Announcing AFHTO 2014 Bright Lights Award Winners!

AFHTO has awarded 12 innovators in ten categories for their work in making meaningful changes toward improving the patient experience, improving health outcomes and reducing healthcare costs. There were seven total themes and three special awards. Six of the 12 award recipients will receive education grants. The Bright Light Awards were presented during an awards dinner on the evening of October 15th, in the midst of AFHTO’s 2014 Conference, “In Partnership with Patients: True Integration of Care.” The dinner was attended by over 200 people including AFHTO members, senior representatives from government, key agencies and associations. Keynote speaker, Dr. Joshua Tepper, family physician and president and CEO of Health Quality Ontario, joined in celebrating the successes of the award nominees and winners. The awards recognize individuals for their leadership and the work being conducted to improve the value of services delivered by primary care teams in Ontario. Winners were selected from a nomination process of over 60 submissions that took place in August of this year.

Bright Lights Award recipients

Click on the links in the names below to read a summary of their achievements.

Founder of the Bright Lights Awards Program | Dr. John McDonald, PrimaCare Community Family Health Team

  • Recognizing the bright light behind the Bright Lights Awards

Board Special Award | Dr. Stewart Kennedy

  • A singular commitment to creating a unified voice for primary care

Emerging Light Award | Two Rivers Family Health Team, Newborn Support Program

  • What’s best for baby: encouraging breastfeeding in Waterloo

Accountability and governance for patient-centred care | Queen’s Family Health Team

  • With patients, for patients: A new kind of board of directors for a new kind of care

Engaging patients in their care | Alliston Family Health Team

  • Breathing easier with education and support

Responding to community needs | Prince Edward Family Health Team

  • Breaking down big barriers for small babies

Team collaboration in patient-centred care | Two award recipients: 

  1. Sunnybrook Academic Family Health Team, Homebound Senior’s Program Taking care back home: broadening the use of house calls to protect frail patients
  2. Centre for Family Medicine Family Health Team, The Mobility Clinic Creating a flexible clinic for mobility problems

Integrating the community around the patient | Great Northern, Temagami, and Haileybury Family Health Teams

  • A far-reaching safety net for people who might fall

Using data to improve transitions of care and care coordination | North York Family Health Team

  • Making it easier for teams to access data needed to improve care

Clinical innovations in comprehensive primary care | Two award recipients: 

  1. Dr. Judith Davidson, Kingston Family Health Team Helping the sleepless with drug-free insomnia therapy
  2. McMaster Family Health Team, Adolescent Anxiety Group A safe space for teens at a tough place in life [envira-gallery id="19670"]