Excellence in Patient Safety Award

Please note that the awards nomination campaign will launch on October 1, at which time the online nomination form and the nomination template will become available.

The Award

This award recognizes individuals and/or teams that are committed to transforming and improving patient safety within any healthcare environment, through leadership, culture change, quality improvement, patient partnership, and innovation.


The recipient will receive an etched glass trophy and a cash prize of $1,000. Should the future permit us to return to an in-person event, one representative of the winning organization will also receive paid travel and accommodations to attend the College’s Honouring Health Leadership event, and a complimentary registration to the CCHL National Conference.


The Canadian College of Health Leaders recognizes that different healthcare sectors use different terminology to describe the individuals they serve. While the term “patient” is used for this award, it is considered an all-inclusive concept that includes all types of clients.

Eligibility

Individuals and teams are eligible for this award. To be considered, nominees must demonstrate organizational commitment and involvement of senior leaders, point of care/frontline workers, and patients and/or families, and sustainable approaches to addressing a patient safety challenge. Patient safety initiatives must demonstrate scalable and transferable learnings and how the initiative is improving patient safety outcomes. Established or in-progress initiatives are welcome to apply.

All submissions must satisfy the following criteria:

  • a collaborative and interprofessional team approach that includes senior management, point of care/front line workers, patients and families, peer supporters, and elders;
  • use of evidence and leading practices;
  • creative or innovative practices;
  • adoption of a comprehensive approach to quality improvement/change management and program implementation;
  • evidence of sustainability (e.g., integration into the business / operational plan) and replicability;
  • evidence that patient safety is improved/improving;
  • description of how patients and families are being meaningfully involved in the initiative; and,
  • explanation of how the initiative creates value.

Nominations

Nominations must be made by a member of the College and be submitted by February 1.

Nominations must be submitted as one PDF file via the team and organization award online form and include the following:

  • the completed nomination form (to be completed online);
  • a letter of nomination from a member of the College;
  • no more than two letters of support, with one being from the nominee’s chief executive officer or vice-president, who is a member of the College;
  • using the nomination template, information to meet the above criteria, including quantitative and qualitative data and evidence of progress/improvement, where possible; and,
  • other considerations the nominator feels may be of interest to the selection committee.

Sponsored by:

BD-Canada

2022 Recipient: William Osler Health System

William Osler embarked on its transformational journey to enhance corporate oversight & accountability for Patient Safety Incident Management through the implementation of a corporate, standardized framework aimed to improve reporting, standardize organizational response and increase frontline staff & physician participation in quality of care reviews.

The engagement and ongoing feedback from staff, physicians, patients and families who have endorsed the approach, was crucial to the creation, implementation, and evaluation of the process.

The implementation this new Patient Safety Incident Management Framework has supported an increase in staff & physician participation and has resulted in a 17% increase in patient safety incident reporting over two years.

Past Recipients

Please see our most recent recipients listed below. Full details are available in our Celebrating Leading Practices booklets.

2022 – William Osler Health System

2021 – Humber River Hospital

2020 – Markham Stouffville Hospital

2019 – University Health Network

2018 – Providence Health Care

2017 – Niagara Health

2016 – Baycrest

2015 – Mount Sinai Hospital

2014 – BC Cancer Agency (BCCA) & Vancouver General Hospital

2013 – Mackenzie Health

2012 – The Credit Valley Hospital and Trillium Health Centre

2011 – The Wexford Residence

Excellence in Patient Safety Award Selection Committee

List of Awards

For almost two decades, the National Awards Program has been showcasing the success of exemplary individuals and teams, encouraging knowledge exchange, and celebrating excellence while stimulating replication of leading practices across the health industry.