OTTAWA, May 29, 2013 /CNW/ - Dr. Christopher Hayes, medical director at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, is the recipient of the 2013/14 Canadian Harkness Fellowship, an award co-funded by the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI), allowing a Canadian health leader to participate in The Commonwealth Fund's 12-month Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy and Practice.
Established by The Commonwealth Fund in 1925, and modeled after the Rhodes Scholars program, the Harkness Fellowships aim to produce the next generation of health policy leaders.Talented mid-career professionals from participating countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) are given the opportunity to participate in health policy research in the United States. Since 2001, a collaboration with CFHI has brought a Canadian perspective to the program.
"Dr. Hayes is an outstanding candidate for the Canadian Harkness Fellowship," said Robin Osborn, Vice-President and Director of the International Program in Health Policy and Innovation for the Fund. "These opportunities have been described as a life-changing experience - enabling Fellows to step back from the day-to-day demands of their work to test boundaries in developing innovative approaches to health care delivery and complex policy problems."
During the 12-month tenure, Fellows work with leading U.S. health policy experts and produce a peer-reviewed journal article or policy report. Dr. Hayes will be conducting his research at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Cambridge, Mass., focusing on developing successful quality improvement initiatives that incorporate the concept of workload-capacity balance. He will also develop tools that organizations can utilize to successfully implement quality improvement projects.
"CFHI congratulates Dr. Hayes on his accomplishment," said CFHI President Maureen O'Neil. "Throughout his career he has demonstrated exceptional leadership on patient safety initiatives that has helped strengthen the quality of our healthcare system."
Dr. Hayes has led a distinguished career at St. Michael's since 2005. He is also an assistant professor at the University of Toronto's Department of Medicine and its Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. Since 2008, he has been a medical officer at the Canadian Patient Safety Institute where he leads patient safety and quality initiatives. There, he has led research projects on rapid response teams, central line programs and ventilator bundle programs.
The Harkness Fellowship Award was announced on May 29 at the CAHSPR (Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research) Conference in Vancouver.
The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to healthcare improvement and transformation for Canadians and is funded through an agreement with the Government of Canada. CFHI collaborates with governments, policy-makers, and health system leaders to convert evidence and innovative practices into actionable policies, programs, tools and leadership development.
The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that promotes a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable. The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy.
Image with caption: ""I am deeply honored to receive the Harkness Fellowship," said Dr. Hayes. "I am grateful to CFHI and the Fund for this incredible opportunity to research initiatives that can help meet the growing demand for quality improvement projects in healthcare delivery in Canada and the U.S." (CNW Group/Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130529_C3278_PHOTO_EN_27247.jpg
SOURCE: Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
Paulette Roberge
Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
W: 613-728-2238 ext. 288
E: [email protected]
Robin Osborn
The Commonwealth Fund
W: 212-606-3809
E: [email protected]
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