CEO Report
May 2026
Table of contents
1.0 Strategy in Action
Excellence in Care: Powered by Discovery
- London Health Research Day
- Spiritual Care aids more residents and patients
- Improving patient care in Diabetes and Endocrinology
- On-site stores see higher revenue
- Vocational development for clients at Southwest Centre
- Standardizing virtual resources for aphasia rehabilitation
- Refurbishment extends life of cyclotron
- Refreshed statement of patient, resident and family values
A Vibrant Workforce
- EDIB Advisory Council inaugural meeting
- Hope Huddle supports staff wellbeing
Partnering for Impact
- Shared energy conversations: ‘watt’ a bright idea
- Partnering for student health at Fanshawe College
2.0 Operational Updates
- EyeDoc platform retirement and records retention
- Sarah-Jane Adams named incoming VP, Patient Care
- Christian Otte named new VP, Digital Health and Chief information Officer
3.0 Recognition
- Doctor appreciation day
- Care Partner appreciation
- Dr. Kane honoured for geriatric medicine accomplishments
- Schulich Awards of Excellence for Drs MacDougall and Schemitsch
4.0 CEO Activity
- Ontario Hospital Association summit
- Foundation-led Breakfast of Champions
5.0 Federal/Provincial Updates
- Ontario: Province may allow hearing aids without prescription
- Ontario: Pharmacists’ scope of practice to be expanded
**The CEO Report to the Board of Directors Report also includes links to health care focused media stories that have been published within the month. For a list of these links for the current report, please contact @email.
1.0 Strategy in Action
Excellence in Care: Powered by Discovery
London Health Research Day
On April 29, more than 350 of London’s brightest young researchers showcased their innovative work – some of it years in the making – during London Health Research Day at Western University. They ranged from undergraduate students tackling complex disease pathways to postdoctoral scholars conducting advanced neuroscience. Lawson Research Institute (Lawson) of St. Joseph’s Health Care London had a vibrant presence, with oral and poster presentations by students and trainees. The day also included a noon keynote presentation, part of The Lucille & Norton Wolf Health Research Lecture Series, by Paula Cannon, PhD, USC professor and world-renowned leader in gene and cell therapy.
Lawson research operations provided internal promotion and logistics for Lawson participation, including an in-person Lawson table and coordination with LAFS representatives, while Communications led external awareness. The event received media coverage from three local news outlets, in addition to a St. Joseph’s internet and intranet stories and photos, and social media posts.
Spiritual Care aids more residents and patients
We celebrated 10 spiritual care interns for their interactions with St. Joseph’s patients and clients. During the past fiscal year, the entire Spiritual Care team had 25,290 interactions with patients, an increase of almost five per cent. In addition - and specific to residents at Mt. Hope Centre for Long-term Care - the Spiritual Care team of practitioners, a Roman Catholic priest, students and eucharistic ministers had 1,783 one-to-one interactions with residents, an increase of 15 per cent.
Improving patient care in Diabetes and Endocrinology
A new centralized registration area has been installed at St. Joseph’s Area B5 to support registration for both Diabetes & Endocrinology Clinic and the Diabetes Education Centre (DEC). The new area has doubled the registration desks to four, from the previous two, while also accommodating sit/stand functionality for clinic clerks. This centralization will see efficiencies of workflow over time as clinic clerks are being cross-trained on a number of positions. This change also supports converting the previous DEC registration and waiting area to the new Trauma and Violence Specialized Primary Care Program’s registration and waiting room area.
On-site stores see higher revenue
Year-end totals for revenue generated across all on-site retail stores equaled $157,000, a 21-per-cent increase over the previous year. This growth can be attributed to increased visibility of the stores through various initiatives including travelling and holiday carts, sustained availability of high-demand products and the introduction last fall of the Local Vendor Program. All revenue generated in the stores is returned to care at St. Joseph’s, enhancing the lives of those we serve.
Vocational development for clients at Southwest Centre
Volunteer Services is partnering with Occupational Therapy at Southwest Centre to re-introduce a vocational skills development opportunity within the on-site variety store at SWC. The program operates each Friday, providing one chosen client the opportunity to work alongside an Occupational Therapist to gain hands-on experience in retail operations. The program is designed to support skill development that can be translated to future employment opportunities and included on the individual’s resume. This initiative also enables the store to expand operating hours, increasing access for on-site clients and staff.
