Scarborough Health Network (SHN) was recently recognized for Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion and Delivering Value-based Healthcare at the 2021 Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL) National Awards Program.
Located in one of Canada’s most diverse communities, SHN has demonstrated its dedication to diversity and inclusion not only through its corporate values, but through its workplace/employee and patient-focused departments, which are responsible for leading, implementing, and supporting these essential initiatives.
“Scarborough is a very diverse community and we see that diversity reflected in our great workforce,” said Michele James, Vice President, People and Transformation at SHN.
“Winning this award reinforces that at Scarborough Health Network, we understand the importance of recognizing and valuing diversity; if we didn’t recognize it, it would be challenging to find effective solutions to the inequities that affect individuals’ health care experiences. We have to call out the inequities, and we have to identity solutions that will make a difference.”
According to the CCHL, the Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Award recognizes a forward-thinking health care organization that has demonstrated leadership in creating and promoting diversity and inclusion to improve the environment for its employees, and to better service their patients and the community.
The Delivering Value-based Healthcare Award went to SHN’s cardiovascular team for their work in the Central East Regional Cardiovascular Rehab (CERCR), which integrates cardiac rehabilitation programs to create a regional cardiovascular rehabilitation system. It developed an evidence-based service to improve access, quality of care, resource utilization, cost effectiveness and, importantly, viability and scalability of the regional coordinated cardiovascular rehabilitation system.
“We strongly believe that shifting the focus of health care delivery from individual care to population-based health impacts, and changing from institutional impacts to community settings, improves our ability to deliver high quality care,” said Dr. Joseph Ricci, CERCR Physician Lead. “We believe regionally coordinated systems can improve access to life saving services like this and can decrease the overall health burden.”
Over the past two years, service has since enhanced to include SHN’s Get Heart Healthy website, instructional videos for patients, and a unique mobile application.
CERCR has grown to provide service to over 3,500 patients annually in 16 community sites throughout the Central East region of Ontario. SHN invites readers to watch the recording of our SHN representatives proudly accepting the awards for Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion and Recognition in Delivering Value-based Healthcare.
Congratulations to all of the nominees, and especially to our heath care workers for this wonderful recognition and their continued efforts to realize SHN’s mission of improving lives through exceptional care.