ELF in 2012: Looking to the Year Ahead

We wish our ELF community a very happy new year!

As we welcome 2012, ELF is excited to continue with our theme for the year, “Sustainability and the Future of Healthcare”. Throughout 2012, ELF will explore the future of our healthcare system and the shifts we will need to make to ensure that it can serve us for generations to come.

We are very pleased to announce our winter-spring lineup featuring some of the industry’s most dynamic leaders who will speak about the roles of various sectors in reducing demand and structuring our system for long-term success. We hope this year’s events help to increase your awareness of the opportunities that we have as emerging leaders to think outside of the box and contribute to solutions.

 Speaker Series Event #16: February 29, 2012
 Mary Jo Haddad, President & CEO,  The Hospital for Sick Children
Mary Jo was appointed President and CEO of SickKids in 2004. Since joining the hospital in 1984, she has held several leadership positions, including Executive VP and COO, Chief Nurse Executive, VP Child Health Services, and Director of Neonatology and Critical Care. Mary Jo is the Board Chair of MaRS Innovation and Chair Provincial Council for Maternal Child Health. Mary Jo lectures at the University of Toronto Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and Rotman School of Business. She is also a mentor for aspiring leaders from the Women’s Executive Network and Creative Institute for Toronto’s Young Leaders. Mary Jo was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in June 2010.

Development Seminar #7: April 17, 2012
Louis Thériault, Director, Health Economics, Canadian Alliance for Sustainable Healthcare
Louis joined The Conference Board of Canada in 1997, where he specializes in product development and in macroeconomic and microeconomic analysis. He was first responsible for the model design, empirical analysis, and marketing of the Metropolitan Outlook Service, including a quarterly economic forecast for large Canadian urban centres. In 2003, he launched the Canadian Industrial Outlook Service, analyzing economic and financial trends in large industries. More recently, he was Director of the International Trade and Investment Centre, which offers Canadian business leaders and policy-makers forward-looking analysis related to the implications of the ongoing restructuring of global production. He is an expert in health economics modeling and forecasting, and has been involved in numerous partnership projects that require database and model simulation expertise. 

Learn more about CASHC at http://www.conferenceboard.ca/CASHC/default.aspx

Speaker Series Event #17: June 27, 2012
Dr. Catherine Zahn, President & CEO, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Dr. Zahn joined the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health(CAMH) as President and Chief Executive Officer in December, 2009. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Zahn was Executive Vice President, Clinical Programs and Practice, at the University Health Network (UHN). Her reputation in hospital integration and her leadership of the renaissance of the Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) are recent accomplishments in a career that spans over 25 years.  Previous UHN positions have included Vice President and COO of TWH, Program Medical Director for Neuroscience and Division Head for Neurology. She was the inaugural chair holder for the Krembil Family Chair in Neurology. Dr. Zahn is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and a Professor in the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine.

 

06.12.2011 Development Seminar – featuring Dr. David Mowat

How Public Health is Influencing our Health System: Lessons in Creating Change

On the evening of December 6, 2011, Dr. David Mowat, Medical Officer of Health at the Region of Peel Public Health , met with ELF members to discuss the role of public health in the sustainability of the healthcare system.  Dr. Mowat’s presentation focused on the rise of chronic diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, which have surpassed infectious diseases as the leading cause of mortality and are the biggest threat to the sustainability of the healthcare system. 

Rather than focusing on the causes of disease, Dr. Mowat suggested we look at the “causes of the cause”, which are the determinants of health.  Determinants of health can be social and economic factors such as income, social status, education and literacy, working conditions, culture, gender, and social support networks.  Currently in the Peel region there is a nine-year life expectancy difference between the population at the highest income level and at the lowest income level.  While addressing determinants may seem like an overwhelming and nearly impossible challenge, Dr. Mowat argued that strategic, targeted action on determinants could have a greater impact on population health, and the sustainability of our health system, than most medical interventions.

Insights from Dr. Mowat’s experience as Medical Officer of Health:

• Need to ensure that everyone understands the difference between public health and publicly-funded healthcare – if public health efforts are successful, the use of publicly-funded healthcare can be decreased.
• Once identified as “welfare medicine”, helping the least fortunate, modern public health looks at probabilities and whole populations and, therefore, outcomes are very long term (e.g., the anti-smoking campaign). It is a less concrete, and therefore less politically attractive investment than capital, like hospital buildings.
• There is a relationship between urban planning and health. For example, low population density and increased car dependencies have reduced opportunities for utilitarian physical activity. Research shows a direct link between the “walkability” of a neighbourhood and the prevalence of chronic diseases within the area.  Peel Region is addressing this in new housing developments, along the entire spectrum of policy – through more than a dozen levels of regulation.
• Governments will allocate more of their budget to healthcare; however, even with the additional funds there is no guarantee that the system will be sustainable.  For example, if we were to completely eliminate class 3 obesity (BMI:40+) say, through bariatric surgery, it would only result in a 3% reduction in the prevalence of diabetes, and a 1% reduction in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, at a cost of $460,000,000!
• The critical social question in public health will always be the role of the individual vs. the state. The government pays for healthcare through public funds, so what is the public’s responsibility to be healthy? How much importance should be placed on individual autonomy compared to the good of the public? 

