CEO Report

July 2026

Table of contents

1.0 Strategy in Action

Excellence in Care: Powered by Discovery

  • Access to care through clinical trials and modernization at Lawson
  • Designation as rTMS network lead organization
  • Annual Report shared with the community
  • Amplifying research investment by the WSIB
  • Volunteers offer language supports at St. Joseph’s entrances
  • Expanded endoscopy capacity for colorectal cancer screening
  • Carb-counting for patients expands to St. Joseph’s Hospital
  • Social media ambassador – pilot launch

A Vibrant Workforce

  • Staff appreciation barbecues
  • Forensic nursing development group at Southwest Centre
  • OneChart training and support for physicians
  • Emergency Management exercise supports Code Orange readiness

Partnering for Impact

  • Seniors Expo at Cherryhill Village Mall
  • Orientation for new, incoming residents

2.0 Operational Updates

  • Dissolution of transcription services

3.0 Recognition

  • Emergency Medicine Awards for Excellence
  • Ken Lewis honoured for forensics mental health collaboration

4.0 CEO Activity

  •  Honorary diploma; Project SEARCH graduation 

5.0 Federal/Provincial Updates

  • Canada: Federal committee recommends against expanding MAiD for mental illness; stronger tools in justice system to address sexual violence
  • Ontario: Ontario to create province-wide primary care medical records system

**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

Access to care through clinical trials and modernization of Lawson
A Clinical Trials Transformation Grant from the St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation has been approved, representing a significant milestone in advancing Lawson Research Institute’s clinical trials strategy. This $1.1-million investment over three years will support modernizing and integrating Lawson’s clinical trials ecosystem through investments in people, processes and technology. Eligible investments include specialized clinical trial support resources, technology platforms and software, process improvement initiatives and other infrastructure required to create a more integrated and scalable clinical trials environment. The goal is to improve the efficiency and coordination of clinical trial delivery, strengthen research capacity, increase opportunities for industry-sponsored and investigator-led research, and expand patient access to clinical trials.

Designation as rTMS network lead organization 
St. Joseph’s, an early adopter of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to help treatment-resistant depression, has now been designated a Network Lead Organization (NLO) and service delivery site for rTMS in the South West Region. As lead organization, St. Joseph’s also oversees regional coordination and care and ensures accountability for performance of other service delivery sites which includes Windsor’s Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare - to ensure expectations set by the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence are met.

rTMS, is a safe, non-invasive therapy using magnetic pulses to stimulate targeted brain regions. It does not require anaesthesia or recovery time, and response rates are about 50 per cent, with minimal side effects. Provincial expansion funding has enabled delivery at 15 sites, supporting up to 2,250 patients annually. The program improves equitable access, supports consistent quality, and integrates rTMS into stepped care for depression and anxiety-related disorders. Referrals are made by physicians or nurse practitioners based on eligibility criteria. 

Annual Report shared with the community
Following approval of the financial statement at the annual general meeting on June 22, we were excited to share our 2025-2026 Annual Report, From Vision to Action. It highlights – through stories, initiatives and data – our progress in the past year to achieve the three priorities of the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan: Powered by Discovery; A Vibrant Workforce; and Partnering for Impact. The report was emailed to staff, physicians and external stakeholders.

Volunteers offer language supports at St. Joseph’s entrances
Volunteers who are bilingual or multilingual, and who want to help more patients navigate in their language at St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Information Desks, now wear buttons identifying which languages they speak. The initiative is part of the Language Accessibility and Inclusive Patient Navigation Pilot. Volunteers were an enthusiastic, central piece to button creation and use –providing input into wording, translation and final design. Planning for iPad-based access to interpretation service is also progressing, with implementation at four information desks anticipated in August. Together, these initiatives will enhance language accessibility, improve patient and visitor navigation, and support a more welcoming and inclusive experience at St. Joseph's.

Amplifying research investment by the WSIB
Communication and Public Relations supported the launch of the new Siemens BIOGRAPH One PET/MR scanner in June. The launch took place at an industry workshop hosted by the Lawson WSIB investment team. Communications worked with internal partners and external partners at the WSIB to develop editorial content, a video, a suite of photos and a media opportunity. In the first 48 hours, the video received 11,410 views. The launch was covered by three media outlets and two industry publications, with an Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) of $172,000. Future editorial content will continue on the PET/MR and additional research as part of the WSIB investment. Communication and Public Relations also partnered with the WSIB/Lawson scientists to launch the branding for the Workplace Injury Research Network (WIRN), the network created as part of the WSIB investment to drive the research. The brand and video were unveiled as part of the PET/MR workshop.

