About Us
A Warm Welcome from Dr. Brian Hodges, Education Lead, COVID-19 Critical Care Capacity Steering Committee
Welcome to COVIDCareLearning.ca! This website launched April 1, 2020 with the great support of the Toronto Region hospital, long-term care, and education communities to provide key resources to prepare healthcare professionals who will be caring for Ontarians impacted by COVID-19. As the site has grown provincially, so too has the diversity of our valued collaborators.
During this unprecedented time, we have banded together to quickly and carefully curate important materials for you, as you care for those diagnosed with COVID-19. We are asking you to do the best you can to acquire the confidence to assist your colleagues, and to implement the knowledge and skills you’ve gained or refreshed, while using a team-based approach you will also learn about on this platform. We would invite you to share education requests and resources with us as we continue to expand our content.
Your health and welfare are of the utmost importance to us. Please ensure you take the time to practice good self-care, and to find ways to stay resilient as you support your colleagues.
Thank you for your courage and determination to put our patients, clients and residents first. For this, my colleagues and I are forever grateful.
With Respect and Gratitude,
Brian Hodges, MD, PhD, FRCPC, on behalf of the COVID-19, Critical Care Capacity Steering Committee (CCCP)
Education Lead, COVID-19 CCCP
Executive Vice President, Education, and Chief Medical Officer, University Health Network
COVIDCareLearning.ca - Acknowledgements
COVIDCareLearning.ca is brought to you by the collaboration and contributions of many who have volunteered their time, programming, and expertise. This site was rapidly prototyped to enable our health care workers across the Ontario health and long-term care system to safely support the care of COVID-19 and critically ill patients.
There are no words to describe the gratitude to everyone who has touched this project in whatever capacity they have. Below is a complete list of people who made the launch and ongoing curation of this platform possible.
Project Leadership
COVID Critical Care Capacity Steering Committee – Education Lead
Brian Hodges, Chief Medical Officer & Executive Vice-President Education, University Health Network (UHN)
Education Task Force Chair & Project Lead
Maria Tassone, Senior Director, Continuing Education & Professional Development (CEPD), UHN; Director, University of Toronto (UofT) Centre for Interprofessional Education (IPE)
Education Leads Working Group Co-Chairs
Karen Chaiton, Director, Business Operations, The Michener Institute of Education at UHN (Michener)
Mohammad Salhia, Director, Continuing Education, Michener; Director, International Centre for Education, UHN
Project Managers
Raghad Zaiyouna, Project Manager, UHN
Shawna Fraser, Project Manager, School of Continuing Education, Michener
Education Stream Leads
Anesthesia Assistants - Pheobe Lam (lead), Coordinator, Anesthesia Simulation Centre and Educator, UHN
Assessment - Maria Mylopoulos (lead), Scientist, The Wilson Centre, UHN
Bioethics – Ann Heesters (lead), Director of Bioethics, UHN
Clinical Nutrition – Tracie Burke (lead), Clinical Dietitian and Education Coordinator, UHN
Compassionate Care – Laura Williams (lead), Director, Patient Engagement, UHN
Information Science & Science of COVID – Marina Englesakis (lead), Information Specialist, UHN
Interprofessional Education - Lynne Sinclair (lead), Innovative Programs and External Development Lead, UofT Centre for Interprofessional Education
Long-Term Care – Raquel Meyer (co-lead), Manager, Ontario Centres for Learning, Research & Innovation in Long-Term Care, Baycrest; Lisa Sokoloff (Co-Lead), Manager, Training & Simulation, Centre for Education, Baycrest; Tammy Cumming, Manager, Ontario Centres for Learning, Research & Innovation in Long-Term Care, Research Institute for Aging
Medicine – Karen Chaiton (co-lead), Director, Business Operations, Michener; Mohammad Salhia (co-lead), Director, Continuing Education and International, Michener; Ghislaine Doufle, Critical Education Lead (Toronto General Hospital), UHN; Ian Randall, Critical Care Education Lead (Toronto Western Hospital), UHN; Warren Luksun, Anesthesiologist and Intensivist, UHN
Nursing – Mohammad Salhia (lead), Director, Continuing Education, Michener; Director, International Centre for Education, UHN; Brenda Perkins-Meingast, Director, Practice-Based Education, UHN; Klara Malkova, Faculty, Critical and Acute Care Nursing, Michener; Carolyn Dol, Advanced Practice Nurse Educator (APNE), UHN; Michael McCullough, APNE, UHN
Occupational Therapy – Sylvia Langlois, Associate Professor Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, U of T; Faculty Lead IPE Curriculum and Scholarship, UofT Centre for IPE
