CEO Report

August 2026

Table of contents

1.0 Strategy in Action

Excellence in Care: Powered by Discovery

  • Improving patient rehab care
  • Stroke Council relaunches
  • Celebrating a successful year in on-site stores
  • Gray Centre for Mobility and Activity – musculoskeletal research project
  • Transforming mental health treatment through TMS-EEG
  • Amplifying research expertise through strong media relationships

A Vibrant Workforce

  • Peer support is changing the conversation on physician wellbeing 
  • Morale-building ‘dirty soda’ event buoys SGS team
  • Wellbeing roaming cart is well-received
  • Roaming Education for Frontline Staff (REFS) launched
  • Volunteer recruitment at record high

Partnering for Impact

  • Engineering rehabilitation successes
  • Summer co-op students immersed in learning and work 
  • Extern Fair integrates Care Partner stories
  • Community conversation about new parking garage 

2.0 Operational Updates

  • Dr. David Urbach is appointed new Department Head of Surgery
  • Dr. Vico Dagnone is named Interim Department Head of Emergency Medicine 
  • OneChart Phase II updates

3.0 Recognition

  • n/a

4.0 CEO Activity

  •   n/a

5.0 Federal/Provincial Updates

  • Canada: Health Canada may expedite drug approvals by relying on foreign regulators; $24M consortium to research cannabis and brain health
  • Ontario: n/a

**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

Improving rehab patient care in transfers and mobility
Nursing and allied health team members in the Stroke/Neurological Rehabilitation Unit at Parkwood Institute have taken steps to improve care, consistency and collaboration in patient mobility and transfers at bedside and on the unit. When the nursing or personal-support-worker team identifies challenges with patient transfers, staff practice patient-specific transfers in tandem with occupational therapy and physical therapy teams to ensure patients receive consistency and continuity in their care and to gain confidence in transfers/mobility skills. The teams are also working together to ensure all patients are up and out of bed for breakfast, which provides extra practice with patient/transfers/mobility and creates additional opportunities for patients to gain rehabilitation-intensive minutes.

Stroke Council relaunches
We re-launched the Stroke and Neurological Rehabilitation Council, a forum for improving stroke conversation and care. The council had been dormant since May 2025, and goals for the new council include: supporting quality improvement; integrating and aligning care across the stroke and neurological continuum; sharing organizational and regional updates; discussing research, education, and knowledge translation opportunities; and exploring opportunities for advocacy. Members include an interdisciplinary group of clinicians and leaders including the Inpatient Stroke and Neurological Rehabilitation Program, Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Program (CORP), and Community Stroke Rehabilitation Team (CSRT) and regional partners. We are thrilled to add two people with lived experience (care partners) to the council, which will help bring a valued perspective when prioritizing our Council initiatives and workplan.

Celebrating a successful year in on-site stores 
During the 2025-26 fiscal year, sales in our stores generated a net profit of $148,740, a 20-per-cent increase from the previous year. With the input of store volunteers, and in collaboration with our Finance Dept, the capital projects listed below will be funded using these profits: 

  • At St. Joseph’s Hospital, an emergency cart in the Hand & Upper Limb Clinic and ultrasound tables in Medical Imaging 
  • At Mount Hope Centre for Long-Term Care, ceiling-mounted patient lifts 
  • At Parkwood Institute, patient bedframes and mattresses in Specialized Geriatric Services; a wheelchair for the Regional Rehabilitation program; and a vital signs monitor in the rehabilitation gym
  • At both mental health care buildings, programs and patient care needs.

We are grateful to store volunteers for their continued hard work and dedication.

Gray Centre for Mobility and Activity – musculoskeletal research project
The Gray Centre for Mobility and Activity is leading a research project to co-design –
with people with lived experience and health-care providers – an integrated care pathway for people living with chronic musculoskeletal conditions. The Care Partnership Office consulted with the research lead on meaningful engagement strategies, experience-based co-design and focus group planning, and recruited and connected eight care partners. Care partners participated in individual interviews this month and will continue to contribute through co-design focus groups beginning in September 2026.

Transforming chronic pain research and treatment through TMS-EEG
Our new Closed Loop TMS-EEG system has arrived at Parkwood Institute, representing a significant milestone for the Workplace Injury Research Network. This state-of-the-art platform – which offers real-time feedback and ultra-precise, individualized treatment – will strengthen research capacity in chronic pain, mental health and neurorehabilitation. Installation of the Closed-Loop TMS-EEG system and associated renovations for temporary space are expected to be completed in August. Planning is underway for a half-day launch workshop in December to showcase the technology alongside presentations from Lawson researchers and industry partners.

