2026 EKO Tribute Award for Leadership

Over nearly four decades at Holland Bloorview Kids' Rehabilitation Hospital,
Dr. Peter Rumney helped shape pediatric brain injury care in Canada and internationally through an exceptional combination of clinical leadership, research excellence and compassion for children and families. He played a defining role in establishing and advancing one of Canada’s leading pediatric brain injury rehabilitation programs, building the hospital’s brain injury rehabilitation team into a national model, and influencing standards of care in concussion, pediatric stroke and complex rehabilitation.

Perhaps what is most exceptional about Dr. Rumney is the incredible care he has offered throughout the decades of his appointment with children in great need of neurorehabilitation.

He started on this path as a medical student with a summer rotation at what was then called Bloorview Children’s Hospital where he saw the power of a multidisciplinary team and the profound impact it could make in the lives of clients and their families. The rotation wasn’t just a clinical assignment; it was the beginning of a vocation shaped by empathy and personal experience. Dr. Rumney’s brother lived with the effects of a brain injury during birth. He understood the anxiety and uncertainty that accompanies the rehabilitation journey, and chose to be a physician who offered a way forward.

Always focused on improving outcomes for kids with acquired brain injury, Dr. Rumney’s work spans the full continuum of care – from acute inpatient rehabilitation to community integration –guided by an interdisciplinary and family-centred philosophy.

Through his research contributions and collaborations Dr. Rumney advanced critical understanding in outcome measurement, functional recovery and rehabilitation interventions for children with brain injury. His work in the King’s Outcome Scale for Childhood Head Injury, pediatric memory interventions and concussion management has informed clinical practice and contributed to evidence-based guidelines. His early exploration of innovative therapies – including music-based cognitive rehabilitation and neurotechnologies – demonstrate a career-long commitment to pushing the boundaries of conventional care.

He also played a vital role in shaping policy, systems and governance to brain injury care. His longstanding involvement with provincial and national advisory bodies reflects both his expertise and trust placed in his leadership, serving on the Ontario Ministry of Health’s Acquired Brain Injury Program’s pediatric subcommittee. At the international level, Dr. Rumney was an active leader (and one of the founding members) within the International Paediatric Brain Injury Society, helping it grow and advancing global standards while serving on the board of directors, its executive committee, and now as a society ambassador.

Within Holland Bloorview, his leadership extended to committees addressing quality, ethics, digital health and patient safety, exemplifying his forward-looking vision for integrating technology into care delivery.

Deeply committed to building capacity—in clinical teams, and across systems and communities, Dr. Rumney has been involved with interdisciplinary care models that integrate physicians, therapists, educators and families. His early advocacy for school reintegration programs and community-based rehabilitation has helped ensure that children with brain injury are supported beyond the hospital setting.

Through his University of Toronto teaching appointments and supervision of trainees, Dr. Rumney has educated the next generation of clinicians and researchers. His mentorship is widely recognized as thoughtful, rigorous and deeply supportive, reflecting his belief that advancing care requires investing in people.

His contributions have been widely recognized through prestigious awards, including the Dr. Jane Gillet Research Award from Brain Injury Canada and the Ontario Brain Injury Association’s Professional of the Year award – honours that underscore his national leadership in the field.

“Connections are key to making an impact,” says Dr. Rumney. It’s a lesson he learned from advocate, author, and University of Pittsburgh teacher Al Condeluci, early in his career. “Al taught me that relationships are the single most critical factor for health, happiness and community inclusion—for the kids and parents we treat, and for ourselves, too. It’s about being recognized, valued, and connected to the people inside our community,” he notes. “Receiving the EKO Tribute Award is exceptional, because this is recognition by my community.”