Building a healthier, wealthier and smarter Ontario

Leading local and international health leaders will come together to discuss creating a sustainable, innovative provincial healthcare system

TORONTO, May 28, 2015 /CNW/ - Gail Bellissimo, a mother of four sons, was diagnosed with major, treatment-resistant depression more than 10 years ago. She tried dozens of medications with little to no success, making psychotherapy less effective. Gail felt she existed in a dark, hopeless life, with little hope for a brighter future. Then last year, Gail joined a research study at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) where she received repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulations. After only two weeks of treatment, Gail said that she felt like could breathe again. At three weeks, she felt like she deserved to be alive.

That study is just one example of how Ontario is making strides in innovative health research. But more is needed to help maintain Ontario's position as the health innovation engine in Canada; finding and applying tomorrow's cures today, while driving economic growth and attracting talent.

Currently, the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario's (CAHO) 24 member hospitals invest $1.4 billion annually in health research in Ontario, which generates $3.4 billion in economic output and supports 41,000 total jobs across Ontario.

On June 1, CAHO will bring together more than 200 leading local and international health sector leaders to discuss how they can collaborate to drive and sustain a Healthier, Wealthier and Smarter province. The event will feature keynote remarks by the Honourable Dr. Reza Moridi, Ontario's Minister of Research and Innovation, as well as presentations by key thought leaders, in addition to Gail:

• Karen Michell, CAHO Executive Director, who will speak to how the work of Ontario's research hospitals is delivering results and how Ontario can, and must, maintain this momentum.
• Simon Denegri, UK National Director for Patients and Public at NIHR and Chair of INVOLVE, who will speak to the pioneering research-based patient engagement work being done in the UK and what lessons there are for Ontario from this work.
• Honourable Michael Wilson, Chancellor of the University of Toronto and former Canadian Finance Minister, who will speak to the economic contribution made by health research and his experience with professional and community organizations, specifically as it relates to mental health.
• Tina Ceroni, Toronto business owner, who will share her poignant journey of being diagnosed with a rare and incurable neuro-muscular disorder and how she got her life back thanks to a first-of-its-kind stem cell transplant procedure developed in Ontario.

Media are invited to attend the conference on June 1, and speakers are available for interviews. To RSVP to the conference or request an interview with one of the speakers, please see the contact information below.

Conference details:

Who:	Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario (CAHO) and its 24 member hospitals
What:	Healthier, Wealthier, Smarter: A Health Research Conference for Patients, People and Prosperity. CAHO and its 24 member hospitals' discussion to promote the goal of greater investment in a long-term health research funding strategy.
When:	Monday, June 1, 2015, 10:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Where:	MaRS Discovery District Atrium, 101 College St, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7

About CAHO

The Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario is the non-profit association of Ontario's 24 research hospitals. CAHO provides a focal point for strategic initiatives on behalf of our member hospitals. As research intensive hospitals, CAHO members are fully affiliated with a university medical or health sciences faculty. Our hospitals provide the most complex and urgent care, teach the next generation of health care providers and foster health care innovation derived from discovery research. For more information, visit www.caho-hospitals.com  

SOURCE Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario

Image with caption: "Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario (CNW Group/Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150528_C4157_PHOTO_EN_17114.jpg

to RSVP or to arrange interviews, please contact: Erin Collett, [email protected], 416-849-8911.