Building on our success

 

Dr. Tim Rutledge, President and CEO, North York General Hospital

A message to our community from Tim Rutledge, President and CEO, North York General Hospital

In June 2015 we launched our refreshed three-year strategy, building on the achievements of our previous strategic plan. I'm very pleased to share that we have made significant strides in pursuing our vision, Excellence in integrated patient-centred care through learning, innovation and partnerships.

Since the launch, teams across the hospital have taken on almost 50 projects to improve patient care. The updates below reflect important milestones we have achieved with our strategy, as well as what's to come as 2018 approaches.

Here are just a few accomplishments among the many:

  • Access to Care projects, like the implementation of an escalation protocol that clearly defines when and how we mobilize resources during peak times like flu season, are why we are able to maintain our level of service despite increasing demands.
     

  • We recruited two new Research Chairs, Monika Kastner and Patricia Trbovich. Our five applied research chairs, a research scientist and innovation awards through the Exploration Fund were all made possible thanks to visionary donors to the North York General Foundation.
     

  • We have successfully implemented eCare across every inpatient unit, preventing over 11,000 potential medication errors and significantly improved patient safety. Earlier this year we were presented with an HIMSS Davies Award of Excellence for improving patient safety through health care information technology.
     

  • And the new 7th and 8th floor inpatient unit will improve patient flow and access to care for our community across the hospital.
     

  • One of the keys to our success is involving patients and families in our work, from input into the strategy to being part of a project team. Our teams work with Patient and Family Advisors to develop patient impact statements that describe the differences we hope to achieve from a patient's perspective. Learn how we are putting patients first.
     

  • Just as important as improving the quality of our care is planning for the future so that North York General is ready to serve our community as it grows and changes. As announced March 1, 2017, the decision to transfer services out of the Branson Ambulatory Care Centre was made after careful consideration. Learn more about Branson transition plans on our website. 

Our success in continually enhancing the quality of care we provide to our patients and their families is a direct result of our staff, physicians and volunteers fulfilling our promise to put patients first in everything we do.

This article appeared in the May 2017 issue of The Pulse.

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