Expanded endoscopy capacity for colorectal cancer screening
Effective July 1, Ontario’s FIT 2.0 expansion lowered the routine colorectal cancer screening age to 45, from the previous screening age of 50, and reduced the Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) positivity threshold. While the initial FIT screen is a free, at-home test that people mail to a Ministry of Health laboratory, the expanded age range is expected to result in a 53-per-cent increase in screening demand at providers across the Southwest Region.

In preparation for that expected increase, St. Joseph’s has reallocated endoscopy capacity to support an additional 12 colonoscopies per week. The program is also standardizing processes and clarifying benchmarks to maintain timely access to care, supporting the Cancer Care Ontario target of 56 days from an abnormal FIT result to colonoscopy. St. Joseph’s continues to play a key role as a ColonCancerCheck site, which includes multidisciplinary expertise in performing high-risk and FIT-positive colonoscopies. 

Carb-counting for patients with diabetes expands to St. Joseph’s Hospital
As noted earlier this year, carb-counting on tray tickets was recently introduced at Parkwood Institute Main.  Building to help patients with diabetes understand and regulate their blood sugars while in hospital, and prepare them to continue doing so when they return home. This valuable tool, initiated by hospital dietitians and Food and Nutrition Services, has now been expanded to include patients at St. Joseph’s Hospital, with plans to expand at the end of July to patients at the Finch Family Mental Health Building and Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health. The meal-tray tickets help patients understand the connection between menu choices and their impact on blood sugar and how much insulin they may need.

Social media ambassador program – pilot launch
Communication and Public Relations has developed a comprehensive Social Media Ambassador Program designed to showcase the exceptional work taking place across St. Joseph's to both internal and external audiences. Social Media Ambassadors act as the eyes and ears of their departments. They identify stories, events, staff recognition and everyday moments that showcase the work happening across St. Joseph's - and work with Communication and PR to create content which will be shared on the organization’s media channels. The initiative helps reinforce St. Joseph's reputation as an organization with a vibrant workforce providing exceptional care.

Over the next six months, ambassadors will collaborate with the Communications team, who will support each ambassador throughout the content creation process, ensuring high-quality storytelling while measuring the impact and performance of each piece. 

A Vibrant Workforce

Staff appreciation barbecues
In recognition of the significant contributions of staff, physicians, students and volunteers, the Senior Leadership Team hosted appreciation barbecues at all St. Joseph’s sites, starting on June 15 and concluding June 29. The annual event is more than an annual opportunity for complimentary hot dogs, burgers, salads, chips and a beverage – it’s a way senior leaders can recognize and honour, in person, the many ways St. Joseph’s people exhibit values-driven work every day.

OneChart training and support for physicians
St. Joseph’s OneChart training and support continued for physicians, with provider assistance offered through email, screenshots, targeted drop-in sessions, and downtime education. Attendance was strong for the physician downtime education sessions held in early July.

Forensic nursing development group launch at Southwest Centre
Nurses at Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care have initiated a practice development group. The aim is to enhance their practice approach in forensic psychiatry, support development of their role and enhance ownership of their work. This group has been initiated by several nurses who have the ability to lead their peers and who are eager to excel in forensic psychiatry. Long-term goals include: enhance nursing practice with psychosocial, recovery, and trauma-informed influences; align with care partners and the Southwest Centre Patient Council; narrow the divide between nursing staff and patients; and humanize the forensic experience further, which will enhance patient recovery and staff safety. This is an opportunity for nurses and others to build capacity individually and as a team and take an active role in their own development.

Emergency management exercise supports Code Orange readiness
Emergency Management conducted a Code Orange exercise with Patient Relations, Privacy and Risk based on a scenario involving a surge in overdoses across the City of London due to a contaminated batch of drugs circulating in the community. As part of the exercise, a review of Code Orange activations at LHSC was discussed, including their multi-tiered activation levels, which align with St. Joseph’s at the ENS2 activation level.

Emergency Management also reviewed the Emergency Notification System (ENS), emergency colour code activation levels, the Incident Management System (IMS) structure and the role of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), as well as the process for activating St. Joseph’s Code Orange procedure. St. Joseph’s role in supporting LHSC through patient decanting was also reviewed. The exercise included identifying when to establish a Family Waiting Centre, as well as clarifying what information can be shared when police contact the organization regarding missing persons and notifying next of kin.

Partnering for Impact

Seniors expo at Cherryhill Village Mall 
The Care Partnership Office participated in the Cherryhill Village Mall Seniors Expo to promote the Care Partnership Office and opportunities to become a Care Partner. Community members learned about the Care Partner role, how lived experience contributes to improving care at St. Joseph's, and the different ways to become involved in organizational initiatives. The event also provided an opportunity to connect with community members interested in becoming Care Partners and increased awareness of patient, resident and caregiver engagement.

