Dalla Lana School of Public Health hosts distinguished panel on health system innovation

sgupta — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 10:28:33 +0000

Dalla Lana School of Public Health hosts distinguished panel on health system innovation sgupta Thu, 02/11/2016 - 05:28

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Dr. Ross Upshur, Leslee Thompson, Dr. Peter Pisters, Dr. David Naylor, Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, Dr. Howard Hu, André Picard and Susan Fitzpatrick (photo by David Pike)

Nicole Bodnar

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Nicole Bodnar

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President Emeritus

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

An expert panel of thought leaders with distinctive viewpoints on Canada’s health-care system met on Feb. 3, 2016 at the University of Toronto to address the question: can we innovate our way to a sustainable health system?

More than 350 students, alumni, faculty, staff and partners attended the event where this question, posed by Dr. David Naylor, University of Toronto President Emeritus, guided discussion at the Dean’s Leadership Series inaugural event, which was presented by the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH). Dean Howard Hu’s aim for the series is to educate Canadians on significant issues facing the health system and to stimulate discussion on how society can respond to these challenges.

“Healthcare everywhere is changing in response to an aging population, the revolution in information technology, greater engagement of patients in their own care and unprecedented advances in medical science,” said Dr. Naylor, referencing a report (Unleashing Innovation: Excellent Healthcare for Canada) by the Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation, which he chaired from June 2014 to July 2015.

“Canada is not well-positioned to respond to these forces,” he concluded, summarizing input heard during the advisory panel’s stakeholder consultations.

Following Dr. Naylor’s keynote address — his first talk at the University since the conclusion of his presidency in November 2013 — panellists articulated challenges and opportunities for health system innovation. The panellists were: André Picard, Globe and Mail columnist; Susan Fitzpatrick, Toronto Central LHIN CEO; Dr. Peter Pisters, University Health Network President and CEO; Leslee Thompson, Accreditation Canada President and CEO; and Dr. Ross Upshur, DLSPH’s Clinical Public Health Division Lead.

Upon reflection, the panel unanimously agreed that innovative ideas and a wide-scale cultural shift are necessary for transforming Canada from a healthcare laggard to a healthcare leader.

“Canadians are tolerant of mediocrity. We think that since healthcare is free, it’s okay to wait for service. We don’t realize how much better other systems are,” said Picard.

Professor Adalsteinn Brown, director of the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, skilfully moderated the panel, pressing each member to explain how the system can evolve beyond a zero sum game and affect significant change.

Panellist responses included re-aligning physician incentives — moving from a fee-for-service model to payment for outcomes — and linking accreditation standards and outcomes as effective levers to system transformation.

Professor Upshur’s optimistic comments emphasized U of T’s important role as a catalyst for change that stimulates discussion and educates tomorrow’s leaders.

“Today’s students are demanding equity and social justice skills and knowledge so they can work with marginalized populations,” said Upshur, who is also a professor in the department of family and community Medicine.

“Students, healthcare providers, CEOs and everyone between must unite and push the government to affect action.”

Click here for photos from the Dean’s Leadership Series.

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Honouring the accomplishments of David Naylor

sgupta — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 15:29:39 +0000

Honouring the accomplishments of David Naylor sgupta Wed, 10/21/2015 - 11:29

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David Naylor (pictured above) was known for “bringing the best out of others,” says Governing Council Chair Judy Goldring. “He inspired us to do better.”

Alan Christie

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C. David Naylor Building at 6 Queen's Park Crescent unveiled

University of Toronto President Emeritus David Naylor, a distinguished medical innovator, scholar and administrator at U of T, now has a building named after him on the downtown Toronto campus.

Naylor is President Meric Gertler’s immediate predecessor, serving as president from 2005 until 2013. Gertler and Judy Goldring, chair of the Governing Council, were on hand on Oct. 21 for the official opening of the building, at 6 Queen’s Park Crescent.

The address is significant – it is the original home of U of T’s botany department, holding “pride of place on Queen’s Park Circle since 1931,” Gertler said.

“What a perfect location to honour the accomplishments of David Naylor – a person who has made important contributions to higher education, health research, innovation and public policy in Canada,” the president told a distinguished group of guests. “I can’t think of a better location.”

Guests included Chancellor Michael Wilson, former chancellors David Peterson and Vivienne Poy, and Jack Petch and Richard Nunn, both past chairs of the Governing Council. Former Ontario Premier William Davis was slated to attend a reception following the unveiling of the monument on which the name “C. David Naylor Building” was written.

As an undergraduate, Naylor attended University College. He holds a medical degree from U of T and attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He studied internal medicine and clinical epidemiology at Western before joining the Faculty of Medicine at U of T, becoming a full professor in 1996. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006.

Naylor told the gathering that he was “deeply humbled by this honour.” Both he and Gertler mentioned another significant aspect of the address. It is a “special corner” as the building is near: MaRS, established during Naylor’s term; the provincial legislature; the Leslie Dan building and the Fitzgerald Building, named after the founder of the Connaught Laboratories.

Naylor said those buildings and the Medical Sciences Building “are very familiar touchstones,” going back to his days as a medical student in 1974. The former president said that while he is grateful for having the building named after him “I firmly believe it is I who has to thank the University of Toronto for all it has done for me in my life.”

The university gave him, Naylor said, the chance to work with “a truly remarkable group of people.”

Goldring said Naylor “devoted a great deal of time paying tribute to others” as president. He was known for “bringing the best out of others. He inspired us to do better.”

Even during a time of “profound financial crisis,” U of T made “some of its biggest strides,” under Naylor’s guidance, Goldring said.

The building at 6 Queen’s Park Crescent is the former home of the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases. Its director, Dr. Peter St George-Hyslop, is internationally known for his research into Alzheimer’s disease.

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