Amplifying research expertise through strong media relationships
We proactively worked to spotlight the expertise of geriatrician/researcher Dr. Michael Borrie and St. Joseph’s/Lawson when we learned that Canada’s Drug Agency was poised to recommend the provinces fund the Alzheimer-fighting drug lecanemab – a compound that had been the subject of national clinical trials, including at Parkwood Institute. Communication and Public Relations developed a strategy and key messages with Dr. Borrie and a patient/caregiver, and were able offer an exclusive first interview with them to the health reporter at The Canadian Press (CP).  More than 35 Canadian news organizations republished that story, citing St. Joseph’s as subject-matter experts in dementia research. For national and local media coverage, the Ad Value Equivalent (ad spending that would been required to have achieved similar positive coverage in the same markets) was approximately $586,400. 

A Vibrant Workforce

Peer support is changing the conversation on physician wellbeing
A listening ear from a peer can make all the difference for physicians working through long hours and heavy responsibility. St. Joseph's and London Health Sciences Centre’s Peer Support Program helps, one conversation at a time. The program is composed of physician volunteers who make themselves available for informal colleague-to-colleague conversations. They often act as a first point of contact for wellbeing assistance and connection to available resources. St. Joseph’s endocrinologist Dr. Tamara Spaic and LHSC hematologist Dr. Joy Mangel have spent the past year re-invigorating the program by recruiting new volunteers, supporting existing volunteers and promoting the program across both organizations.

Morale-boosting ‘dirty soda’ event buoys SGS team
Specialized Geriatric Services occupational therapist Jill McCaffrey and social worker Dawn Smale recently rallied the team during a particularly demanding period marked by high clinical workloads and vacation coverage challenges. Looking for a way to boost morale, encourage connection and bring some summer fun to the workplace, they developed and launched a creative “Dirty Soda” event (a trend where people customize their non-alcoholic fizzy drinks by adding different layers of flavoured syrups and cream). The staff-led initiative gave team members an opportunity to step away from the day-to-day pressures of clinical work, maintain connection even during challenging times and enjoy a refreshing treat together.

Wellbeing roaming cart is well-received
The Well-being Roaming Cart engaged more than 1,000 staff across five locations in July, providing wellbeing resources and items such as tea, healthy snacks, sensory tools and wellness information.

Roaming Education for Frontline Staff (REFS) launch 
On July 23, in collaboration with the Transitional Care team at Parkwood, we launched Roaming Education for Frontline Staff (REFS); a weekly 15-minute EDIB huddle designed to give staff in direct care roles a space to learn and practice responses related to EDIB challenges that surface in their day-to-day interactions with patients and colleagues. The first cycle includes 16 sessions and will run until November 2026, before assessing how best to scale to other adjacent programs. By embedding EDIB learning directly into direct care huddles, this initiative brings education to staff in the flow of their daily work.

Volunteer recruitment at a record high 
Volunteer recruitment has reached record levels. Between January and July 2026, Volunteer Services received 948 applications, the highest number recorded over the same seven-month period over the last four years, and a 37-per-cent increase over the previous high of 649 applications in 2024. Monthly application volumes now average 140–185, compared with 90–115 during the same period last year and 40–50 prior to the pandemic.

An attendance management program implemented last year has also helped ensure volunteer positions remain consistently filled. The program allows St. Joseph’s to replace volunteers who repeatedly miss scheduled shifts with applicants from a strong pool of interested and dedicated applicants. Moving forward, Volunteer Services is well positioned to manage its growing volunteer workforce and is prepared for the return of approximately 200 student volunteers next month. 

Partnering for Impact

Engineering rehabilitation successes
Researchers, clinicians and staff met with Western University engineering faculty on June 24 to identify real-world rehabilitation, mobility and clinical workflow challenges that could be addressed through student-led Engineering Capstone projects. The session fostered interdisciplinary collaboration and generated opportunities to translate frontline health care challenges into innovative solutions and learning opportunities for trainees. This is the second year this event, coordinated by the Gray Centre for Mobility and Activity, has been hosted at Parkwood Institute.

