CEO Report

April 2026

Table of contents

1.0 Strategy in Action

Excellence in Care: Powered by Discovery

  • Veterans treated to heavy-metal concert
  • PET/MR scanner arrives
  • MyCarePortal enrolment
  • Volunteer Services supporting patients/residents in their first language
  • Carbohydrate counting on meal tray tickets

A Vibrant Workforce

  • President’s Awards to return
  • Linked by gratitude
  • Successful EDIB Advisory Council recruitment
  • Endocrinology Post ENT clinic - virtual room pilot 
  • Funding for nurse recruitment at Mount Hope

Partnering for Impact

  • Coves Landing opens 50-unit supportive housing
  • Renaming centre in honour of generous donor

2.0 Operational Updates

  • Interdisciplinary model-of-care reviews
  • Masking changes
  • St. Joseph’s parking garage information sessions
  • Two remaining dogs leave and begin transition to family homes

3.0 Recognition

  • Award of Distinction for HMMS; profiling care partner on National Caregiver Day 

4.0 CEO Activity

  • New VP of Patient Care at Parkwood Institute Main Building, Mount Hope and Chief Nursing Executive; thank you VP Karen Perkin who retires after 40 years at St. Joseph’s; London Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Awards; LEDC annual meeting; Visit and tour with London Mayor Josh Morgan

5.0 Federal/Provincial Updates

  • Ontario: Provincial budget includes increase in health funding; Physician Services agreement signed 

6.0 St. Joseph’s in the News 

7.0 Environmental Scan  
 

1.0 Strategy in Action

Excellence in Care: Powered by Discovery

Veterans treated to heavy-metal concert
When the band Megadeth played a concert at London’s Canada Life Place, some veterans from Parkwood Institute came ready to rock, including wearing their custom-made heavy-metal jackets. Veterans arts instructor Kim Smith and music therapist Emily McCarthy booked tickets for the veterans and then worked with them to build battle jackets, complete with custom patches, studs and spikes.

PET/MR scanner arrives
We received delivery of Canada’s first Biograph One PET/MR system in late March. Final renovations of the PET/MR suite continue to take place, with operational training and full system launch expected to take place in June. Lawson is also planning a research workshop – with imaging, research and funding partners – that will serve as an important platform for learning and collaboration. This key technology, purchased through the WorkSafe Ontario Fund, will help advance imaging research into mental health, chronic pain and other conditions related to workplace injury and illness.

MyCarePortal Enrolment
MyCarePortal launched at St. Joseph’s earlier this year to allow patients to view upcoming appointments, access lab and diagnostic imaging results, and review medical history and care summaries. The free tool enables patients to take a more active role in their health care journey. To date, more than 5,300 patients affiliated with St. Joseph’s Health Care have enrolled with MyCarePortal. To support the service, the virtual care team is also promoting self-enrolment while still providing in-person support for patients unable to enrol remotely.

Volunteer Services supporting patients and residents in their first language
As part of our commitment to creating an inclusive environment, Volunteer Services has stepped up to meet two language-specific special requests. At Parkwood Institute Main Building, a post-stroke patient waiting for a long-term care placement was matched with Vietnamese-speaking volunteers providing valued social and emotional support for the grateful patient. At Mount Hope, seven Mandarin speaking volunteers came forward and were also matched with a resident and his wife providing a source of comfort and connection to the resident.

Carbohydrate counting on meal tray tickets 
Since November 2025, Parkwood Institute Main Building meal tray tickets now include the total grams of carbohydrates and fiber per meal to support patients with diabetes. The change is the result of a collaboration between hospital dietitians and Food and Nutrition Services designed to help patients better manage their blood sugar in hospital. 
 

A Vibrant Workforce

President’s Awards have returned 
Paused in 2020 during the pandemic, the President’s Awards recognize extraordinary efforts to advance the work and mission of St. Joseph’s. Nominations are open until April 25 to celebrate staff, physicians, teams, volunteers and community partners who have made outstanding contributions, with a focus aligned with St. Joseph’s 2025-2030 Strategic Plan. Awards will be presented in four categories, representing Excellence in Care: Powered by Discovery; A Vibrant Workforce; Partnering for Impact; and Mission in Leadership.