Standardizing virtual resources for aphasia rehabilitation
Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) in the Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Program (CORP) and Community Stroke Rehabilitation Team (CSRT) have played a key role in supporting the Virtual Care Team by developing an Aphasia Friendly Resource Document designed to improve virtual patient access across different systems and devices. Drawing on their clinical expertise in communication accessibility and aphasia friendly design, SLPs collaborated closely with virtual care stakeholders to ensure the resource was clear, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of individuals with communication challenges within our stroke population.
This collaborative initiative has addressed a critical gap and has improved patient care by standardizing accessible resources that will become available for patients across both LHSC and St. Joseph’s.
Refurbishment extends life of cyclotron
We recently completed an upgrade on our 2010 GE PETtrace 880 cyclotron, which involved a full refurbishment of critical systems, full replacement of the magnet power supply, beam extraction and vacuum systems. The TYLER upgrade is GE HealthCare’s comprehensive life-extension and modernization program for PET cyclotrons. This effectively extends the useful life of the cyclotron by approximately 10 years, while bringing its performance, reliability, and compliance standards in line with current technology expectations.
Importantly, this was achieved without the significant cost, construction disruption and regulatory burden associated with replacing the cyclotron entirely. For Lawson Research Institute, the TYLER upgrade ensures a stable, reliable platform for ongoing and future PET radiochemistry and imaging research. It improves system uptime and operational robustness, supports current and emerging radiotracers and maintains compatibility with modern target systems and chemistry modules. This investment protects our existing infrastructure, reduces operational risk and preserves our ability to support research, clinical translation and collaborative programs.
Refreshed statement of patient, resident and family values
With leadership from the Care Partnership Office and support from the Quality Transformation and Innovation Program, the statement and on-site boards have been refreshed to better reflect the voices and experiences of patients, residents and families. Core principles of dignity, participation and reliability remain the same, but the wording has been updated for clarity, inclusivity and alignment with provincial standards.
The update reinforces person-centered care that honours each individual; a strong commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging; and the importance of seamless, well-coordinated support throughout the health care journey. This refresh was informed by surveys and focus groups with more than 200 patients and families and has been endorsed by senior leadership, care partners, advisory committees, and the Board of Directors.
A Vibrant Workforce
Hope Huddle supports staff wellbeing
The Dual Diagnosis Program has launched a “Hope Huddle” pilot to support staff wellbeing and reduce burnout, in collaboration with Spiritual Care. Weekly sessions are underway, with the first session seeing high engagement and very positive feedback
EDIB Advisory Council inaugural meeting
The inaugural meeting of the EDIB Advisory Council on May 4 represents a strong start to this council as we begin shaping Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging priorities for the future. A facilitated relationship-building discussion in small groups allowed members to connect, share perspectives and begin fostering a collaborative environment. This was followed by a larger group discussion exploring the current state of EDIB efforts. Members identified areas of strength, including growing awareness and engagement, while also noting opportunities to strengthen consistency, communication, and measurable impact.
The Council then engaged in a visioning exercise to define what meaningful success in EDIB would look like at St. Joseph’s; these included embedding EDIB into organizational culture, improving representation and inclusion across all levels and having clear goals and outcomes.
Partnering for Impact
Joint energy conversations: ‘watt’ a bright idea
Energy management specialist Shivam Kumar has helped to form a regional energy management group that includes members from Western University, London Health Sciences Centre, Thames Valley District School Board, St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital, Enbridge Enbridge, London Hydro and others. The group was formed to help our local organizations understand what types of energy initiatives each is working on, share common resources and explore worthwhile energy-reduction projects. Shivam hosted the group’s first in-person meeting at St. Joseph’s at the end of April. It has been a great opportunity to collaborate with other individuals to see what is working for their sites, as well as working with utilities’ incentive partners to understand future incentive program offerings.
EyeDoc platform retirement and records retention
The EyeDoc application used at the Ivey Eye Institute will be retired following the implementation of One Chart Phase 2 at St. Joseph’s Hospital. In this instance, historical retention of records meant developing a fully built historical EyeDoc data platform in St. Joseph’s data warehouse. This historical dataset with 44 tables includes 1.1 million patient visit-level records and 786,000 scanned documents and folders reflecting records for more than 54,000 patients. The platform will support patient-level records across all historical visits and associated documents for access by Health Information Management. Orientation for Health Information Management and Clinical Informatics is planned in May. EyeDoc remains temporarily in use for a small number of retina specialists; and periodic extraction, transformation and loading of additional records will be required until use of the application has ceased.
