Over the past few weeks, we have recognized those who received South Island MSA Recognition Awards at this year’s Annual General Meeting. Thank you for following this series!
Our final award of the night is for Collaborative Leadership, honouring those who have partnered with the Health Authority and other organizations to lead change. The Executive wishes to recognize Dr. Elisabeth Crisci and Dr. Shauna Tierney for their work in bringing Hospital at Home to British Columbia.
It was just over two years ago that Island Health’s Geo 4 Executive Director Marko Peljhan challenged the South Island Hospitalists, saying that, by 2040, Victoria will need another 500 hospital beds to keep up with the demands of the population.
Having learned about the success of ‘Hospital at Home’ in other geographies, Dr. Tierney approached Mr. Peljhan with a suggestion: Let’s explore Hospital at Home together to see if it could ease the pressure on Victoria’s hospitals. What’s more, it may also improve patient care and reduce costs. The inclusion of Dr. Crisci was natural, as she had witnessed Hospital at Home in person while working in Australia.
Creating a vision for this work with Island Health, exploring clinical challenges with a Hospitalist working group, and launching the Hospital at Home Advisory Committee have been key steps in the creation of this important program. And as we’ve all seen over the past couple of months, the provincial uptake of the work spearheaded by Drs. Crisci and Tierney has been remarkable.
Our sincere thanks and congratulations go to these leaders. I am pleased to present the Award for Collaborative Leadership to Dr. Shauna Tierney and Dr. Elisabeth Crisci.