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Important dates
Nominations for the inaugural Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award are now closed. The next nomination period is expected in 2025.
Overview
The Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award recognizes the contributions Albertans have made to transform the health care system and improve patient outcomes through innovation.
Eligibility
This award recognizes an individual or leader of a team who has made a significant contribution to health system innovation that has affected patient outcomes, and who is actively engaged in research, development and scaling of health system innovations.
Health system innovation includes novel developments or changes that lead to improvements in care (improved outcomes and experiences) or efficiency (cost savings or avoidance) when compared with the status quo. The nominee can be engaged in advancing different types of innovation:
- Product innovation involves the development of a new product (for example, device, medication, software), an improvement in the performance of the existing product, or adding a new feature to an existing product.
- Service innovation involves developing a new set of behaviours, routines, and ways of working.
- Process innovation involves improvements to organizational processes used to produce, deliver, or support a product or provide a service.
Eligible nominees can come from across clinical, research, and business backgrounds. The nominee(s) must demonstrate:
- excellence as a scientist, clinician, and/or entrepreneur in the health sector
- perseverance and ability to confront challenges, creativity in problem solving, overcoming roadblocks to innovation, respect and encouragement for colleagues
- development of a ground breaking innovation that has been implemented or is close to implementation and is changing or has changed health care delivery and improved patient outcomes
Considerations
To be considered for the award, a nominee must be:
- a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident residing in Alberta with substantial roots in the province.
You cannot nominate:
- yourself
- someone who is deceased
- an elected federal, provincial or municipal representative while they are in office
- someone you are related to or a team leader if your relative is a member of this team
Award nominations can be made by individuals who are residents of Alberta.
Nomination process
The nomination period is now closed.
Step 1. Read the eligibility guidelines (above)
Step 2. Complete the nomination package
Complete and save the Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award nomination form.
Include the following documents in your nomination package:
- 2 letters of support from at least 2 people who know and support your nominee’s achievements
- the nominee’s resumé
Step 3. Submit the nomination package
In the email subject line, put ‘Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award Nomination.’
- Include the nominee's last name in the file name of the attachments.
Or mail your nomination package to:
Alberta Health, Research and Innovation Branch
13th Floor, ATB Place North
10025 Jasper Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB, T5J 1S6
Nominees and recipients
A selection panel consisting of health care experts and business leaders will review the nominations. The panel will recommend a short list of candidates to the Minister of Health for final selection.
The recipient will receive an award recognizing their achievement and will be publicly announced.
Recipient
Dr. Andrew Demchuk, 2023
Dr. Andrew Demchuk, a stroke neurologist and researcher based in Calgary, is the recipient of the inaugural Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award.
Dr. Demchuk is a visionary and prolific researcher who has made Alberta a world leader in stroke care and has saved lives. As a founding member of the Calgary Stroke Program, Dr. Demchuk uses advanced imaging techniques to make early diagnoses, advances the application of novel techniques to remove clots to prevent disabilities, and supports the development of protocols to ensure patients get rapid access to life-saving treatments regardless of where they live in the province. The technique, known as endovascular thrombectomy (mechanical removal of a blood clot with imaging), has become a gold standard for the treatment of acute strokes around the world. His research and innovations have had an impact internationally and have been featured in the New York Times.
Colleagues of Dr. Demchuk describe him as a tireless mentor who is generous with his time. As a result of his guidance, more than 100 stroke fellows who trained in Calgary are now in faculty positions across Canada and around the world. His commitment to encourage, teach, inspire and mentor make Dr. Demchuk a great leader. Emerging clinical trialists at the University of Calgary often reach out to Dr. Demchuk to learn from him as they develop their own programs in their respective disciplines.
Dr. Demchuk received his MD from the University of Saskatchewan in 1993 and completed his residency at the University of Calgary and a stroke fellowship at the University of Texas. He is currently a practising specialist and professor in the University of Calgary’s Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Department of Radiology.
Honourable mention
Dr. Karen Benzies, 2023
Dr. Karen Benzies, a professor and researcher in the Faculty of Nursing and the departments of Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary, is recognized for her significant impact on Alberta’s health system with an honourable mention for the Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award.
Dr. Benzies spearheaded the development, implementation, and spread of the Alberta Family Integrated Care (FICare) program across all 14 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Alberta. FICare promotes the development of relationships between health care providers and parents built on reciprocal trust and has fundamentally changed service provision for our smallest, most vulnerable, critically ill patients and their families. FICare has benefited more than 10,000 preterm babies by reducing their length of stay in the NICU and their risk of developmental delay, and by increasing family confidence in their ability to care for their child. The FICare model has been so successful that elements of the program have been adapted to adult intensive care settings, allowing families to feel more confident caring for their loved ones.
Dr. Benzies is an enthusiastic, kind and pragmatic leader who cares deeply about her communities. As a nurse researcher, she has supervised and mentored more than 40 post-doctoral fellows and graduate students, and more than 30 undergraduate students. She was appointed as director of Social Innovation at the University of Calgary in 2021 and has an extensive resumé of community engagement with the goal of supporting children and families in the Calgary area. One of her projects, the Upstart Parent Surveys, was developed in collaboration with 11 social services agencies to evaluate parenting programs. This tool has been translated into French by the Public Health Agency of Canada and is used internationally. Over the course of her career, Dr. Benzies has been awarded more than $33 million in research grants, multiple awards for nursing excellence and has produced more than 140 publications.
