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By: Tracey MacArthur, Interim President & CEO of CAMH

On behalf of CAMH staff, physicians, learners, volunteers and community partners, I would like to thank Dr. Catherine Zahn for her years of service to our hospital and the cause of mental health. As the new Interim President & CEO of CAMH, I look forward to taking on this leadership role and continuing to make progress towards our hospital's vision of Health Redefined.  

We are living through an extraordinary time. Now, more than ever, we must all commit ourselves to the cause of mental health and supporting each other and our community to promote healing and recovery.

In many ways, the history of CAMH's Queen Street West site reflects the history of mental health care in Canada. When CAMH first opened as the Provincial Lunatic Asylum in 1850, deeply stigmatized patients were treated in often difficult conditions. We have come a long way but today, stigma still exists, especially for those who experience complex mental illnesses, and our work to fully transform our hospital to a setting that promotes healing and recovery is still ongoing. I'm optimistic that discussions about mental health have never been more open and collaboration across the sector has never been stronger. Our society is finally seeing mental health for what it truly is – health.

At CAMH, we strive to make a positive impact on our teams, the people we serve and the broader community.  Since 2011, CAMH has received the designation of Exemplary Standing from Accreditation Canada, recognizing our attention to quality and safety throughout the hospital enterprise. In 2018, CAMH became the first Canadian hospital to achieve one of the highest international awards for using analytics to improve patient care and operational efficiency. These accolades are thanks to the hard work and commitment of our clinical teams and those corporate services that make their work possible. But, impact is all about continuously raising the bar.

I commit to a focus on inclusion that commands consideration of all voices and pushes us to find those that are missing. For this, I have to thank the many community members who generously provide us with guidance and feedback, and I commit to expanding the voices we hear from. From the diverse experts on our Patient and Family Advisory Committee and Constituency Council, to the Ontario mental health hospitals and our community-based partners and beyond, these perspectives will continue shaping the way we provide treatment, influencing our advocacy efforts and pushing us to ask the right questions when we look at outcome-based care and data collection.

CAMH will focus on evidence-informed treatment, standardized performance indicators and continuous quality improvement. Rigorous data collection and analysis is making health care more equitable, accessible and effective. As a data nerd with a background in clinical informatics and standards based project management, I am thrilled at the opportunity to continue this important work. 

And finally, CAMH will continue to inspire research discovery as the largest academic mental health hospital in Canada and a world leader in mental health research. Helping us get there are the researchers who have joined our teams from across the world, and the patients and their families who have put their trust in us to improve their lives. As our hospital plans for a new research centre, we want to revolutionize the understanding of the brain and the causes, biomarkers and treatments for mental illness. We will continue to use evidence to drive system improvements and social change to optimize care for all.

We look to our strategic plan, One CAMH, and its pillars of inspire, include and impact, as a map to the future of mental health care. We couldn't have done it without the dedication and vision of our CAMH community. I look forward to serving you as CAMH's new Interim President & CEO and invite you to join me as a champion of mental health.