Dr. Victor Leung
Senior Project Manager/Alberta Health Services
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.albertahealthservices.ca
CHAIR is pleased to select Dr. Victor Leung as the 2021 CHAIR Leadership Award recipient. Dr. Leung is the Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control and the Physician Lead of Antimicrobial Stewardship at Providence Health Care (PHC) in Vancouver, BC.
More information on Dr. Leung can be found here:
https://www.providencelaboratory.com/staff_leung.php
"CHAIR acknowledges Dr. Leung's leadership in recognizing the airborne nature of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and his advocacy, education, and implementation of engineered infection prevention mitigation strategies to reduce airborne hospital-associated infections," said Barry Hunt, cofounder of CHAIR.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of engineered solutions in Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC). I strongly believe that if we are to make advances in IPAC, we need to work with engineers to identify and help implement tested and impactful engineered solutions to mitigate the risk of transmission. COVID-19 has made it abundantly clear that we need to pay attention to cleaning the air," said Dr. Leung upon receiving his award.
Some of the highlights that led to this decision include:
Installation of portable HEPA / UV filters in multi-bedded rooms
Relocating CoVID positive LTC patients to well-ventilated hospital rooms to reduce the likelihood of transmission and outbreak
Acknowledging and promoting newfound recognition of the airborne nature of CoVID on social media, including Twitter
Public education of airborne transmission and mitigation strategies through participation and leadership in webinars
Education of airborne transmission and mitigation strategies to IPAC Canada Environmental Hygiene Interest Group
"This is the eighth year this distinguished award has been presented and, without question, this year's award is being given to the worthiest person who has accomplished so much in his career to keep both the general public and the most vulnerable healthcare patients safe," said Richard Dixon, cofounder of CHAIR Canada.
For 2022 CHAIR has a new Vision: "Safe Spaces, free from pathogens," and a new Mission: "Inspire and guide research-based engineered solutions."
"Dr. Leung's work during the pandemic truly aligns him with our vision and mission," said Steve Reinecke, Executive Director of CHAIR. "We thank Dr. Leung for his contribution to reducing infections and look forward to following him in his future accomplishments."