Linked by gratitude 
Entryways across St. Joseph’s sites are a little brighter these days – filled with colour, connection and gratitude. What began as a small initiative to mark Kindness Day on March 13 and International Day of Happiness on March 20 quickly grew into something much bigger. Led by the St. Joseph’s Well-Being team and spearheaded by well-being associate Laura Bonter, the Gratitude Chain was designed as a simple, organization-wide way to spark positivity, connection and teamwork.
Staff, physicians and volunteers submitted more than 2,500 links that expressed thanks for family, friends, work colleagues, health and shelter. Several teams used the initiative as a team-building event and a mini-break in their day. Patients also were drawn to the colourful displays and appreciated the messages.

Successful EDIB Advisory Council recruitment
Following a call for applications to join St. Joseph’s EDIB Advisory Council, 77 individuals expressed an interest in joining reflecting strong support for this work. From this pool, 16 members have been confirmed, supported by seven ‘Subject Matter Experts’ (SMEs). The first meeting will likely take place in late Spring. The council reflects St. Joseph’s commitment to embedding diverse lived experience and expertise.

Endocrinology Post ENT Clinic – Virtual Rooming Pilot
The Endocrinology Post ENT Clinic has been operating a half-day virtual clinic every Friday to support patients after thyroid and parathyroid surgery. A recent pilot project tested adding more virtual support including pre-visit help and same-day virtual ‘rooming’ to mirror an in-person visit. Most patients (76 per cent) said they feel better prepared for their appointment and doctors spent about 30 per cent less time dealing with non-medical troubleshooting. Next steps include training clinic clerks to take on this role, with expanded post visit scheduling support to evaluate costing and long-term sustainability.

Funding for nurse recruitment at Mount Hope
As part of a Ministry of Long-Term Care investment to attract new nurses to long-term care, Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care submitted two applications and were successful in two funding initiatives. The first is the Jumpstart Opportunities in Nursing in Long Term Care which provides up to $25,000 per nurse in recruitment incentives in exchange for a commitment to work in long-term care for two years. The second is the Nursing Pledge which provides up to $39,000 per year to an organization as a wage ‘top-up’ stipend to support dedicated nursing mentorship hours. Funding is available for up to three eligible nurses.  

Partnering for Impact

Coves Landing opens 50-unit supportive housing
On April 9, in partnership with government and community organizations including St. Joseph’s, Indwell opened Coves Landing, a 50-unit supportive housing development at 46 Elmwood Place in London. The project increases Indwell’s supporting housing portfolio in London to 232 units and contributes to the community goal of 600 supportive housing units under the Health and Homelessness: Whole of Community System Response. Coves Landing provides permanent housing with 24/7 supports onsite including nursing, psychosocial, addiction and housing coordination services to promote long-term housing stability for individuals at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Funding was provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Health and Homelessness Fund for Change and the City of London. The project came in significantly under budget, enabling more than $3 million to be redirected to future supportive housing initiatives.

Renaming centre in honour of generous donor
St. Joseph’s Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism has been renamed the Keith Samitt Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism Centre. This naming recognizes Mr. Samitt’s long-time support and planned $1 million gift to a diabetes research fund to develop research talent and acquire equipment that will directly support diabetes care and research. The name of the clinics and programs within the space will remain the same. Naming of physical spaces across St. Joseph’s is made to express gratitude for philanthropic gifts at St. Joseph’s.

2.0 Operational Updates

Interdisciplinary model-of-care reviews
As part of our commitment to providing safe, high-quality care while being responsible stewards of public resources, St. Joseph’s has launched a review of our care models to ensure they reflect best practices seen in other hospitals.

The process will launch at Parkwood Institute in the mental health inpatient program. Reviews at other sites and across support services will follow over the next one to two years.  We will work with leaders and teams to review workflows and optimize scope within roles, enhancing quality of care to meet patient needs; engage with staff and physicians to validate findings; support departments to implement and sustain changes; and prioritize a healthy workforce, patient safety and resource stewardship.

Masking changes
Due to decreasing rates of community transmission of COVID-19, influenza and RSV, St. Joseph’s returned to point-of-care risk assessment (PCRA) based masking across the organization on March 31. Urgent Care Centre (UCC) triage staff will continue to mask. Staff and physicians returning to work following a respiratory or gastrointestinal illness will be required to mask as per the current return-to-work protocol.  Masking is strongly recommended for patients, residents and visitors in the UCC and for patients who have a fever or respiratory symptoms.

St. Joseph's Hospital parking garage information sessions 
More than 100 staff, physicians, learners and volunteers attended two virtual information session for an initial update on plans to replace the parking garage at St. Joseph’s Hospital. These sessions continue a process that is in its early planning stages, as we inform and seek feedback from internal and external stakeholders. The two internal sessions included an overview of the project phases, current status and anticipated timelines. Further consultation will take place, internally and in the community, in coming months.

