As we write our Annual Report in the midst of a global pandemic, we proudly look back on a year of leadership, innovation, and lighting the way in patient-centered healthcare. As CEO and Chair, we are humbled and inspired by our teams of healthcare professionals whose dedication to building a healthier community knows no bounds.
Humber River Hospital has been a leader both in the community and across Ontario as the province moves into a new model of patient-centered care. We are proud to have been selected as part of a 13-member team for the North Western Toronto Ontario Health Team (OHT) to deliver a full and coordinated continuum of care for our community. An important part of a continuing shift toward a model of patient-centered care is the dynamic partnership formalized between the North Western Toronto OHT and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s (RNAO) Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) program, through which we implement and evaluate the RNAO’s best practices guidelines on patient safety and quality care. Locally in the community, Humber River Hospital has partnered with Runnymede Healthcare Centre to bridge the gap between levels of care, which puts patients at the centre of all interactions so that they can access the care they need.
We hosted both an open house attended by over 700 of our community members and a virtual Town Hall where over 3000 community members participated. We were able to engage our community on strengths and opportunities, as we move forward together. Additionally, we introduced the Equity and Inclusion Office to ensure every decision made at Humber is equitable, inclusive, and reflects the diversity of our community.
We continue to be a globally recognized leader in patient experience and digital healthcare. In August, we received two awards from Studer Group at the What’s Right in Healthcare 2019 Conference, including the Patient Experience Award. In November, our Vice President of Clinical Programs, Carol Hatcher, received the Digital Health Canada Women Leadership in Digital Health Award.
Our priorities are patient safety and the patient experience, which we have demonstrated with our SickKids Partnership and our Reactivation Care Centre (RCC) sites. Our partnership with SickKids enables SickKids general surgeons to operate on patients in their own community, where parents, pepper guided by the child life specialist can enter the OR and play an active role in comforting and coaching their children during their anaesthetic. Through the RCC at the Church and Finch sites, which are now fully operational, we can safely transition patents who no longer need acute care services into Alternative Level Care (ALC) where they can access specialized care from specially-trained staff. The RCC structure also enabled us to open a COVID-19 Assessment Centre at our Finch site RCC which is urgently important in the fight against COVID-19.
As North America’s first fully-digital hospital, we have continued to innovate by introducing new clinical analytic applications, or ‘tiles,’ which mark the second stage in the evolution for our technology-rich Command Centre. In partnership with GE Healthcare Partners, we rolled out five new tiles: Mother Baby tile, Risk of Harm tile, Deterioration tile, Seniors tile, and the COVID-19 tile. These clinical tiles integrate standardized early warning systems, predictive analytics, real-time information from multiple digital systems, and professional expertise to provide an added layer of protection for patients with conditions that make them more vulnerable to risks of adverse events or outcomes, including seniors, perinatal and neonatal patients, and patients at risk of harm and deterioration.
In just over a week, we swiftly introduced the COVID-19 tile in our Command Centre to track overall trends of testing and positive or suspected cases, which supports early response from our experienced front-line professionals. As the innovation leader in GE’s global ecosystem of clinical command centres, we are proud to be one of the first hospitals to integrate the new COVID-19 tile into our Command Centre, along with other leading hospitals around the world.
This year marked the launch of our research agenda with focused attention in 3 priority areas including, community connection, clinical excellence, and optimizing care through technology. The release of a Special Issue of the Healthcare Quarterly Journal highlights the important role that Humber River Hospital physicians have in conducting applied research as it relates to digital transformation.
Thank you to our Board of Directors for their commitment on behalf of the community, who continue to provide strategic direction virtually, and a special thanks to our staff, physicians and volunteers for your tireless service.
Even in the midst of unprecedented challenges, the people of Humber River Hospital rise up to meet each challenge with compassion, professionalism and respect. Humber River Hospital is prepared and ready to build on our successes of the past year and continue to build a healthier community. This Annual Report demonstrates how when we work together, we will meet any challenge that comes our way.
