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December 6, 2013 — Physicians at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine were awarded three of the eight awards being celebrated at the Provincial Innovation Showcase event in Toronto on November 28.

The Innovation Fund ($10M per year) was created in 2008 to support the development of new and innovative approaches to health-care delivery and to provide leadership in the dissemination of new knowledge across the health-care system. To date, the Innovation Fund has provided seed funding to more than 700 projects across Ontario.

This year’s Innovation Showcase event saw 80 projects invited to participate through poster presentations and panel discussions. Of these, the following seven were from The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine.

• Dr. A. Arnaout, surgical oncologist and assistant professor in the Department of Surgery – An Innovation in Breast Cancer Care in Ottawa: The Evaluation and Validation of a Rapid Diagnostic and Support (RADS) Clinic for Women Undergoing Assessment for Breast Cancer.
• Dr. N. Guay, plastic surgeon and assistant professor in the Department of Surgery – Standardizing Breast Reconstruction Patient Information to Create an Internet-Based Information Delivery System.
• Dr. T. DiRenna, Medical Director of The Ottawa Hospital Pain Clinic, and Dr. S. Crooks, anesthesiologist, and both assistant professors in the Department of Anesthesiology – Cardiac Arrest Roles Defined (C.A.R.D.) Protocol in Perioperative Cardiac Arrests: A Simulation-Based Multidisciplinary Study.
• Dr. A. Gruslin, maternal fetal medicine specialist and professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine – Improving Placental Health through Education and Better Prevention.
• Dr. A. Tinmouth, physician in the Division of Clinical Hematology and assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine – Development of The Ottawa Hospital Sickle Cell Disease Comprehensive Care Program.
• Dr. N. Fleming and Dr. A. Black, both obstetrician-gynecologists and associate professors in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology – Evaluation of a Unique Canadian Community Outreach Program Providing Obstetrical Care for Pregnant Adolescents.
• Dr. M. Walker, high-risk obstetrician and Clinical Epidemiologist and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology – Flow in Clinic Services (FICS).

The event included an award presentation for excellence in eight categories. The Honourable Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, presented three of the awards to The Ottawa Hospital in the following areas:

• Best Innovation in Cancer Care Delivery – Dr. Angel Arnaout
• Best Creative Alternative for Patient Centred Care – Dr. Andrée Gruslin
• Best Innovation in System Coordination – Dr. Nathalie Fleming and Dr. Amanda Black

“The Innovation Showcase event brings the best in innovation and improvements to the delivery of care under one roof,” said Dr. Jack Kitts, President and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital. “We are extremely proud of all of our physicians who participated in the event and are confident that their successes will lead to the best quality of care possible for our community.”

The Ottawa Hospital Academic Medical Organization (TOHAMO) is the governance organization that represents the 750 academic physicians who practice at the hospital and university. The TOHAMO Board oversees the allocation of $1.169M in innovation funds locally through a competitive grants process.

“TOHAMO is pleased to support the academic physicians annually through the innovation funds competition process” said Dr. Guy Hébert, Chair TOHAMO. “The Innovation Showcase was a huge success for TOH physicians and on behalf of the Board we congratulate all of our participants and award recipients”.

About The Ottawa Hospital

About The University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine
www.med.uottawa.ca

About The Ottawa Hospital Academic Medical Organization
www.tohamo.ca

Media Contact:
Hazel Harding
Communications Advisor
Email: hharding@toh.on.ca
Tel.: 613-737-8460