2.0 Operational Updates
Sarah-Jane Adams named incoming VP, Patient Care
Sarah-Jane Adams becomes Vice President, Patient Care effective June 1. Sarah-Jane is a patient-focused health system leader with almost two decades of experience in clinical operations and corporate strategy. She is well-known for her capacity to lead across complexity, align priorities, coach leaders and drive change that enhances system performance and patient-centered care. Sarah-Jane currently serves as the Director, Regional Coordinated Access at Hamilton Health Sciences where she leads regional access transformation across Ontario Health West. She has extensive experience leading clinical teams across a multi-site hospital system, leadership development and system integration across hospital and regional partners.
Christian Otte named new V-P, Digital Health and Chief Information Officer
Christian Otte has been named to the new role of Vice President, Digital Health and Chief Information Officer. He joins St. Joseph’s at a pivotal time, as the organization advances significant digital health priorities and continues to integrate technology, data and operations for improved clinical excellence, operational performance and system integration. He will lead digital health, information technology services, decision support and pharmacy services. This portfolio is purposefully assembled to integrate technology, data and operations in service of St. Joseph’s future digital transformation and growth. He comes to St. Joseph’s from Karis Disability Services, where he led enterprise-wide digital and data transformation as Vice President, Digital, Technology and Innovation.
3.0 Recognition
Nurse appreciation across the organization
From May 11-17, St. Joseph’s celebrated Nursing Week and the approximately 1,500 nursing professionals that make up 30 per cent of all employees. This year’s theme was The Power of Nurses to Transform Health, which highlights the impact nurses have in shaping health care, driving innovation and advocating for patient-centered care.
Care partner appreciation
On April 29, during Patient Experience week, the Care Partnership team held an event at Parkwood Institute, and virtually for those receiving care from Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health: an event of education, appreciation and connection. Care partners heard about person-centered changes the communications team is implementing, greetings and updates from the senior leadership team, and had an opportunity for conversation and collaboration.
Doctor appreciation day
For Doctor’s Day on May 1, we delivered several initiatives to recognize and celebrate our physicians: advertised the Livingstone Lounge as a great place for interprofessional gathering and hosted a communal lunch, where approximately 30 credentialed professional staff gathered to strengthen connection and wellbeing; launched a digital Kudo Board, generating nearly 20 messages of thanks from teams across St. Joseph’s Hospital and Parkwood Institute; and distributed patient appreciation cards across St. Joseph’s sites to capture messages of thanks for physicians.
In a short “one word” video, physicians described what being a doctor means. It received outstanding views (almost 20,000 across all social-media channels) and an engagement rate nearly double that of the average video. Overall, these efforts reinforced our culture of service and excellence and strengthened physician engagement and supported our wellbeing strategy.
Schulich Awards of Excellence for Drs MacDougall and Schemitsch
At an event on May 13, the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry honoured two medical leaders with 2026 Awards of Excellence. Dr. Arlene MacDougall, Director of Research and Innovation for Mental Health Care at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, received the Mid-Career Award. Dr. Emil Schemitsch, Chair/Head, Surgery at LHSC and St. Joseph’s was honoured with the Schulich Distinguished Researcher Award.
Dr. Kane honoured for geriatric medicine accomplishments
Geriatrician Dr. Sheri-Lynn Kane received the B. Lynn Beattie Clinical Leadership Award at the Canadian Geriatric Society Meeting. This award recognizes an individual who has made a significant and lasting contribution to clinical leadership in geriatrics or the care of older adults. It’s not intended to celebrate “lifetime achievement,” but rather to recognize valuable clinical leaders in Canada who demonstrate leadership and excellence in patient care, clinical administration, education and mentorship.
4.0 CEO Activity
- As a board member of the Ontario Hospital Association, I participated in the Ontario Hospital Association summit on April 29.
- I was pleased to attend and be a speaker at the Foundation-hosted Breakfast of Champions on May 8.
5.0 Federal/Provincial Updates
Ontario
Province may allow hearing aids without prescription
The Ontario government is launching a consultation to support the potential sale and use of over-the-counter hearing aids. This change would expand access to convenient, accessible hearing support for Ontarians with mild hearing loss. This new measure would provide an additional option to support Ontario patients with more choice and convenience.
Pharmacists’ scope of practice to be expanded
Pharmacists will be permitted to administer additional vaccines for six diseases and prescribe for nine more common ailments, starting in July 2026. These include vaccines for tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, pneumococcus, RSV and shingles: vaccines that available until now only from a medical doctor. Pharmacists also will be able to prescribe for additional minor ailments such as dandruff and ringworm. The announcement on May 11 expands the health ministry’s direction to make it more convenient for people to receive timely care close to home.