Paediatrics – Pam Hubley (lead), Chief, International Nursing and VP Education and Academic Practice, Sick Kids
Palliative Care – Ebru Kaya (co-lead), Clinical Palliative Care Fellowship Co-Director and Toronto General Palliative Care Education Lead and Site Lead, Toronto General Hospital, UHN; Kirsten Wentlandt (co-lead), Palliative Care Physician, Head, Division of Palliative Care, Department of Family and Community Medicine, U of T Clinical Co-Lead, Palliative Care Ontario Health (Toronto)
Pharmacy – Olavo Fernandes (lead), Director of Pharmacy, UHN; Sandra Bjelajac Mejia, Interim Director of Professional Programs, UofT Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
Personal Support Worker – TBD
Physician Assistant – Leslie St. Jacques (lead), Co-lead for Physician Assistants, UHN and Physician Assistant in Neurosurgery at Toronto Western Hospital
Physiotherapy – Jaimie Coleman, (lead) Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto; Sharon Switzer-Mcintyre (former lead), Program Director, MScPT Program & Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, UofT
Psychosocial Care Team – Adrienne Tan (lead), Director UHN Postgraduate Medical Education & Medical Lead, Medical Psychiatry
Respiratory Therapy – Lori Peppler-Beechey (lead), Academic Chair, Critical Care, The Michener Institute of Education at UHN
Simulation – Jordan Holmes (lead), Interim Director, Centre for Learning, Innovation and Simulation, The Michener Institute of Education at UHN
Speech Language Pathology – Taylor Strande (lead), Discpline Head, Speech Language Pathology
Virtual Care – Carolyn Chalmers (co-lead), Senior Professional Practice Leaders Collaborative Academic Practice, UHN; Tina Papadakos (co-lead), Co-Director, Cancer Self Management Research Centre; Senior Manager, Educational Design & Knowledge Translation, Cancer Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN
Task Force Advisors
Communications – Jacqueline Waldorf, Director of Communications and Marketing, The Michener Institute of Education at UHN
Critical Care – Laurent Brochard, Interdepartmental Division Director, Critical Care, University of Toronto Keenan Chair in Critical Care and Respiratory Medicine, Unity Health Toronto
Developmental Evaluation – Kathryn Parker, Senior Director, Academic Affairs and Simulation Lead & Co-Lead, Centre for Leadership in Innovation, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Toronto Academic Health Sciences Network (TAHSN) Education Committee – Mandy Lowe, Senior Director of Clinical Education, UHN, Strategic Advisor, Centre for Interprofessional Education, University of Toronto
TAHSN Practice Committee – Irene Andress, Vice-President, Patient Experience, Health Professions & Chief Nursing Executive, Toronto East Health Network, Michael Garron Hospital
UofT Council of Health Sciences – Leslie Vincent, Executive Director, Centre for Professional Development, Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing
Digital Platform Developers/Administrators
Manager Moodle Platform – Mathew Gancarz, Manager, Information Technology and Operations, de Souza Institute
Digital Platform Lead – Tina Papadakos, Co-Director, Cancer Self-Management Research Centre; Senior Manager, Educational Design & Knowledge Translation, Cancer Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN
Lead Platform Administrator – Vincenzo Addario, Manager, Educational Design & Knowledge Translation, Cancer Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN
Platform Administrator – Matt Turczyn, Mobile Developer, Educational Design & Knowledge Translation, Cancer Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN
Platform Administrator – Tylar Stringer, Education & Knowledge Exchange Specialist, Educational Design & Knowledge Translation, Cancer Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN
Digital Infrastructure and Support Teams
Shawna Fraser, Project Manager, School of Continuing Education, Michener
David Wiljer, Executive Director, Education, Technology & Innovation, UHN Digital
Carl Virtanen, Research Lead, and Acting Executive Director, Executive Digital Operations, UHN
Wanda Peteanu, Director, Information Management, Michener
Ross Woodruff, Team Lead, Information Management, Michener
Jessica Hon, Project Manager, Connecting GTA, UHN
Donna Fairfield, Sr. Manager, Service Management, UHN
Alan Joson, Graphic Designer, Michener
Mathew Gancarz, Manager, Information Technology and Operations, de Souza Institute
Geoff Hallford, Acting Director, Infrastructure Core, UHN Digital
Liaisons
Linkage to the Steering Committee – Olga Livshits, Director, Strategy and External Relations, Sinai Health System
Infection Prevention and Control – Carly Rebelo, Manager, Infection Prevention and Control, UHN
Centralized Resources and Triaging – Dalia Al-Mouaswas, Manager, International Centre for Education, UHN