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  A message from the Board Chair and President and CEOPeople who work at Toronto Rehab are privileged to witness, firsthand, the power of the human spirit. We see it embodied in the more than 15,000 individuals who come to us each year seeking our help to rebuild their lives following disabling illness or injury. And it touches all of us in profound ways. It fuels our clinicians’ passion to deliver the best possible care to patients. It stimulates our educators to seek and share new knowledge through highly evolved teaching practices, and it motivates our researchers to push the frontiers of rehabilitation science in search of new and better solutions to enhance and speed recovery. Likewise, it moves our volunteers in patient care, fundraising and governance to dedicate countless personal hours to help people return to the joys of life, and it inspires our administrative and support staff to do everything imaginable behind the scenes to enable our clinicians, researchers and educators to do what they do. In a year that saw remarkable progress in every one of these areas, we are reminded that our success as a health care organization is best measured by the innovations we develop, the outcomes we deliver, the partnerships we forge, and, most importantly, by the direct impact we have on the quality of our patients’ lives. Nowhere will our partnerships have a greater significance than where we engage with patients and families during the recovery process.
Thanks to a highly motivated, skilled and pioneering team of clinicians, researchers and educators and the committed support crew behind them, we are more confident than ever that the strides we are making in patient care, research and education will help people return to their lives at home, at work and in the community following a major challenge to their health. A new model of care that we developed for frail elderly patients with hip fractures led to funding from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) allowing us to roll the initiative out to 34 hospitals across the Greater Toronto Area. Our new home-based model for cardiac rehabilitation is another noteworthy program that was recognized by the MOHLTC at its recent Innovations Expo as a lead innovation in Ontario.
In May 2007, we received a full three-year accreditation from Accreditation Canada, its highest possible award, a reflection of the concerted efforts of our greatest strength – our people. And our research team was once again applauded for its exceptional research achievements by a distinguished panel of scientists from across North America, reinforcing that, as an academic centre, we are on track with this core part of our operation. With the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) assuming full authority for the funding, integration and planning of local health care services last year, we submitted our first performance report to the LHIN on March 31, 2008. Our strategic plan is well-positioned to support regional LHIN priorities, particularly those that focus on rehabilitation, seniors, education and research, e-health, health human resources and back-office integration. Also, we are pleased to report that we met or exceeded all of our service and financial obligations last year. Building upon the successful implementation of a common patient registration system across all of our sites, we will continue to roll out our phased plan for integrated and coordinated information systems that enhance service delivery and improve organizational performance. While we ended the fiscal year with a modest budget surplus, we know the financial road ahead will be challenging. Budget pressures and health care demands continue to trend upwards across the province, and we are monitoring this situation closely. It is our tremendous capacity as an organization to readily adapt and respond to changes in the healthcare landscape that will position us well to face these challenges. Strong leadership throughout the organization, a dedicated behind-the-scenes team of administrative and support staff, coupled with a superbly talented and high achieving team of clinicians, researchers, educators, and volunteers continues to be our greatest strength. Together, we are bound by one singular and compelling purpose—to advance rehabilitation knowledge and practice to improve the quality of people’s lives. It is this vision that will propel us forward in the coming year and that will inform and inspire our next strategic plan, as we chart our future beyond 2010. As we move into our 10th anniversary year, we do so taking pride in the remarkable achievements we have made to date both within and outside of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. And, as Toronto Rehab enters its second decade, we reocgnize that there is still much work to be done if we are to continue to make a world of difference – one patient at a time, our commitment to our patient and to our partners to deliver on this promise is stronger than ever.
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As we complete the third year of our strategic plan, Making a World of Difference – One Patient at a Time, fulfilling our vision to advance rehabilitation and enhance quality of life has become more important than ever before. Today, one in seven Canadians, or 4.4 million people, is living with a disability, representing an increase of three quarters of a million people in just five years, and this upward trend is expected to continue.
Behind every creative endeavour is an avante-garde research team whose ability to challenge conventional thinking is resulting in unprecedented progress in rehabilitation science. Reflecting significant growth in our research enterprise, last year’s $9 million in research revenue is thirteen times the size it was 10 years ago. Among the year’s many innovations is an assistive device designed to reduce lift-related injuries, another that reinforces hand sanitization thereby reducing the spread of infection, and a Walkman-sized device that uses electronic impulses to restore muscle activity to those who have suffered a stroke. The launch of our $36 million iDAPT facility and our success in attracting external research grants will only serve to strengthen the ability of our researchers to remain on the cusp of advancing rehabilitation science. 
We also continue to excel on the education front, advancing rehabilitation practice through our exceptional model for interprofessional education, an expanded student placement program, and the launch of a free public education program for people living with the effects of disabling injury, chronic conditions and age-related illness. Maximizing the knowledge shared among experts both within and outside the walls of Toronto Rehab, we partnered with the Ontario March of Dimes in 2007/08 to host the first Festival of International Conferences on Caregiving, Disability, Aging and Technology. This remarkable event first drew an audience of 1,200 scientists, policy makers, academics, clinicians and caregivers from 30 different countries. 
Underlying our initiatives in patient care, education and research, is a conscious effort to merge our extensive expertise with that of others within health care, academia and industry. These partnerships allow us to explore and pursue endeavours to their fullest potential while making the most of available human and financial resources.
The capital redevelopment and expansion of our University Centre, estimated to be in excess of $150 million, and a $10 million renovation of our complex continuing care facility are expected to have a profound effect on the patient care experience at Toronto Rehab. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the $3.5 million raised this year moved us to within 75 per cent of our capital campaign target of $60 million. 
