Two weeks ago, I had the good fortune of meeting and talking with many health care leaders from across the province and beyond at the OHA’s annual HealthAchieve conference and exhibition. HealthAchieve has many benefits – the greatest of which may be the networking – and I definitely appreciated the opportunity to hear first hand about the priorities and the challenges of individual health care organizations.
While health care – like all sectors – is facing difficult financial challenges, health care leaders remain focused on providing excellent patient care and recognize that there are many opportunities for innovation and room to improve. And HealthAchieve is one of the greatest examples of information sharing and discovery in health care. It has become an award-winning show, most recently awarded nine awards at the "Art of the Show Competition", sponsored by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE).
From November 16th to 18th, a total of 9,474 health care leaders and professionals discussed leading practices, explored opportunities, and discovered the latest innovations in the delivery of health care.
HealthAchieve featured:
§ 63 sessions, breakfasts and receptions;
§ 230 participating guest speakers, including Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Michael Moore, Silken Laumann, Ontario’s Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan, Newt Gingrich, Dr. Elaine Dembe, Richard Florida, Dr. Kirsty Duncan, Chef Michael Smith, Ian Morrison, Emily Friedman, Steve Paikin, Jeffrey Simpson, Andre Picard, and Wendy Mesley; and
§ 349 exhibitors, coming from Canada, USA, China, United Kingdom, Ireland, South Korea, and Denmark.
This year, HealthAchieve, in partnership with the Government of Ontario, launched the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Celebrating Innovations in Health Care Expo on Wednesday, November 18th. The Expo welcomed a total of 1,397 delegates, had a total of 238 exhibitors. It also featured 20 Ministry and 14 LHINs' innovative displays and saw Ontario’s new Minister of Health, Deb Matthews visiting the show floor and discussing innovations.
Added together, both shows attracted a total attendance of 10,871, which I believe is the largest attendance ever for a Canadian health care event. In addition, we had 224 online webcast viewers, who logged in to watch our high-profile sessions from remote locations across the province.
There were also a number of awards presented at HealthAchieve, celebrating many achievements from across our health care sector. Award winners included:
§ Ted Feedman Award for Innovation in Education – Department of Community Medicine, University of Toronto
§ Energy Efficiency Award – Timmins District Hospital and Booth Centennial Healthcare Linen Services.
§ Pollution Prevention – Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
§ Overall Leadership – Ross Memorial Hospital
§ Individual Leadership – Harry Taylor (posthumous) of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
§ Margret Comack Award of Excellence in Nursing Leadership – Dr. Karima Velji, VP Patient Care & Chief Nursing Executive, Toronto Rehab
§ Small, Rural & Northern Health Care Award of Excellence – Hal Fjeldsted, President & CEO, Kirkland & District Hospital
§ Communicator of the Year – Kim Spirou, Vice President of Communications and Development, Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital
§ Leading Practices Awards:
o Access to Care category, the Hospital for Sick Children and Bloorview Kids Rehab
o Education category, Mount Sinai Hospital
o Family and Patient Centred Care category, Providence Healthcare
o Leadership category, Windsor Regional Hospital
o Patient Safety – Best in Show category, Windsor Regional Hospital
o Technology category, Credit Valley Hospital
With so much going on in today’s health care system, HealthAchieve strives to makes this easy for today’s busy health care professionals, by giving one-stop access to thought-provoking speakers, intensive education, access to expert advice, unparalleled networking opportunities, and live demonstrations of cutting-edge health care business solutions.
I hope to see you next year at HealthAchieve2010 – November 8, 9 & 10, 2010.