Chair's Message

June is an ideal time to reflect on the achievements of the academic year now wrapping up, and to celebrate the accomplishments of our HPME graduates. Their intelligence and commitment to improving healthcare systems here in Canada and further afield are hugely impressive. It’s little wonder, given their individual and collective prowess, that all the graduates of HPME’s first cohort of Health Informatics students have already found positions in the healthcare sector.

Despite the many real economic, demographic, and political challenges ahead, HPME graduates represent one of our best hopes for health care that’s sustainable and effective.

This fact was recently illuminated by Shirlee Sharkey’s receipt of the Innovation Award for Health Care Leadership at the recent national Healthcare Leadership Conference in Winnipeg. An alumna of HPME and the president and CEO of St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Shirlee was honoured for her outstanding capabilities and achievements, especially for making innovation a focal point of her organization’s strategy. At the same conference, HPME alumnus Joe Mapa, the president and CEO of Mount Sinai Hospital, received a Mentorship Award. This award recognized Joe’s leadership in the healthcare system and his demonstration of exemplary, sustained commitment to mentoring and inspiring leadership in others.

As the chair of HPME, I take great pride in the public leadership and innovative research of our alumnae, students, and faculty members. I hope you enjoy learning more about their exciting endeavours in this issue of In Focus.

To good health and decision-making,

Louise Lemieux-Charles, Chair
Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation
University of Toronto