Our Shared Purpose newsletter December 2019/January 2020

OUR SHARED

PURPOSE December 2019 and January 2020

WOMEN HELPING

WOMEN All-female surgical team at St.Michael’s provides unique treatment option for gynecological disease

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE • SusDEANability campaign launch • Locating and Switchboard’s unsung heroes • Introducing the Care Experience Charter • One family’s deep ties to Unity Health

LOCATING, THIS IS

ERNEE

BY JENNIFER STRANGES

PHOTO BY KATIE COOPER

Vital role of Locating and Switchboard employees highlighted as longtime agent retires

PAT I E N T C A R E

Introducing the Care Experience Charter Project describes what patients, caregivers and residents value in their care They are the reliable, friendly, and reassuring voices on the other

dozen other messages of tribute, a similar number of retweets and

end of the line. Locating and Switchboard agents know that their work

more than 250 likes.

– answering and redirecting internal and external calls to their desired

recipients – could help save a life.

over the years, I had never seen his smiling face until today! He will be

“We communicate with urgency and are prepared to meet the

missed by many people,” tweeted Dr. Irfan Dhalla, who becomes Vice-

immediate needs of doctors, react to different codes and emergencies,

President of Physician Quality and Director of the Care Experience

monitor alarms, and act appropriately and quickly in order to avoid loss

Institute in January.

of life, or property and assets,” said Ernesto “Ernee” Cahanding who,

last month at age 60, said farewell to St. Michael’s after 30 years on

with a list of the tweets posted in his honour. He said it’s tough to say

the job.

goodbye to the people and the place he has known for so long.

While those working the switchboard are well-known by those

“Despite hundreds (or thousands?) of conversations with Ernee

Ernee, who is not a Twitter user, got emotional when presented

“They say, ‘Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in

who frequent the lines, they’re often familiar by just their name and

your life.’ That has been my experience here,” he said through tears. “It

voice. So when news of Ernee’s retirement was shared by Dr. Samir

makes me very emotional to hear that maybe, in a way, I have made a

Grover on Twitter along with a selfie, for many it was the first time they

positive impact on people’s lives. I’ve just been doing my job.

were able to put a face to his name. The tweet inspired nearly two

Our Shared Purpose is a monthly newsletter highlighting our people and the ways they are improving care, patient experience and the health of our communities.

“It’s been a blessing.”

BY AMBER DAUGHERTY

Murray Powell is helped contribute to Unity Health Toronto’s first harmonized Care Experience Charter. (Photo by Yuri Markarov)

On Aug. 31, 2015, Murray Powell accidentally fell on the tracks at

that outlines what patients value when they receive care. In 2018,

Bay subway station. He was pulled to safety, taken to St. Michael’s

Unity Health started a project to harmonize our three sites’ existing

for evaluation and then moved to Providence for months of recovery

declarations into one that would reflect our organization, including the

for his seven broken ribs, cracked pelvis and other injuries.

Houses of Providence. The finished product – the Care Experience

“All told, it was about two months from the day I entered the

Charter – has two versions: one for our hospitals and one for the

treatment program that I was back out in the public and on stage

Houses. They each include eight statements that describe what

singing a song that I’d written about it,” Powell said. “The treatment

patients, caregivers and residents value when they come to us for care,

that I had here was incredible. On the day I was ready to leave, it was

as well as guiding principles that were co-designed with our staff and

hard because on one hand, I didn’t really want to go but of course I

physicians that outline the steps employees will take to demonstrate

wanted to leave. That’s how valuable it was to me.”

those values.

Powell wanted to give back and so, shortly after leaving

“The process was inclusive, broad and extensive in terms of

Providence, he became a Patient and Family Partner, helping support

the amount of input given and I think that bodes well for its quality,

initiatives by sharing his own experience. That’s how he found himself

honesty and value,” said Powell. “It’s really important that everyone

helping create Unity Health Toronto’s first harmonized Care Experience

at Unity Health knows that people who are real patients or caregivers

Charter.

contributed to this – we got this from people who have been treated

by you or your colleagues.”

Every hospital is required by law (under the Excellent Care for

All Act 2010) to have something called a patient declaration of values

Learn more: www.unityhealth.to

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OUR SHARED PURPOSE

OUR SHARED PURPOSE

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DR. ALYSHA NENSI CLINICAL FELLOW IN MINIMALLY INVASIVE GYNECOLOGIC SURGERY

PAT I E N T C A R E

WOMEN

HELPING

DR. ANDREA SIMPSON

DR. DEBORAH ROBERTSON

OBSTETRICIAN AND MINIMALLY INVASIVE GYNECOLOGIC SURGEON

DIRECTOR OF MINIMALLY INVASIVE GYNECOLOGICAL SURGERY FELLOWSHIP

WOMEN

DR. SARI KIVES DEPUTY CHIEF OF GYNECOLOGY

WRITTEN BY DANIELLE PEREIRA PHOTOS BY YURI MARKAROV

All-female surgical team at St.Michael’s provides unique treatment option for gynecological disease

G

RACE VOSILLA HAD NEVER HAD A SURGERY

hysterectomies and myomectomies (surgery to remove uterine fibroids)

IN HER LIFE. After cancer cells were discovered in

to women who fall into two specific categories.

instruments in and out of the abdomen, we can keep our pressure

the technique can become more widely available.

the lining of her uterus, she was referred to St. Michael’s

extremely low and there’s full range of motion,” says Dr. Kives, deputy

Hospital and told she had grade 1 endometrial cancer.

40 and have early stage cancer of the endometrium or endometrial

chief of Gynecology at St. Michael’s.

surgery, has been training with the team since July 2018. She says it

hyperplasia – pre-cancer of the lining of the uterus. The other is young

has been rewarding to be able to offer this patient population a minimally

She would need a hysterectomy – a surgery to remove her uterus.

“I wasn’t really panicking when they mentioned

cancer because all the ladies in my family had some form of cancer, but I’d never had any kind of surgery,” says Vosilla, 52. “I didn’t know what to expect, but it was caught early and there was a good chance they could remove all of the cancer, so that gave me hope.”

She says being overweight made her anticipate

the surgery would be challenging and require a long recovery but the team informed her she was a

The first is women who have a body mass index greater than

“With the addition of the robotics, we do not have to move the

“The robot doesn’t make the surgery easy at all but it makes it

women who want to preserve their fertility but have

possible. And it allows us to operate through small

a large fibroid or fibroids that need to be removed.

incisions but under less ideal circumstances.”

RIGHT SURGERY,

“Women with a high body mass index are at a higher

risk for endometrial cancer and their weight makes

operative pain, less blood loss and patients can

FOR THE RIGHT

other surgical techniques challenging and increases

return home faster.

the chance for complications,” says Dr. Robertson,

director of the Minimally Invasive Gynecological

surgery was wonderful because I’m self-employed,

Surgery Fellowship at St. Michael’s.

so being able to get back on my feet quickly was

These women can also experience longer wait times

something I worried about,” says Vosilla, who works

to receive treatment because the robot technology

as a dog walker.

IT’S ABOUT THE

PERSON, AT THE RIGHT TIME

candidate for a minimally invasive option offered at

The result is less wound infections, less post-

“Having the option to have a minimally invasive

continuously has one to two fellows working with them in the hopes that Dr. Alysha Nensi, a clinical fellow in minimally invasive gynecologic

THE DAY AFTER

invasive treatment option.

“It’s more than just the surgery we’re providing these

THE SURGERY I

patients – they’ve come to a centre with a group of

WAS UP, WALKING

care needs, speaking to them with what I hope is

AND ABLE TO GO HOME

less stigma, seeing them quickly and we have a minimally invasive technique we can offer,” she says.

St. Michael’s acquired the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System in 2008 through philanthropic donations and they continue to rely on donor support to run

St. Michael’s.

is not available at their local hospital and they may not be seen at an

oncology centre because of the early stage of their disease.

The first couple of weeks I was moving a bit slower and being more

all-female surgical team leading the way across the province with the

careful but soon I was back to being with the animals.”

