Sinai Health is pleased to announce a first in Canada; a hospital-based Centre for Nursing Excellence that spans all nursing care provided in our institution’s two hospitals, Mount Sinai Hospital and Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital and the continuum of care within the Sinai Health community.

The Sinai Health Centre for Nursing Excellence will have a central focus on nurse-led research and innovation that advances and accelerates the science of care by exploring new approaches to patient care including managing symptoms and complex responses to illness, ensuring patient and staff safety, and enhancing patient experience and outcomes.

The creation of the Centre for Nursing Excellence is thanks to a gift of more than $10 million from a group of women philanthropists, led by Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, co-chair of the Board of Directors at Sinai Health Foundation. This inspiring gift will allow the Centre to recruit leading Nurse Scientists and empower front-line nurses to lead research initiatives that are created and delivered at the point of care.

“We’re so proud to launch the only Centre for Nursing Excellence that focuses on nurse led research and innovation across an entire multi-hospital system,” said Jane Merkley, Executive Vice President, Chief Nurse Executive and Chief Operating Officer at Sinai Health. “We are taking research to the places and spaces where care happens with patients and their care partners. Our nurses are advancing care to better meet the fundamental health needs such as nutrition, sleep and comfort that are essential to improve health outcomes for all patients. Addressing symptoms like pain, nausea, fatigue, dehydration, and safety concerns related to infections and skin breakdown matter so much to all patients and shape their experience.”

“Nurses are uniquely positioned to see where the health system falls short and they have ideas we desperately need to improve care,” said Granovsky. “This Centre is about giving nurses a space to advance those ideas and make health care better. This gift celebrates and values the nursing profession, and it will allow our nursing leaders to look towards the future and reach for new heights in patient care through research and innovation.”

The Sinai Health Centre for Nursing Excellence will be designed in collaboration with University of Toronto’s Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, one of Canada’s leading institutions in nursing research. This collaborative partnership will help bring impactful research to the forefront of nursing practice and policy and impact patient care across Sinai Health.

“For our students and researchers, working collaboratively with our partners at Sinai Health will provide greater opportunities to be involved in shaping the health care system through education, research and leadership,” says Linda Johnston, Dean of the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing.

“This gift also serves as a powerful tribute to the nurses and all health disciplines who have been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic. Never before has it been more important for us to invest in our health care teams,” said Merkley. “The biggest challenge our nurses face is having the time and resources to enable new learning to discover better ways to care. This incredible gift will serve as an inspiration to our teams and will ultimately help create a nursing workforce that is energized, enthusiastic and resilient.”

Finally, Merkley reflected on the current challenges faced by our health care system and the nursing profession that have been amplified by providing care through the COVID-19 pandemic. “This gift and the creation of this Nursing Centre of Excellence values and celebrates these amazing professionals by empowering our nurses and letting them lead.”