A message of gratitude from Team Sunnybrook
As I reflect on my first full year as Chief of St. John’s Rehab Program, I am immensely proud of our momentum and many successes, and grateful to have the support of donors like you making it all possible.
In this year’s report, we are pleased to share updates on the advancements we have made in rehabilitation care, research and education – and how we are harnessing each of these to improve outcomes and quality of life for our patients and their families.
Researchers Sander Hitzig, PhD, and Marina Wasilewski, PhD, are exploring the impact of access to adequate housing and peer support on patients’ recovery outcomes and well-being.
In October 2025, Sunnybrook achieved an important milestone with Accreditation Canada’s Distinction Award for our provision of stroke services at both St. John’s Rehab and our Bayview Campus.
As a part of our commitment to professional development, we appointed Advanced Practice Nurse Liz Williamson and Dr. Ben Shacher as our new Education Leads to further education priorities across our Program.
We also celebrated the St. John’s Rehab Volunteer Association’s 65th anniversary of exemplary service, and hosted the Kilgour Legacy Society’s annual event. At the latter, patient and Limbloss Connection co-founder Kevin Gray provided a poignant reminder of the impact our collective efforts can have in each patient’s recovery journey.
On behalf of our patients and their families, please accept our deepest gratitude for your commitment and unwavering support. Your continued partnership enables us to elevate the standard of rehabilitation care at St. John’s Rehab, across Sunnybrook and beyond.
Dr. Amanda Mayo, MD, MHSc, FRCPC
Chief, St. John’s Rehab Program
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Your Impact
St. John’s Rehab Program in 2024-25
outpatient visits
inpatients discharged
complex care inpatients admitted
inpatients from outside the GTA cared for
“My pelvis was in pieces. Don’t be like me, take the safety precautions.”
On March 28, 2025, Luke Allison, a 32-year-old carpenter from Muskoka, was airlifted by Ornge to Sunnybrook. He tells, in his own words, how he became a patient of the Tory Trauma Program, which cares for patients across Ontario at their most critical moments.
Accelerating ideas into action
Dr. Sander Hitzig leading new discoveries and training the next generation of specialists as new Horsfall Eaton Chair in rehab research.
Research plays an integral role in St. John’s Rehab being a leader nationally and internationally in the innovative care that is changing outcomes for patients recovering from a life-changing injury or illness.
Research Director Dr. Sander Hitzig’s appointment in July 2025 as the John C. and Sally Horsfall Eaton Chair in Rehabilitation Research is another example of Sunnybrook’s donor community supporting a key enabler for advancing care and immersive training related to rehabilitation.
“The generous support from this Chair will allow us to build upon and mentor the next generation of scientists to undertake innovative
projects that will have a real-world impact on improving the health and wellbeing of patients recovering from a life-changing injury or illness,” notes Dr. Hitzig.
Dr. Hitzig is playing a national role in advancing the accessible housing field in partnership with the disability community. This includes a recently completed Accessible Standards Canada-funded initiative to establish accessible housing priorities, and his current Craig H. Neilsen Foundation-funded project to co-create a housing tool-kit to help people with disabilities find solutions to meet their housing needs.
“Access to appropriate, affordable and adequate housing is a human right, and there is considerable evidence demonstrating our health is linked to the quality of our housing,” Dr. Hitzig says.
Dr. Hitzig is also leading several projects to ensure that older adults with complex care needs are receiving the needed supports to “age in place” as they transition from the hospital back to their community.
Dr. Hitzig’s succeeds the inaugural John C. and Sally Horsfall Eaton Chair in Rehabilitation Research, Dr. Larry Robinson, former program chief at St. John’s Rehab.
New peer support program helping recovering patients
Recovery from a traumatic injury can be a very isolating experience for survivors. Having the support from others who have experienced similar injuries can make the journey from the intensive care unit through to rehabilitation and back to the community much easier.
Unfortunately, there are no existing peer support programs in Canada that span across care settings.
To address this gap in care, scientist Dr. Marina Wasilewski worked with trauma surgeons, rehabilitation specialists, and patients from across Ontario to co-design an award-winning Canadian Institutes of Health Research-funded (CIHR) peer support program.
Sunnybrook patients now learn about the benefits of peer support during their acute care hospital stay following their injury to better prepare them to engage with the peer support program when they go to rehabilitation and maintain these connections to support community-based recovery and reintegration.
As a result, trauma patients have the opportunity to build meaningful bonds and gain insights on community living, which will help prevent depression and reduce feelings of loneliness.
Dr. Wasilewski is also evaluating the program in a three-year, CIHR-funded clinical trial.