Robertson. ”We’re very passionate about providing this treatment option

use of the technique to treat gynecological disease.

has seen an increase in the number of referrals received each year and

because it’s about the right surgery, for the right person, at the right

cases come from both rural and urban communities across Ontario.

robotic surgery. She trained Dr. Robertson and Dr. Simpson and the team

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Drs. Sari Kives, Deborah Robertson and Andrea Simpson are the

The team uses the da Vinci®System surgical robot to provide OUR SHARED PURPOSE

That’s where the team at St. Michael’s is stepping in. The team

“The day after the surgery I was up, walking and able to go home.

providers who are very comfortable managing their

Dr. Kives was one of the first non-oncologists in Ontario to perform

their minimally invasive programs.

“We’ve ended up having this team that’s quite unique,” says Dr.

time.”

OUR SHARED PURPOSE

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SEE MORE CONTENT FROM UNITY HEALTH TORONTO Want to see more great stories and real-time updates from St. Joseph’s Health Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare?

Follow Unity Health Toronto’s new social media accounts on Facebook (@UnityHealthToronto), Twitter (@UnityHealthTO) and Instagram (@ UnityHealthTO).

The harmonized social media accounts will showcase people, spaces and programs from across the network. Moving forward, sitespecific Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts will no longer be active. Each hospital foundation will also run their own separate social media accounts.

Be sure to use our new handles in your future posts. We look forward to engaging with you online!

COMMUNITY

UNITY HEALTH TORONTO RANKED AMONG TOP 15 RESEARCH HOSPITALS IN CANADA Unity Health Toronto is one of the top 15 research hospitals in Canada, and in the top five of Canada’s medium-sized hospitals in researcher intensity, according to a list published by Research Infosource Inc.

In the list of Canada’s Top 40 Research Hospitals, Unity Health has climbed to number 11. Ranked previously as only the St. Michael’s Hospital site, Unity Health moved up one spot from last year’s number 12 ranking. Zeroing in on “Researcher Intensity,” which shows research spending by researcher, Unity Health maintained its ranking as fifth among medium-sized hospitals.

“Our research changes lives and we are excited by our continued success and growth as an institute,” said Dr. Ori Rotstein, VicePresidentof Research and Innovation at Unity Health.

EXAMINING SIGNALING PATHWAYS SHARING MEDICAL IMAGING DATA IN CANCERS LIKE GLIOBLASTOMA TO CUT RADIATION DOSES Research recently in Scientific Reports new Patients published might expect radiation doses formay CT shed scans tolight be on controlling the development of glioma cells, which are tumours comparable from one hospital to the next, but a team at found in cancers such assays glioblastoma.

St. Michael’s Hospital the dose variance can be startling.

The team Led byisDr.collecting Sunit Das,and scientist at the Keenan Research for analyzing data from eight Centre hospitals Biomedical Science, the work suggests the growth and reproduction for the Medical Imaging Metadata Repository of Ontario (MIMRO) of in glioblastoma and average other cancers of thedose brain and to cells helpfound reduce the province’s radiation per spine, scan. is promoted through a signal called Transforming growth factor beta Using artificial intelligence to sort the hospitals’ data, the team (TGF-beta).

The researchers found that a series of molecular signals generated comparative data by facility, scanner and exam to help initiated by best Bonepractices.

Morphogenetic Protein (BMP), on the other determine MIMRO is funded primarily by hand, inhibits these cells’ production.

St. Michael’s and was created by two of its radiologists, Drs. Timothy “This study suggests we could Dowdell andthat Bruce Gray. modify TGF-beta and BMP signaling to improve tumour control,” said Dr. Das. “It takes us one step Radiologist Dr. Bruce Gray data analyst Concepcion review data closer to new treatments forand patients with Lianne brain and spinal cancer.”

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submitted to MIMRO. (Photo: Katie Cooper) Dr. Sunit Das, a scientist at the Keenan Research Centre, is also a neurosurgeon at OUR PURPOSE St. Michael’s.

His SHARED team researches the biology of brain cancers. (Photo: Medical Media)

Family’s ties with Unity Health run deep Farrugia family has four generations of connections to our hospitals

BY EMILY DAWSON

PHOTOS BY JAMES WYSOTSKI

Unity Health Toronto has touched the lives of countless people

over its 162-year history but the Farrugia family has a unique

featured in our Memory Lane displays and the John Farrugia Award

connection to our hospitals that spans four generations.

