Message from the Executive Liaison Committee

While this year continued to be challenging for emergency services across Canada, it was a very successful year for SREMI. The number of publications and grants continues to grow and are detailed elsewhere in this report. Dr. Rohit Mohindra, our Research Lead at North York General Hospital (NYGH), has contributed to SREMI productivity overall while bringing the perspective of a community ED to the research projects he leads and to the program in general. Emergency Medicine Cases, led by Dr. Anton Helman at NYGH continues to exceed expectations every year and has a global impact that is hard to describe!

Dr. Kevin Wasko and Andrea Ennis led the planning for this year’s EDAC conference and will mark the return of an in-person, two day event for the first time since 2019. The agenda is exciting and at the time of this writing, the registration is far ahead of schedule – the venue will almost certainly be sold out.

Continuing SREMI’s leadership in public policy related to emergency services, this year also featured the launch of the data gathering phase of the “POWER III” study led by Dr. Shelley McLeod and is certain to have an impact on physician coverage, wait times and care in Ontario EDs. It has generated great interest in the discipline and government. North York General ED was a participating study site. We look forward to the results and recommendations in the year ahead.

This year we also completed the funding for the endowment fund to support the Don Melady Sinai 100 Chair in Geriatric Emergency Medicine. This was celebrated by an event to thank his donors at Sinai and the University Divisions of Emergency Medicine recognized it as well at the evening where we also celebrated Don’s academic promotion to Full Professor.

We also had an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the founding of SREMI. It was a moment for all of us to step back and marvel at the growth and success achieved in only 10 years. As you read the research report, pay special attention to two key points. First, each of our clinician scientists has developed a focus, sometimes more than one, as recommended by the IAB in our early years. Each focus is directly relevant to the clinical populations we serve and builds expertise and credibility over time. Good advice taken to heart! Second, each researcher is also an advocate and leader for change in their respective areas, reinforcing our original SREMI vision of being more than a research institute. This synergy across research, knowledge translation and advocacy amplifies the impact of our work. This further validates our approach and reflects the exceptional quality of the staff we have recruited.

The memorandum of understanding between the founding partners – Sinai Health and NYGH – has expired. North York General Hospital is in the midst of leadership change and renewal under their new CEO, Dr. Everton Gooden. Dr. Gooden has indicated the value he places on academics in general and on the SREMI partnership and we look forward to renewing our relationship in the year ahead.