Two remaining dogs leave and begin transition to family homes
As previously shared, after the research involving dogs ended at Lawson Research Institute on Aug11, 2025, ownership of the dogs transferred to Western University’s Animal Care Committee (ACC) as part of the established processes. The ACC then assumed responsibility for the oversight and decisions regarding future placement opportunities for these dogs. In September 2025, six of the eight dogs in our facility began their path towards adoption. On March 31, the remaining two dogs left our facility to begin their transition into family homes. 

3.0 Recognition

HMMS receives Award of Distinction
The Supply Chains of Distinction Award honours top-performing Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX) providers that demonstrate industry-leading supply chain performance through ‘perfect order’ performance metrics. A perfect order is an end-to-end, exception-free transaction in which the correct product is delivered to the right location, on time, in full, undamaged, at the correct price and paid accurately. HMMS is benchmarked against hundreds of other healthcare supply chain organizations throughout North America. It shows that St. Joseph’s is optimizing innovative technology to support patient care effectively and efficiently.

Profiling care partner on National Caregiver Day
As part of National Caregiver Day on April 7, St. Joseph’s profiled Sandi Caplan, a caregiver in the Care Partnership Office on our social media channels. We were honoured to recognize the vital contributions of family, friends, loved ones and professional caregivers in supporting people with health and social needs. In Canada, one in four people are caregivers. Care Partnership | St. Joseph's Health Care London  

4.0 CEO Activity

  • I am pleased to announce Amanda Thibeault as the new Vice President, Patient Care at Parkwood Institute Main Building, Mount Hope Centre for Long-Term Care and Chief Nursing Executive effective May 1, 2026. Amanda has extensive leadership experience at St. Joseph’s for more than 20 years, most recently as the Director of Complex Care.
  • I wish to thank Karen Perkin, Vice President Patient Care and Chief Nursing Executive as she retires at the end of April. Karen began her career 40 years ago at St. Joseph’s as a staff nurse in medicine and quickly advanced through leadership roles. Her dedication and commitment to St. Joseph’s, our patients and residents reflect the values of our organization.
  • I was pleased to join board members and members of our senior leadership team at the London Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Awards on March 31, which highlighted innovation and community commitment.
  • As a board member of the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), I was especially proud to mark the previous year’s successes during LEDC’s annual general meeting on April 9. Health care is one of the economic engines of this community.
  • On April 14, we were pleased to welcome London Mayor Josh Morgan for a tour of St. Joseph’s Hospital to learn more about the new Trauma and Violence Specialized Primary Care Program and clinic – a first of its kind in Canada. During the tour, Mayor Morgan heard about what a typical afternoon looks like for Medical Director Dr. Susan McNair – heartbreaking stories of victims of trauma who are on a journey to heal. This firsthand account brought this work into sharp focus and was a powerful reminder of the courage of the patients we serve.  

5.0 Federal/Provincial Updates

Ontario

Provincial budget includes increase in health and hospital funding 
Ontario’s provincial budget announced March 26  includes $1.1 billion in additional hospital funding for 2026–27, an increase of up to four per cent in base and targeted hospital funding. We await further details on how that will translate specifically to funding St. Joseph’s. The budget also invest further in ensuring all Ontarians are connected to primary care, for an investment in the next four years of $3.4 billion. Health Infrastructure spending is planned at $64 billion over the next decade, including $50 billion in capital grants to support 50 hospital projects and deliver 3,000 new hospital beds. The budget identifies $139.4 million in additional annual funding to support long-term care. That includes $95.3 million to maintain existing services for residents and $44.1 million to ensure every resident continues to receive an average of four hours of direct care each day from nurses and personal support workers, and 36 minutes of care from allied health professionals.

Physician services agreement signed
The Ontario government has signed a historic 2024–28 Physician Services Agreement that will increase compensation, add incentives for family doctors to take on new patients, expand after-hours care and help recruit and retain more family doctors to Ontario. The deal includes incentives for physicians to take on new patients and better pay for after-hours care; bonuses for doctors taking on patients with serious or complex health needs; support for more minor procedures in doctors’ offices rather than in emergency rooms.

6.0 St. Joseph’s in the News 

Stories related to research involving dogs:

7.0 Environmental Scan  

Other health news of interest: