IHPME alumna appointed Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre’s newest vice-president

By Alisa Kim

Early in her career as a physiotherapist, Lori Brady knew that she wanted to have broad influence. “I found the clinical work so impactful, but I realized that I needed to push the envelope and be involved in innovative, outside-the-box activities that would impact not just individual patients, but patient populations,” says Brady, who graduated from the Master of Health Administration program at IHPME and is now a faculty member of the Institute.

That vision has come to pass. After excelling in various leadership positions within the health system, Brady is stepping into her biggest role yet. She is the inaugural Vice-President of Community Integration, Partnerships and Ambulatory Care at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

“I’m so excited,” says Brady, of the new role. “Sunnybrook has taken the time and thought to create this position to help to support their dual mandate: to be a specialized hospital providing care for the entire province, but also to serve as a hospital for the residents of the North Toronto community and geography.”

The role is broad in scope. Brady will act as a liaison between the hospital and its community partners, and provide executive leadership via Sunnybrook’s collaboration with the North Toronto Ontario Health Team (OHT), which aims to provide better, integrated care as people move through different health care services, providers and settings within the region.

Some of her immediate priorities include working with primary care leadership at Sunnybrook and enhancing connections with the primary care community in North Toronto. And, working with partners within the North Toronto OHT, she aims to develop innovations in home and community care in the region. She will also be responsible for reviewing ambulatory (out-patient) care at Sunnybrook, with a goal of identifying opportunities to integrate care better. “From that, we can articulate our priorities to enable more innovative, flexible and community-based ambulatory care,” says Brady.

The learning, networking and practicum placement have been extremely beneficial since I left the [Master of Health Administration] program in 2012—so much that I wanted to remain connected to IHPME and the learners coming through it. They are our future health system leaders.”
Lori Brady, IHPME faculty and alumna

It is a big job, but she says the training she received at IHPME has been instrumental in developing her leadership skills. In addition to learning core competencies like finance, quality improvement and change management, the Health Administration program facilitated valuable connections with peers and mentors—many of whom Brady consults with more than a decade after completing the program. “I appreciated the way the program offered a fulsome set of experiences and diverse learning opportunities that I could add to my ‘toolbox’ of clinical leadership skills,” she says.

Brady says her education at IHPME was so valuable that she has made sure to stay linked to the Institute. “The learning, networking and practicum placement have been extremely beneficial since I left the program in 2012—so much that I wanted to remain connected to IHPME and the learners coming through it. They are our future health system leaders.”

Outside of work, Brady, along with her husband, are busy raising three sons—aged 18, 16 and nine years. She notes they keep her grounded, passionate, and also remind her not to take herself too seriously. “Seeing them each day reinforces my commitment to creating equitable health outcomes for our communities. I look forward to doing so in North Toronto!”