Your Weekly News & Updates
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Free PPE portraits

PPE Portraits Canada is a national medical and graduate student run initiative (www.ppeportraits.ca) providing free smiling laminated headshots for healthcare professionals to wear on their scrubs so patients can see their faces beneath all their PPE.
They are supported by the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto as well as medical faculties at other Canadian institutions including McGill University, University of Ottawa, and the University of British Columbia (UBC). Their PPE Portraits (example above) have received IPAC Canada approval at hospitals across the country including UofT-affiliated hospitals in Toronto and Mississauga.
To date they have provided over 1000 healthcare professionals with free PPE Portraits across the country! If you would like your own free PPE Portrait please fill out this form: www.icubp.org/ppeToronto
Togetherall funding ended, vaccine education for patients and more
Recent updates include:
- Togetherall funding ended Jan. 16– Ontario Health, Jan. 11, 2021
- January 15th Update on COVID-19 Vaccination Roll Out -AFHTO, Jan. 15, 2021
- COVID vaccine information videos for patients– presented by Dr. David Kaplan, featuring Drs. Tia Pham and Aisha Lofters among others, Jan., 2021
- COVID-19 CoP – January 15 2021 – Resource List– OCFP, Jan. 15, 2021
We continue to update several pages on our site with resources and news:
- Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates– the original page, with news and Ministry situation reports (please note that the Ministry Situation Reports on COVID-19 are posted daily so review them to better understand the provincial response)
- COVID-19 Vaccination Information NEW
- COVID-19 assessment centres in Ontario
- COVID-19 information for Patients, Caregivers and the Public
- Infection control resources and tools for primary care
- H+K Memos and Insight Notes on Government Press Releases
- Management and operations, human resources and COVID-19
- Mental health and wellness during COVID-19
- Providing Comprehensive Care During COVID-19
- Resources for Re-opening – NEW
- Virtual Care, Digital Health and COVID-19
Members’ stories
Niagara North FHT – Medical hub in Niagara expected for Niagara North FHT in 2022
Elliot Lake FHT- Dr. Cathy Groh reflects on their community’s efforts to protect one another

Joint letter on paid sick leave
On Jan. 14, nine healthcare and community organizations sent a letter to Premier Ford requesting paid sick leave:
We request that the Government of Ontario require all employers to provide a minimum of five annual paid sick days, and that the 2021 provincial budget fund and support employers to increase this to ten annual sick days during a declared infectious disease emergency like COVID-19.
Apply for HIV and Hepatitis C funding by Jan. 29
Members may be eligible to apply for the Public Health Agency of Canada funding to address sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections through:
- HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund (CAF) –$26.4 million invested annually or
- Harm Reduction Fund (HRF)– $7 million invested annually
Deadline to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) is January 29, 2021.
Reminder- Now is the Time to Choose Wisely: Advancing Quality Improvement in Primary Care, Jan. 27, 2021
Engaging primary care providers in QI is particularly relevant now, as the pandemic has further emphasized the importance of resource stewardship given the urgent care needs and constraints related to COVID-19. Learn more and register here.
Reminder- Call for abstracts- Choosing Wisely Canada
Choosing Wisely Canada’s Sixth Annual National Meeting will be offered virtually on May 12 and May 13, 2021. You can submit an abstract by February 1, 2021. Find out more.
Managing COVID-19 in Primary Care, Jan. 19 – Feb. 23, 2021
Registration is still open for the final 5 sessions in ECHO Ontario’s Primary Care conversations, hosted by UHN.
View the remaining topics here.
Education Series on Measurement-Based Care in Mental Health, starting Jan. 21, 2021
Free virtual education sessions by Ontario’s Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence, the Ontario Hospital Association and the University of Toronto’s Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. Register here.
The COVID-19 vaccine: sharing best practices and answering your questions, Jan. 22, 2021
The next COVID-19 Community of Practice for Ontario Family Physicians session. Register here.
Mental health for adults with developmental disabilities during COVID: A virtual course for family caregivers, starting Feb. 2, 2021
This course will run for 6 weeks beginning on Tuesday February 2, 2021. Find out more here.
OntarioMD Educates: Digital Health and Virtual Care Curriculum, Jan. 27 & Feb. 24, 2021
Join the virtual care conversations in this series of 10 sessions. In January, hear about Virtual Care as Core to Practice with COVID and Beyond, and Privacy and Cybersecurity in February. Register here
ICES Winter Forum: Data and Analytics in Critical Times, Feb. 17, 2021
Focused on data and analytics to support pandemic planning and response, highlighting Ontario, Canadian and international evidence and perspective. Register here.
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