How can we influence change?

• Engage and inform the public – efforts to continue elevating health literacy will enable people to make better choices and help to de-normalize unhealthy choices.
• Guide choices through incentives and policy changes. Restrict and/or eliminate unhealthy choices.
• Make the healthy choice the easy one. People have a tendency to do the “easy” thing so leverage this behaviour to improve health in the overall population. 

Five Fun Facts about Dr. Mowat – Rapid-Fire Questions:

ELF:  Convertible or SUV?  
Dr. Mowat:  Convertible

ELF:  Favourite junk food?   
Dr. Mowat:  Pizza

ELF:  If you weren’t Medical Officer of Health, you’d be…?  
Dr. Mowat:  A landscape gardener

ELF: If you could magically fix one problem in healthcare, it would be…?
Dr. Mowat:  Underfunding of Peel Public Health

ELF:   If you could only have one item on a deserted island?
Dr. Mowat:  A wine cellar!

Related Materials

• Presentation slides
• PDF of Event Summary

 

Announcing Development Seminar with Dr. David Mowat

The Influence of Public Health on our Health System & Lessons in Creating Change

Join us on December 6th, 2011 as ELF hosts Dr. David Mowat, Medical Officer of Health at the Region of Peel and demonstrated leader in building our national public health agency post SARS. This development seminar will focus on how to influence change in healthcare by illustrating the evolving role of public health within the broader health system. ELF’s Development Seminars are intimate events designed for practical, hands-on learning about a specific knowledge area or skill. 

Topics to be discussed at this Development Seminar will include:

• How the evolution of the public health sector has influenced the healthcare system
• How to recognize the forces of change and capitalize on opportunities
• How to build and leverage relationships with key stakeholders to advance organizational objectives and achieve greater impact
• Looking to the future – what is the role of public health in the sustainability of our health system

This development seminar is the first event in ELF’s event series on Sustainability and the Future of Healthcare. This year, ELF will explore the future of the healthcare system and the shifts needed to ensure that it is able to serve us for generations to come.

We will feature healthcare leaders from across the system who will speak about the roles of various sectors in reducing demand and structuring our system for long-term success.

Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Time: 5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Oakham House – Thomas Lounge, Ryerson University, 63 Gould St.
Registration Details:  As always, participation is free for ELF members. Please note that registration is limited to 25 participants. Click here to register

Agenda
5:30-6:00pm      Registration, networking and refreshments
6:00-7:15pm      Guest speaker
7:15-8:00pm      Networking

About our Development Seminar Speaker:
Dr. David Mowat, Medical Officer of Health

Dr. David Mowat is the Medical Officer of Health for the Region of Peel. In this role, he is responsible for protecting and promoting the health of more than one million people in Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga.

Prior to joining the Region of Peel in 2007, Dr. Mowat was the Deputy Chief Public Health Officer for Canada during the formative years of the Public Health Agency of Canada, where he was responsible for strengthening public health practice, knowledge translation and the development of the public health workforce. In that role he participated in many federal/provincial/territorial committees and national initiatives.

Previous appointments include Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, and senior positions at Health Canada, including Director General, Centre for Surveillance Coordination and Director General, Office of Public Health Practice.

 

Introducing ELF’s Event Series 2011/12

Introducing ELF’s Event Series for 2011/12: Sustainability and the Future of Healthcare

One of the biggest issues in healthcare today is the sustainability of our health system. This year, ELF will explore the future of the healthcare system and the shifts we will need to make to ensure that it is able to serve us for generations to come. We will feature healthcare leaders from across the system who will speak about the roles of various sectors in reducing demand and structuring our system for long-term success. The theme is meant to generate discussion, increase awareness and inspire emerging leaders to think outside of the box.

Save the date! Our official launch event will be held on December 6, 2011.

Details and registration information will be released later this week. As always, participation is FREE for ELF members.

 

Announcing the 2011 Annual ELF Summer Social on 08.23.2011

Have a cocktail with some of healthcare’s brightest emerging and established leaders!

Once again we are inviting a number of established leaders, including Dr. Bob Bell (CEO, UHN), Dr. Ben Chan (CEO, Health Quality Ontario), and Tom Closson (CEO, OHA), to join us for a drink at our annual summer social.

Date:           Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Time:           5:30pm – 8:00pm
Location:    Peridot Resto Lounge – 81 Bloor Street East
RSVP:          Register by August 15 to enable planning (click here to register)

Why you should come:

• Network with some of Ontario’s most respected leaders in healthcare — don’t forget to bring your business cards!
• Meet and mingle with colleagues from many sectors of healthcare, including hospitals, community care, government, provincial agencies, health professionals, technology vendors and consulting firms.
• Espace from the summer heat with a refreshing drink!

Look forward to seeing you there and feel free to invite your colleagues!

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