Summer co-op students immersed in learning and work
St. Joseph's welcomed seven high school co-op students from the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board for a one-month intensive co-op placement term. The Student Affairs team supported the onboarding experience by providing engaging orientation, retrieval of security packages and facilitating introductions to preceptors. Through placements in Facilities and Engineering, Diagnostic Imaging, Therapeutic Recreation, Complex Care and Health Information Management, students gained valuable insight into the diverse career opportunities available within health care while developing practical workplace skills.

Extern skills fair integrates Care Partner stories
The Care Partnership Office participated on July 28 in the 2026 Extern Skills Fair, an educational event attended by about 100 nursing, occupational therapy and physiotherapy students who provide valuable support to our organization’s clinical units and programs while gaining practical experience en route to becoming registered health-care professionals in their disciplines.

As part of the event, two Care Partners shared their experiences within the health-care system, offering valuable perspectives on how compassionate partnerships can enhance the care experience. The session included a reflection activity, where externs were invited to consider what they would want if they were admitted to hospital as a patient. This exercise encouraged participants to view care through the patient's perspective and reinforced the importance of empathy, communication and person-centred care in clinical practice.

Community conversation about new parking garage
Senior leaders from Facilities, Capital Master Planning and Communication and Public Relations met with members of the local community around St. Joseph’s Hospital to provide an update on the new parking garage project. The ward councillor, chair of the Bishop Hellmuth Heritage Conservation District, a member of the St. George-Grosvenor Neighbourhood Association and two members from Advocates for Calmer Traffic in Old North (ACTION) attended. The meeting was well-received with takeaways for us to explore the feasibility of alternative access/exit points. 

2.0 Operational Updates

Dr. David Urbach is appointed new Department Head of Surgery
Effective Sept. 1 and for a five-year term, Dr. David Urbach becomes Chair of the Department of Surgery at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University and Department Head (St. Joseph’s Health Care London and London Health Sciences Centre). A practicing general surgeon, Surgeon in Chief, Head of the Department of Surgery and Director of Perioperative Services at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Dr. Urbach has most recently been appointed Clinical Lead, Central Intake at Ontario Health. Dr. Urbach is especially interested in improving health policy related to surgical services in Canada, particularly access to care and the sustainability and cost of surgery in Canadian hospitals. We are grateful for Dr. Emil Schemitsch, who has served with excellence in the role.

Dr. Vico Dagnone is named Interim Department Head of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Vico Dagnone has been appointed Interim Department Head of Emergency Medicine at St. Joseph’s and LHSC and Interim Chair of the Division of Emergency Medicine at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, effective Sept. 1. Dr. Dagnone joined our health organizations in 2011 as a city-wide Emergency Medicine physician. Leadership roles have included serving as Site Head for all three adult Emergency Medicine sites and Deputy Department Head of the Emergency Medicine program. We are grateful for Dr. Christie MacDonald for her leadership in the roles since 2019.

OneChart Phase II updates
As noted in previous reports, the rollout of OneChart Phase II continues systematically and strategically across programs, departments and units. Medicine Services continues to engage with senior leaders and physicians to review the broader implementation approach. Discussions are also taking place regarding challenges in transition to OneChart for the Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention Program, with follow-up meetings planned for August and September to address outstanding issues and ensure continued operational readiness. Advanced OneChart Phase II implementation continues to progress across Ambulatory Surgery, with a specific focus on lithotripsy referral management and Ivey Eye nursing documentation. The lithotripsy referral workflows went live in June and continue to be refined to support multidisciplinary screening, triage and improved referral management efficiency.

Challenges with a planned OneChart Oracle Cloud Migration in mid-July resulted in unplanned downtimes on two separate occasions in July; they were resolved and the incidents are being reviewed to identify where improvements can be made. 

3.0 Recognition

N/A 

4.0 CEO Activity

N/A

5.0 Federal/Provincial Updates

Canada

Health Canada may expedite drug approvals by relying on foreign regulators
Health Canada has announced its intent to expedite drug and medical-device approvals by relying on decisions or documents of foreign regulatory authorities. It is also seeking feedback on a plan to prioritize reviews of manufactured-in-Canada drugs.

$24M consortium to research cannabis and brain health
Federal Minister of Health Marjorie Michel has announced it will dedicate $24 million to create the Canadian Cannabis and Brain Health Consortium, funded through through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Ten research teams from across Canada will work together to study how cannabis affects the brain in people of various ages. The group aims to establish scientific evidence about potential benefits and harms of cannabis, including its effects on epilepsy, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep, mental health and brain development in youth and during pregnancy.