Inside this edition:
- Introducing our new strategic plan: building a healthier future together
- A major milestone in cardiac care: Southlake collaboration marks the start
- Donors unite to bring game-changing prostate treatment to Mackenzie Health
- Marking the future: York U’s School of Medicine sign unveiled
- From the expert: 8 tips for safe lunch packing this year
Building a healthier future: Our plan for our community
Health care is changing rapidly and so are the needs of our communities. At Mackenzie Health, we’re proud to announce the launch of our 2025–2028 Strategic Plan — Delivering today, building for tomorrow — a bold vision shaped by thousands of voices from across the organization and the community we serve.
We’re building a modern, connected hospital network for the future. Driven by our community’s unique needs, we envision a system where teaching, innovation, safety, quality and patient experience come together, powered by a skilled and compassionate workforce, in the relentless pursuit of care excellence.
This plan builds on the progress of our 2022-2025 strategy, where we advanced safety and quality through our Zero Harm and high reliability journey, expanded services and infrastructure to meet growing demand and strengthened partnerships across the health system. These achievements give us the momentum and confidence to take the next step forward for our patients, families and community.
At the heart of the 2025-2028 strategic plan is Patient Care Excellence — delivering safe, compassionate, high-quality care for every patient, every time, supported by digital solutions and intelligent systems that strengthen safety, reliability and person-centred care. Supporting this are four additional areas of focus:
- People are our Strength – empowering our people with the tools, resources and support needed to thrive in a culture of learning, growth, development, belonging and well-being.
- Growing with Our Communities – expanding services and infrastructure to better serve one of Ontario’s fastest-growing and most diverse regions.
- Integrated Care – strengthening partnerships across the health system and leveraging digital solutions to make it easier for teams to deliver seamless care.
- Education and Research – positioning Mackenzie Health as a teaching and research hub, creating more opportunities for learning, innovation and professional development to advance care and inspire the next generation.
These areas of focus will come to life by expanding specialized services like cancer care, cardiology, advanced stroke and seniors’ care; introducing intelligent digital systems to transform how care is delivered; and advancing our leadership in Zero Harm and high reliability practices to keep patients safe.
The actions we take and the deliberate choices we make within these areas of focus will set Mackenzie Health apart by strengthening care for patients, creating opportunities for staff and building a health system ready for the future.
Most importantly, this plan is about you — our patients, families and communities. It’s about ensuring you have access to the right care, in the right place, at the right time, delivered by a team dedicated to providing exceptional care.
To learn more about our new Strategic Plan, visit mackenziehealth.ca/Strategicplan.
Collaborating for advanced cardiac care closer to home
Local government representatives join Mackenzie Health and Southlake Health leadership to celebrate the beginning of a new partnership to expand access to advanced cardiac care in York Region.
Top (from left): Steven Del Duca, Mayor of Vaughan, Dawn Gallagher Murphy, MPP for Newmarket-Aurora, Daisy Wai, MPP for Richmond Hill, Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines and MPP for King-Vaughan
Seated (from left): Mary-Agnes Wilson, Interim President and CEO at Mackenzie Health, and Dr. Paul Woods, President and CEO at Southlake Health.
Mackenzie Health and Southlake Health have launched an exciting, multi-year collaboration to expand access to advanced cardiac care in York Region. By working together, our organizations will build system capacity and lay the groundwork for a future Level 4 cardiac centre of excellence at Mackenzie Health.
This partnership begins with something that will make an immediate difference for patients: a pacemaker device follow-up clinic at Mackenzie Health. This clinic will reduce the travel burden on patients by offering timely, high-quality care closer to home. More than 200 local patients will soon receive routine monitoring and care in their own community — with thousands more expected to benefit over time.
In the years ahead, we will introduce more advanced procedures and interventions, such as implanting pacemakers and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators — small devices to keep the heart beating properly. We also plan to launch a cardiac catheterization laboratory with cutting-edge tools to enable angiograms to detect blockages or narrowing, and interventions such as angioplasty and stent placements to open blocked arteries.
This is all about growing with our communities and meeting our patients where they are to deliver care closer to home.
