Dr. Amanda Mayo is C-QuIPS’ new associate director for Sunnybrook

Dr. Amanda Mayo recognizes that COVID-19 has brought countless challenges to the health system. At the same time, she also sees hope – that the pandemic will lead to more innovative care models for better person-centred and equitable care. This year, health care has adapted and evolved much faster than ever before and magnified disparities in outcomes.
“Virtual care innovations have accelerated in the pandemic, enabling access to care for patients sheltering at home and creating collaborative care models between providers,” she said, “ We have had virtual care technologies for years – there was just no urgency to do high quantity and quality virtual care until now. At the same time, it’s become clear that these resources don’t work for everyone – there are patients without access to technology, so we still have work to do.”
Dr. Mayo has been involved in making necessary changes – she’s currently working on creating a virtual orthopaedic consult care pathway for long-term care residents with fractures, preventing elderly patients from having to wait long hours in Emergency Departments and having to quarantine after acute care hospital visits. And now, as the new Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (C-QuIPS) associate director for Sunnybrook, she’ll be able to get more people involved in quality improvement work to shape better, safer care.
C-QuIPS – a joint partnership between the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine and three of its major teaching hospitals, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, the Hospital for Sick Children (‘SickKids’) and Women’s College Hospital – focuses on research and education to accelerate and deepen the work of people and organizations that are passionate about enhancing quality and patient safety.
“Amanda brings a unique perspective to the Centre with her background in clinical engineering and human factors,” said Dr. Brain Wong, director of C-QuIPS. “She has been deeply involved in our two major certificate courses and has been instrumental in training the next generation of quality leaders. We’re thrilled she’s coming on board in this role to continue supporting this important work.”
Dr. Mayo first became involved with C-QuIPS five years ago as an instructor in the Excellence in Quality Improvement Certificate Program (EQUIP).
“I’m excited to be taking on the associate director role because quality improvement work is close to my heart,” she said. “One of the things we’re trying to is build a community of QI practice within the health care community – both physicians and interprofessional providers. We’re blessed in Toronto and at Sunnybrook to have a strong QI background, so I see my work as supporting the Centre to bring these individuals together to collaborate on bigger projects that lead to significant system improvements.