“One of the key issues affecting many of our patients has been a lack of accessible housing or housing supports to enable independent living.” Dr. Sander Hitzig John C. and Sally Horsfall Eaton Chair in Rehabilitation Research
Collaborating among the best
St. John’s Rehab Volunteer Association marks milestone anniversary
Group celebrates 65 years of dedicated support for patients, families and care teams
Providing innovative rehabilitation that focuses on patients’ physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual needs requires a major collective effort – and no shortage of champions supporting every aspect of St. John’s Rehab.
Since 1960, the St. John’s Rehab Volunteer Association has supported Sunnybrook’s rehabilitation mission, patients and care teams with dedication and compassion through volunteer service and philanthropy. For St. John’s Rehab Program Chief Dr. Amanda Mayo, the Volunteer Association is one of the unique elements that set St. John’s Rehab apart from other health care and research settings.
“The volunteer team help make St. John’s Rehab such a special place,” Dr. Mayo notes. “Their many contributions enhance our ability to care for and support patients and their families.”
Beyond helping patients and visitors find their way to therapy sessions or being a familiar face in the gift shop, the Volunteer Association’s fundraising has been a longstanding catalyst for improving the patient experience and quality of life during their recovery.
The group’s support from 2024-25 supported the recruitment of a post-doctoral fellow from Harvard to expand Sunnybrook’s expertise in engineering 3D printed sockets for prosthetics.
“While innovation in rehabilitation care and patient support have changed considerably in the last 65 years, the unwavering commitment of the Volunteer Association has been one of the hallmarks of St. John’s Rehab in all that time,” Dr. Mayo adds. “We’re all indebted to them for their commitment to improving the experience of our patients and their families.”
National Leadership Sunnybrook’s Stroke Care and Services Recognized
Bayview Campus and St. John’s Rehab commended for quality and level of care
Sunnybrook’s standing as a national leader in providing stroke services at every stage of care received a major boost in October 2025, when Accreditation Canada conferred an “Achieving Distinction” status in its annual awards for health-care service providers across Canada
Achieving Distinction reflects Sunnybrook’s “national leadership in the provision of high-quality stroke care, and an ongoing commitment to the highest levels of quality service” at both St. John’s Rehab and in the acute stroke unit at the Bayview Campus.
“We are incredibly proud of the Stroke and Outpatient teams for achieving this significant milestone in our history, and of all of the many additional St. John’s staff members and departments who supported this important work,” notes Sylvia Brachvogel, Operations Director at St. John’s Rehab.
Trailblazing rehabilitation care
Grateful patient shares reflections from his recovery journey to inspire others
and thank donors
Fostering community to ensure no one faces limb loss alone
Kevin Gray doesn’t attempt to sugarcoat any part of dealing with limb loss, which led him to the central theme in his mission to ensure no one faces limb loss alone: “Together, we truly are stronger.”
The bilateral amputee and St. John’s Rehab patient is the co-founder of Limbloss Connection, an online resource hub and supportive community “dedicated to helping each other thrive.”
In July 2025, Kevin joined members of his care team, including Dr. Amanda Mayo and his physical and occupational therapists, at an event to celebrate Sunnybrook’s Kilgour Legacy Society – donors who have made a gift through their Will. Kevin spoke candidly on the role of peer-support groups and social programs in providing motivation and a sense of community, and how specialized physical and occupational therapy helped rebuild his strength, independence and confidence.
“I will always be grateful for their hard work and patience with me,” Kevin said of his care team, who were quick to point out that Kevin’s recovery and work with Limbloss Connection continue to inspire them.
“From the very beginning, it was clear that Kevin needed highly specialized, coordinated care – and that’s exactly what we do at Sunnybrook and St. John’s Rehab.” – Dr. Amanda Mayo, Chief,
St. John’s Rehab Program
Investing in our high-performing teams to advance research initiatives
Education funds enhance professional development
Throughout St. John’s Rehab’s history, donor support has helped our staff grow and advance, and last year was another great example of this.
Donor-supported education funds provide opportunities for staff to remain up to date on the latest information and techniques in rehabilitation medicine by attending national and international conferences, workshops and seminars.
The John C. and Sally Horsfall Eaton and Malcolm Moffat Education Funds provided more than $23,000 to support education and professional development activities for 20 St. John’s Rehab staff in 2024-25.
These included grants for three staff members completing their BSc in Nursing at leading Canadian universities and applying the enhanced skills and learning in their roles.
Special Thanks
Your generosity is enabling us to trailblaze rehabilitation care. On behalf of the patients we are helping return to their lives after life-altering injury or illness, thank you.
View the Flipbook and Download the Report
St. John’s Rehab Program 2025 Impact Report