clinical automation platform which aims to improve patient safety and wait times. Devin fuels Hero AI by tapping into his experiences and expertise as Emergency Physician at The Hospital for Sick Children to recognize the needs of providers and patients. “It was really important to think through what the real barriers are to improving care in our institution and beyond”, says Dr. Devin Singh when explaining the early stages of creating Hero...
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Dominic Giroux: The Power of Connection, Communication and Community
Healthcare Change Makers
When Dominic Giroux transitioned into the role of President and CEO and Hôpital Montfort, he took a unique and personalized approach. This approach included having 1 on 1’s with a variety of people in the organization to get to know their views and what’s important to them. “You need to get to know your people first and earn their trust, and they will tell you what your priorities should be”, says Dominic when explaining the importance of engaging with staff and providing a listening ear. In this episode, Dominic opens up about what helped him transition into his CEO role, what...
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Dr. Frank Martino: Leading with Passion and Inspiring Positive Change
Healthcare Change Makers
In this latest episode of HIROC’s Healthcare Change Makers podcast, Dr. Frank Martino, President and CEO of the William Osler Health System, reflects on his leadership journey while emphasizing the importance of remaining positive and aiming high in your career, especially in the context of leading one of Canada’s largest community hospital systems. Dr. Martino highlights his organization’s ambitious initiatives, including the adoption of an advanced hospital information system, new redevelopment projects, and a groundbreaking partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU)...
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Catherine Gaulton: The Power of Human Interaction
Healthcare Change Makers
With a new year on the horizon, Catherine is looking forward to so many things – the continued efforts in Health Human Resources, advancing the work in the main areas of Risk, the future of Collaborative Benefits, and so much more. “My optimism is around people that surprise me every day. When I think you can’t help but be defeated, human spirit and strength comes forward every time”, says Catherine when explaining her positive outlook for 2024. In this episode, Catherine gives us a glimpse into the mind of a CEO, including her zest for learning new things and how she recharges and...
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Nimira Dhalwani: Staying Connected to What’s Happening on the Ground
Healthcare Change Makers
Stress and burnout within IT have been on the rise, which is why it’s transformative to create a sense of work life balance which leaders can help implement. Nimira believes that it’s important to check in with her team’s wellbeing and be there for each other outside of work to establish solidarity and balance. “You take care of yourself first, then you take care of others,” says Nimira when explaining the importance of prioritizing one’s health and leading by example for her team. In this episode, Nimira offers her wisdom on preventing burnout, embracing technological change...
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Carol Couchie and Elvira Truglia: Sowing the Seeds of Healthy Relationships
Healthcare Change Makers
Midwives play a vital role in supporting patients through their pregnancy journey, establishing strong connections with both the expectant individuals and their families as they prepare for parenthood. This close relationship uniquely positions midwives to recognize and address instances of family violence that their patients may experience. To support midwives in addressing family violence and abuse, Elvira Truglia, Knowledge Translation Lead at the Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM) and Carol Couchie, Indigenous Mentorship Lead at the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives (NCIM) have...
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Dr. Jackie Schleifer Taylor: Being True to Oneself and the Path of Authentic Leadership
Healthcare Change Makers
For Dr. Jackie Schleifer Taylor, being a healthcare leader and change maker is more than simply being the one at the helm. In this episode, Jackie offers a deep dive into her background, her experience in healthcare, and how she takes actions to cultivate an impactful organizational culture. Underscoring the importance of authenticity in leadership, Jackie believes leaders should be genuine and true to themselves. “It takes time to develop trust and that commitment to be believed and understood,” says Jackie, emphasizing that healthcare leaders should always be creating a culture of...
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Sonia Hsiung and Natasha Beaudin: How Connection and Belonging Can Change the Culture of Our Health System
Healthcare Change Makers
When HIROC put a call out at the 2023 Alliance for Healthier Communities Conference for changemakers, the community delivered. We heard about some amazing healthcare changemakers across the province of Ontario – people like Sonia Hsiung and Natasha Beaudin, and the social prescribing initiative they have been involved in. Sonia is with the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing and the Canadian Red Cross, and Natasha works with the Alliance for Healthier Communities. On this latest episode, Philip De Souza sits down with Sonia and Natasha to talk about how the social...
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Kevin Smith: People Want the Context of ‘Why’
Healthcare Change Makers
Today’s guest is President and CEO of University Health Network, Canada’s largest academic health sciences centre. Kevin Smith pursued his education in Canada, the U.S. and Great Britain, studying psychology, science, public policy and medicine. If Kevin’s had a frustrating day, one of his best experiences is talking to young people who are enthusiastic and filled with hope. He says the system is in good hands with the generation in training today. Open forums and site visits are a regular part of Kevin’s life at UHN, and he sees the challenging questions he gets as a sign of a...
info_outlineToday’s guest has a special place in the HIROC archives. Sarah Downey was our first guest on Healthcare Change Makers when we turned on the mike in 2018. The years that followed that fun interview have been busy for Sarah. For 7 and a half years she was the CEO of Michael Garron Hospital where she shepherded the hospital through a major redevelopment project that included the newly opened Thomson Centre.
Six months ago, Sarah made the decision to move into the President and CEO position at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, better known as CAMH. Leaving Michael Garron and the East York community was tough, but the pull to the mission of CAMH was stronger. Sarah believes mental health is the most important health issue of our lifetime.
It’s a new place and a new culture to learn about, but Sarah always comes back to the importance of being human and being vulnerable in a leadership role. Where talking to people in the coffee line-up is one of the most important things you can do as a CEO.
Quotables
“You forget until you have to make those transitions how emotional they are.” – SD
”It’s thrilling to see these latest two buildings. The spaces are bright and airy. They’re respectful, and focused on recovery, healing and dignified care.” – SD
“It’s not just a one in five who will get mental illness in their lifetime. It’s in everybody’s family. It’s in all your social circles, in all your employees. It’s everywhere.” – SD
“I had forgotten until I came back how many people call to get advice on how to navigate the system.” – SD
“Who’s more important for us to invest in than our young people? They are our future and we need them to be healthier and more resilient.”
“You need to regularly connect with people, use a bit of humour. They want to know that their leader is real.” – SD
“It’s become even more important the last few years to find a break and a space, but what an opportunity to learn.” - SD
“I hold my dad’s lessons in my heart every day and try to act in a way that would always do him proud.” – SD
“We should tell people every day in the moment how much they mean to us and how they’re helping us change our lives.” – PDS
Mentioned in this episode:
CAMH: The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
The history of the Toronto Lunatic Asylum
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre - UHN
Dr. J. Downey, Past President, University of Waterloo (1993-1999)