Dr. Benzies received her bachelor of nursing from the University of Victoria in 1993 and her PhD in nursing from the University of Alberta in 2001.
Dr. Ken Kuljit Singh Parhar, 2023
Dr. Ken Kujlit Singh Parhar, an intensive care physician and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Calgary, is being recognized for his significant impact on Alberta’s health care system with an honourable mention for the Dr. William Cochrane Health System Innovation Award.
Dr. Parhar leads the Venting Wisely project, a novel care pathway to standardize and improve care across Alberta for patients receiving mechanical ventilation in intensive care units (ICU). Venting Wisely began as a 2-year quality improvement project in Calgary and was scaled to all 17 adult ICUs in Alberta between April 2021 and October 2022. This implementation occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when adult critical care services were heavily stressed. Dr. Parhar’s kindness and compassion were key factors in the initial success of this project, which has seen 72% adherence to the pathway over the first 16 months.
Dr. Parhar is a keen collaborator who is inclusive, supportive and humble. As president and organizer of the 2023 Alberta Society of Intensive Care Physicians annual meeting, he invited critical care nurses and nurse researchers to join the conference as equal participants. His nomination form and letters of support were signed by teams rather than individuals, highlighting his value as a leader. His teams speak of his ability to celebrate successes while encouraging a growth mindset, welcoming dissent, fostering creativity and taking any opportunity to challenge the status quo. Dr. Parhar’s extensive list of publications and grants speaks to a thriving research program.
Dr. Parhar received his MD from Queen’s University in 2007.
About Dr. William Cochrane
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Dr. William Cochrane
Dr. William Cochrane’s career spanned the fields of medicine, public service, biomedical research, education and business. As a young pediatrician, he had a strong interest in diabetes research, which led to the development of new diagnostic tests to identify and treat diabetes patients with varied needs. The Cochrane test for diagnosing L-leucine intolerance was a discovery he made before becoming a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1956. This test, which is still in use today, identifies a type of hypoglycemia that is sensitive to protein intake.
He was awarded the Borden Award of the Nutrition Society of Canada for his scientific research into metabolic diseases of children. This award was followed by many other honours later in life, including the Order of Canada (1989), BioAlberta Association Award for his contribution to biotechnology in Alberta (2002), Alberta Order of Excellence (2006), and induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (2010).
Dr. Cochrane’s career was full of many firsts. During his time at Dalhousie University (1958 to 1967), he began the first cystic fibrosis clinic in the Maritimes, established the Atlantic Research Centre at the Dalhousie School Faculty of Medicine and arranged funding for the Isaac Walton Killam Hospital for Children.
In 1967, he became the founding dean of medicine at the new University of Calgary (U of C) and later president and vice-chancellor. Thanks to his visionary leadership, thousands of individuals have access to a medical school that combines an innovative curriculum with a focus on rural health and attention to matters that impact the health of Indigenous Peoples. For his efforts to advance health care in Indigenous communities, Dr. Cochrane was made an honorary Medicine Chief of the Stoney Nation.
Never far from centres of innovation, Dr. Cochrane later worked in the public and private sectors. He became Alberta’s deputy minister of health in 1973-74 before moving into the realm of business as chairman and CEO of Connaught Laboratories from 1978 to 1989. At Connaught, he championed a new strategy for the company that focused on genetic engineering, guiding a company’s transition from a primarily university-based laboratory, into an international biotechnological success story. His strategy was to link government funding and university-based curiosity-driven research with projects that had the ability to generate a return on investment in a market-driven economy.
During Dr. Cochrane's tenure with the company, Connaught became a major international developer of flu vaccines for the World Health Organization and other international health agencies. The company’s developments, which included insulin, plasma products and vaccines, served to improve the quality of life of people across Canada and around the world.
After 10 years at the helm of Connaught, Dr. Cochrane took on new challenges as president of W.A. Cochrane and Associates. His unique blend of medical and entrepreneurial skills has helped many scientists move their biomedical research from the lab to commercial applications. Dr. Cochrane also advised the Canadian government on biotechnological advances and technology transfer, contributing to the creation of the first Canadian Strategy for Biotechnology and the establishment of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.
While some might see his careers as a doctor and entrepreneur as being disparate, Dr. Cochrane described them as being dependent on one’s ability to "deal with people and keep the team balanced," adding that his greatest satisfaction came "from being connected to the success of others."
Dr. Cochrane died in 2017.
Family and colleagues remember Dr. Cochrane as an avid learner. He loved challenging others and being challenged, and he engaged in professional development beyond retirement. He was always on the move and loved to travel because he believed in empathy and understanding a broad range of perspectives locally, nationally and internationally. Dr. Cochrane had a unique ability to envisage change and used his continuous learning to improve society.
Contact
Connect with the Ministry of Health about the award:
Email: [email protected]