Please see below for the following updates:

• Message from the President and CEO: Dr. Thomas Parker announces retiring from his executive role
• Thrombolytic-Related Intracranial Hemorrhage Algorithm
• 2024 Robert Sheppard Award

Please join us in extending our best wishes to Dr. Thomas Parker, Executive Vice-President (EVP), Clinical and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Unity Health Toronto, who has announced retiring from his executive role on April 5, 2024. After a sabbatical, he will continue as a clinical Cardiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital.

Tom served as Chief Resident in Cardiology at St. Michael’s in 1988. After tenures at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and at University Health Network in Toronto, he was recruited back to St. Michael’s in 2003 as Head of the Division of Cardiology and the inaugural Brazilian Ball Chair in Cardiology Research – positions he held until 2010. In 2010, he was appointed Physician-in-Chief and Squires-Chalmers professor in the Department of Medicine at St. Michael’s. Tom also served as Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee and was a member of the Joint Board Steering Committee during the integration of Providence Healthcare, St. Joseph’s Health Centre and St. Michael’s. He has served in his current role as EVP and CMO since 2018.

Tom is an internationally recognized clinician scientist and was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada for 34 consecutive years. His research accomplishments are recognized with the Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and as a Full Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto (UofT). A respected educator, he also served as the Program Director of Adult Cardiology at UofT and established a third year of core training in Cardiology. He provided national leadership in his specialty as a member of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Council and served as Chair of the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, the largest annual meeting for cardiovascular specialists in the country. Among his legacies at Unity Health, he is proud of the large number of academic staff physicians he recruited to Cardiology and Medicine at St. Michael’s and having served as chair of Unity Health’s Incident Management Team during the pandemic.

In my time as President and CEO at Unity Health, Tom has been a trusted advisor to myself, the executive team, Medical Advisory Committee, and the Board of Directors. His dedication and commitment to the network has been unwavering, especially over the past few years leading our clinical teams through some of the toughest times during the pandemic, and supporting our three sites coming together. My sincere gratitude goes to Tom for his significant contributions to the network as a member of our executive team. He has left a strong and lasting impact that will benefit the patients and families we serve for years to come.

We will share more information in the coming weeks on next steps for recruitment and timing. In the meantime, I want to say congratulations to Tom, and on behalf of the entire executive team, we look forward to celebrating his career and accomplishments in months ahead.

With best regards,

Tim Rutledge
President and CEO
Unity Health Toronto

Dear colleagues,

Please be advised that a new "Thrombolytic-related Intracranial Hemorrhage" protocol has been posted in the SMH intranet. It can be found here (https://unitynet.unity.local/tools-resources/resource-library/tpa-reversal-algorithm/) and is listed under "TPA Reversal Algorithm." I have also attached the protocol as a PDF for your reference.

This protocol was developed to guide the management of patients with acute symptomatic ICH following administration of IV thrombolytic (TPA, TNK). 

Its development was led by Dr. Natasha Rupani who convened a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders (Drs. Jeff Wang, Alex Muccillli, Christopher Witiw, Alberto Goffi, Katerina Pavenski, Eric Tseng). Thank you to all for your contributions.

Eric Tseng

Division of Hematology/Oncology

Co-Director, SMH Thrombosis Clinic

Dear Colleagues,

The purpose of the Robert Sheppard Award is to recognize the outstanding contributions of faculty members and postgraduate trainees in the development and/or implementation of activities, programs or research related to social justice and health equity in faculty development or postgraduate medical education.

Up to three awards will be presented annually. Each will receive a certificate with a financial prize.

Winners will be notified in March and faculty winners will be recognized at the Faculty’s Annual Educational Achievement Day in June 2024.

Eligibility for this award is as follows:

1. Faculty

       Any faculty member, in any department, who participates in the education of postgraduate trainees or to faculty development at the University of Toronto.

2. Resident/Fellow

       Any resident/fellow currently registered with PGME.

The Nomination Form and check list are attached. The deadline for submission of completed packages to the PGME office is Friday, January 12, 2024. Please submit your package by email to Arlene McKinley at [email protected]

Additional award information can be found at the PGME website:

https://pgme.utoronto.ca/about-pgme/awards/robert-sheppard-award-for-health-equity-and-social-justice/

If you have any questions, contact Arlene McKinley at [email protected]

Sincerely,