As part of this collaboration, Southlake Health will provide education and training for Mackenzie Health staff and physicians at every leg of the journey. As a Level 7 Regional Cardiac Program, Southlake is widely recognized for its innovation in patient care and clinical research.
The prevalence of cardiac issues is increasing in western York Region and the risk of heart disease rises sharply with age. With nearly one in four York Region residents expected to be over 65 by 2051, according to York Region, the demand for these services will only grow.
Leaders from both organizations signed a memorandum of understanding on Sept. 29 – World Heart Day – with the clear goal of ensuring residents of western York Region can access a full spectrum of cardiac care without leaving their community.
Donors unite to bring game-changing prostate treatment to Mackenzie Health
Dr. Michael Kogon, Division Head of Urology at Mackenzie Health, is shown with Ed O’Brien, a patient whose donation helped bring cutting-edge prostate treatment to Mackenzie Health, along with a matching gift from the Paul B. Helliwell Foundation.
Thanks to the generosity of community donors, Mackenzie Health is now among a select few Ontario hospitals offering a game-changing technology to treat enlarged prostates. The specialized device – known as the Piranha morcellator – enables a minimally invasive laser procedure to treat the condition, which can lead to blocked urine flow and bladder or kidney infections. The tool breaks prostate tissue into smaller fragments and gently removes them.
Instead of invasive surgery and a long recovery, this technology means most patients return home the same day and recover within days — not weeks or months.
When John Jenah, President of the Paul B. Helliwell Foundation, learned about the long and painful recoveries men like Ed O’Brien faced after open prostate surgery, he knew something had to change. Motivated to make a difference, the Paul B. Helliwell Foundation provided a lead gift of $130,000. This, combined with a generous contribution from grateful patient Ed O’Brien through the Mackenzie Health Foundation, is helping fund advanced equipment that will benefit future patients.
This powerful example shows how philanthropy and innovation can come together to transform patient care.
Ed spoke with CTV News about how his health journey and three-month recovery period inspired him to give back. Dr. Michael Kogon, Division Head of Urology at Mackenzie Health, also explained how this technology is a “game changer” which means the chance of needing another operation is virtually zero.
Mackenzie Health is so grateful to Ed, the Paul B. Helliwell Foundation, Dr. Kogon, and our entire community of donors and health care workers who make it possible to deliver advanced and specialized health care to the communities we serve.
Watch the full segment from CTV News and read more about his donation online. Visit Mackenzie Health Foundation for more information on ways to give.
A sign of things to come: another milestone for York University’s future School of Medicine
Representatives from Mackenzie Health, York University and local and provincial government celebrate the unveiling of a new sign for York University’s School of Medicine in Vaughan.
Earlier this summer, Mackenzie Health, York University and local and provincial government representatives gathered to celebrate the progress and collaboration behind the establishment of a future School of Medicine, unveiling a new sign near the site where it will be built.
Mackenzie Health is proud to be a lead partner in York University’s School of Medicine, set to open in 2028, adjacent to Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital and mere kilometres from Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital. This school will train the next generation of primary care doctors who are urgently needed for our community and overall health system.
By working together, we’re building capacity to ensure patients receive the comprehensive care they deserve — especially as they age and face more complex health needs. Having a trusted family doctor who understands a patient’s full medical history and unique challenges is essential to delivering the best possible care.
The excitement was palpable in July as we marked this important step toward creating Canada’s first medical school dedicated to community-based primary health care education.
This milestone reflects the power of collaboration across government, health care, education, research and innovation — all working together to train the next generation of doctors and expand access to care across our region.
Watch the video below:
Pack smart: 8 expert tips for safe school lunches
With the start of a new school year, lunch-packing is back on the daily to-do list. And while choosing healthy, balanced foods is important, the way those foods are packed and stored matters just as much.
That’s why we turned to Safiyya, Manager of Infection Prevention and Control at Mackenzie Health, to share her top eight tips to keep lunches fresh, safe and appealing for your kids. One of her key recommendations? Choosing “low-risk foods.” That means skipping mayonnaise-based salads, raw seafood or undercooked eggs, and opting instead for nut-free spreads, hard cheeses, fresh fruit and whole grains.
Head over to our Facebook page for seven more tips. For more advice about food safety at home, visit the York Region website.