By Emily Dawson

See this video in full-size on YouTube.

Nov. 22, 2019 – When our three hospitals and long-term care home integrated in 2017, we became one of the largest Catholic health networks in the country. We came together with a confidence that stems from the strong foundation of our shared mission and values.

With the launch of Unity Health Toronto’s new values earlier this year, we also introduced a harmonized approach for our values-based recognition program: the Our Shared Values Awards. Each of our sites had a tradition of annually presenting values awards with the same touchstone: a recognition of a person’s or team’s dedication to living the values in the work they do.

See this video in full-size on YouTube.Last night, Unity Health hosted the Our Shared Values Awards reception, a joint celebration of the 14 teams and individuals from St. Joseph’s, St. Michael’s, and Providence who received values awards in 2019.

“The mission and values of Unity Health change lives for our patients and their families — we are there at the times of greatest happiness, sorrow and vulnerability in people’s lives,” said Colleen Johnston, Chair of the Unity Health Board of Directors, during her welcome remarks at the reception.

“A big part of our success is our shared mission and the shared belief in the values of Catholic health care, instilled in us by the Sisters of St. Joseph.”

Dr. Tim Rutledge, Unity Health’s President and CEO, also joined the festivities. He spoke of how foundational the new mission and values were to helping inform the first-ever Unity Health vision and strategic plan.

  See this video in full-size on YouTube.He also took time to recognize staff from our three sites with 40 or more years of service. Like their award recipient colleagues, their long-term service also demonstrates a remarkable commitment to our organization.

“Our staff, physicians and volunteers are a collective testament to the history of compassionate care that began with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto more than 160 years ago,” said Dr. Rutledge.

“It is an honour to celebrate and profile the people who go ‘above and beyond’ in their work and uphold the legacy of our founders.”

[ape-gallery 5273]