Orientation for new incoming residents
Medical Affairs from both St. Joseph’s and London Health Sciences Centre collaboratively re-launched a full-day, in-person orientation for all new incoming residents to help support their onboarding to the hospitals in London. It was organized in partnership with Schulich’s Postgraduate Medical Education office and other key hospital departments such as HIM, OneChart Team and Occupational Health and Safety. The most recent, previous in-person session took place before the COVID epidemic. Feedback for the day was positive and also provided lessons learned to help improve next year’s orientation.

2.0 Operational Updates

Dissolution of Transcription Services
The transition to Dragon Medical One (DMO) for both St. Joseph’s and LHSC became effective on June 30, and Transcription Services was successfully dissolved. A change management approach across both organizations, including the coordinated work of OneChart Phase II teams and Communication teams, ensured clinicians/physicians were well informed of the implementation date and benefits of DMO, as well as available training and resources through targeted internal communications.

To support a small number of specialty areas that require additional transition time, vendor support has been retained through the end of July for Ivey Diagnostic Imaging, EMG, and Southwest Rehab. This will allow additional time to evaluate and establish sustainable future-state workflows for these programs. HIM and Clinical Informatics will continue to meet throughout July to review progress, address challenges, and support transition planning. Overall, the project represents a significant step forward in reducing reliance on traditional transcription services and advancing documentation modernization across the organization.

3.0 Recognition

Emergency Medicine Awards of Excellence
At this year’s award ceremony, held on June 11, seven members of St. Joseph’s Urgent Care Centre (UCC) team were recognized for their exceptional dedication, skill and compassion; exemplifying excellence in patient care. This year’s recipients: 

  • Emergency Nursing Award of Excellence (RN) UCC: Emily Vandervloet, Kelli Gilroy, Courtney Pepping and Kathy Swartz
  • Emergency Nursing Award of Excellence (RPN) UCC: Jannica Chryzel Sia
  • Emergency Nursing Mentorship Award (UCC): Melissa Lawrence
  • Allied Health ED Support Award of Excellence: Saul Edwards
  • Communication/Clerk Award: Halle Baines

Kent Lewis honoured for forensics mental health collaboration
We're proud to celebrate Kent Lewis, director of our Forensic Psychiatry Program at Southwest Centre, who recently accepted the Community Collaborator Award from St. Leonard's Society of Canada in Calgary — a national honour recognizing individuals and organizations whose commitment to collaboration is building safer, healthier and more equitable communities.

The St. Joseph's and St. Leonard's Community Services London & Region have worked side by side for more than a decade to support forensic psychiatry patients on their journey to independent living.   

4.0 CEO Activity

  • I was humbled to receive an honorary diploma from Fanshawe College on June 18 and to share the stage with graduates from the School of Community Studies and School of Nursing graduates and to have an opportunity to address more than 1,000 graduates on their convocation day.
  • An annual highlight of the year is the graduation of Project SEARCH participants, high-schoolers who develop skills while working in collaboration with St. Joseph’s staff and other partners in education and the workplace. Project SEARCH provides meaningful work, training, mentorship and job-readiness skills in a variety of programs and service areas to high-schoolers who have developmental disabilities. The staff turnout to celebrate this year’s six graduates exemplifies the spirit of joyful and dedicated partnership this program brings to all who participate.

5.0 Federal/Provincial Updates

Canada

Federal committee recommends against expanding MAiD for mental illness
In a report released June 18, a legislative committee has recommended Canada not allow mental illness alone as a reason for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). Lawmakers are expected to examine the report in advance of March 2026, when criteria for MAiD were expected to expand.

Stronger tools in justice system to address sexual violence
Criminal Code updates (Bill C-16) are intended to provide additional protection for victims and survivors of intimate-partner violence and gender-based violence.These changes address the increase in coercive control, non-consensual deepfakes and and concerns about court delays in criminal cases. Among the changes: making femicide first-degree murder, updated criminal harassment provisions, increasing the maximum penalty for sexual assault and improved access to courts for victims of sexual violence. The Criminal Code updates come as St. Joseph’s strengthens its care for the complex needs of our community through our Trauma and Violence Specialized Primary Care Program.

Ontario

Ontario to create province-wide primary care medical records system
As noted earlier, the province is proposing a primary care medical record system that will provide clinicians with secure and seamless access to patients’ medical histories. On July 15, it announced it has begun an open competitive procurement process to find a vendor of record, now available on the Ontario Tenders Portal.