(1994-2004) was given annually to an employee who demonstrated

his qualities of integrity, wisdom and dedicated service.

Recently, Beth Johnson, Executive Director of Mission Integration,

Farrugia Sr.’s impact lives on at Providence. He’s prominently

brought a statue of Mother Mary that has graced Providence’s halls for

more than 60 years to conservator Alicia Coutts-Farrugia.

generation as well.

While discussing the statue’s restoration, Coutts-Farrugia

The family’s relationship with the Sisters continued in the next “My father-in-law, John Jr., remembers getting cookies from the

mentioned that her husband, Joseph, has “Providence” as his middle

Sisters and following his dad on jobs around the hospitals. I believe

name in honour of a special relationship between his grandfather John

that influenced his decision to become an architect specializing

and our founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, that traces back

in hospitals,” said Coutts-Farrugia. “Over the years, he did major

to 1928.

architectural work at St. Michael’s as well as projects at Providence

and St. Joe’s.”

John Farrugia Sr. worked and volunteered with the Sisters for

55 years. As a first-class engineer, he oversaw many of their building

projects – including the construction of Providence Villa and Hospital

daughter, Avery, recently received care at St. Joseph’s, bringing the

– until his retirement in 1983.

third and fourth generations into the Unity Health community.

“When the depression hit in 1929, John Sr. had been working

Joseph and his siblings were born at St. Michael’s and his

“We’re proud that John Sr. is remembered and that he still means

for the Sisters for a year and they had a very strong relationship.

so much to Providence’s community. He was an excellent example for

The Sisters were able to keep him on during the depression and that

his children and grandchildren and it will continue with our children too,”

fostered a lasting trust,” said Coutts-Farrugia.

said Coutts-Farrugia.

OUR SHARED PURPOSE

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Going Green

BY SELMA AL-SAMARRAI PHOTO BY YURI MARKAROV

Dean Martin, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice-President of Corporate Services, is leading the SusDEANability campaign

Unity Health Toronto is launching a sustainability campaign in a

implemented across Unity Health Toronto. A few recent examples

bid to reduce our carbon footprint and waste, and to identify how

include the switch to LED lights at various locations in St. Michael’s and

we can continue to improve our conservation efforts.

St. Joseph’s, the installation of electric car chargers at the St. Joseph’s

parking lot, and the replacement of two chillers at Providence.

Leading this campaign is Dean Martin, Chief Financial Officer

and Executive Vice-President of Corporate Services at Unity Health

Toronto.. The campaign, named SusDEANability, targets Providence

consumption and $16,000 in associated energy costs, per year.

Healthcare, St. Michael’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Health Centre and all

our offsite clinics and offices.

carbon footprint? For starters, turn off their computers at the end of

the work day.

“Hospitals have huge environmental footprints; they’re a larger

The latter project is estimated to save 136,000 kWh in energy So what can staff do in the workplace to reduce the network’s

consumer of energy and resources than schools and universities. If we

can reduce that by just 10 per cent, it would make a huge difference,”

per cent of the network’s computers are left on at the end of the day.

explained Martin.

That’s about 5,000 computers. If just a third of these computers were

“Through prioritizing sustainability at our organization, we meet

turned off after work, this would reduce the network’s electricity use

three key goals: we reduce cost, we make the best use of our very

by one per cent, which is enough to power 88 homes for an entire year.

precious health care resources, and we become a better corporate

citizen by reducing our environmental footprint.”

waste and carefully separate garbage, recycling and compost when

using bins across the network.

The SusDEANability campaign supports our network’s strategic

The network’s IT team recently reported that approximately 60

Other areas of improvement for staff include reducing printing

priority of ‘investing in our future’ - to improve our environmental

stewardship and, through this goal, maximize existing funding and

a groundswell of support amongst staff, and offer opportunities that

reduce our organization’s expenses.

everyone can get involved in easily and every day,” said Martin.

“Some sustainability initiatives aren’t simple, but these are.”

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The campaign will profile ongoing greening projects being OUR SHARED PURPOSE

“The hope is that this campaign will provide an opportunity for