Congratulations to Jay Hockley, Manager, Specimen Management, on her retirement after 25 years with the Laboratory Medicine Program (LMP) at University Health Network (UHN). Her last day with LMP is Friday, December 23.
Jay joined LMP in September, 1997 and began her UHN career with the Rapid Response Lab at Toronto General Hospital (TGH) performing Biochemistry and Hematology testing in the days of Toronto Medical Laboratories.
She was part of the project team planning for the Labs to return to TGH from 222 St. Patrick Street. At this time, Jay was intricately involved in planning for the new track system for the TGH Core Lab. That move took place in 2008. At that time, Jay transitioned into the Supervisor role overseeing the entire pre-analytical phase of testing, including phlebotomy, working with Maria Amenta and the rest of course, is history. Jay assumed the Manager, Specimen Management & ECG position in August, 2020.
When asked what she loves most about specimen management, her response was all about impact and collaboration.
“Specimen preparation work impacts every lab department and every clinical program. Each patient has blood collected at least once. The frontline staff working in this area are the ambassadors of the labs. There is a lot of collaboration and education between different programs within the hospital,” she says.
Jay is proud of the work she did bringing the first celebration of National MedLab Week to life in the Eaton Lobby at TGH. She’s also an advocate for life-long learning — she Chaired the first LMP Professional Development Committee along with Ene Underwood for several years bringing in speakers for lab related presentations for staff and highlighting the Lab Medicine field.
According to Jay, her other career highlights include planning and leading the move of Core Lab from The Michener Institute to TGH, implementing the first automation system with both the Specimen Management and Biochemistry teams, and working with a team to revitalize the space both at Princess Margaret and TG Blood collection.
During her retirement celebration, colleagues described Jay as calm, resilient, open-minded, collaborative, and a great enabler at getting things done.
Jay says she will miss seeing all of her colleagues on a daily basis. She is looking forward to travelling and spending her free time with family including her husband, four children and seven grandchildren.
Chris Cursio has worked with Jay for many years, and leaves her with this message.
“All the very best Jay, you’ve been a huge asset and leader in LMP and across UHN. Patient care has most definitely benefitted from your knowledge and expertise.”
Read or leave a message on Jay’s Kudoboard here.
The Pathology Report 
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