Leadership Announcement: Dr. Damon Scales reappointed as Chief, Department of Critical Care Medicine

We are pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Damon Scales as Chief of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre for a second five-year term. Following a comprehensive review conducted in accordance with our Sunnybrook Medical-Dental-Midwifery Staff bylaws, the review committee unanimously endorsed Dr. Scales’ reappointment, citing his outstanding leadership and guidance, all while fostering innovation and excellence in patient care, research and education.

Under Dr. Scales’ leadership, the Department of Critical Care Medicine has earned an international reputation for practice changing research. It has contributed to the development of national and international Critical Care training and education programs, and led quality improvement initiatives that have significantly enhanced patient care at regional and provincial levels.

The past five years have been transformative for the department as the team responded to increasing demands for critical care and life-support treatments, as well as the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several key changes have been implemented under Dr. Scales’ leadership, including increasing the number of ICU beds by over 20%, doubling the size of its international fellowship program, advancing initiatives through their Interprofessional Quality Council, and extending the coverage of Code Blue support and Rapid Response Teams.

“The future of critical care medicine at Sunnybrook is indeed very bright,” says Dr. Scales in his review. This is evidenced by plans to build a new state-of-the-art Critical Care Centre at Bayview campus, which will consolidate and modernize Sunnybrook’s ICUs and expand capacity as a tertiary and quaternary referral centre. Expansion will provide new recruitment opportunities, allowing the department to further strengthen and diversify its team of intensivists.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Damon Scales on his reappointment and thanking him for his continued commitment to leading the Department of Critical Care Medicine at Sunnybrook.