Pediatrician Dr. Jonathan DellaVedova was named the 2026 recipient of the Dr. William Hutchinson Award, the hospital’s top honour
This year’s winner of the Sault Area Hospital’s highest annual honour says he believes all Canadians should have access to health care based on their need — not where they live or their ability to pay for it.
In what has become an annual tradition, Sault Area Hospital celebrated volunteers, staff and physicians through its annual iCcare Awards on Monday, during the hospital’s annual general meeting.
Intensive care nurse Robin Dechamplain won this year’s employee award, while Patti-Jo Duggan was the recipient of the volunteer award.
Emergency Department physician Dr. MacKenzie Ludgate took home the award for physician.
The Dr. William Hutchinson Award, the hospital’s top honour, was established in 1982 and is presented annually by the SAH Board of Directors. It recognizes distinguished contributions to health services in Sault Ste. Marie and the District of Algoma.
The award is named in honour of Dr. William Hutchinson, a local surgeon and founding member of the Algoma District Health Council.
The 2026 recipient of the Hutchinson Award, Dr. Jonathan DellaVedova, a pediatrician who has served patients in Sault Ste. Marine and northern Ontario for over a decade.
“Dr. DellaVedova’s commitment to this community is longstanding and deeply personal. Having trained with the goal of returning to Sault Ste. Marie, he made a deliberate choice to build his career locally and this commitment to providing high-quality care close to home is evident throughout his work,” said Mark Lepore, board chair, when introducing the award winner.
Born and raised in the Sault, DellaVedova returned to his hometown in 2013 to practice medicine.
“Since then, I have set out to do three things: One, ensure that children in my community receive high quality evidence-based care as close to home as safely possible. Two, inspire those I work with to be at their best by embodying and amplifying the joy of pediatric medicine. And three, ensure all Canadians have access to health care only on the basis of their need, not because of where they live or their ability to pay for it,” he said in his acceptance speech.
DellaVedova also shouted out his colleagues during his speech.
“Numbers never tell the story — It’s people who tell the story, and these are the people you want in your corner if your kid gets sick.”
He said the greatest return on investment the community can achieve is an investment in the well-being of children.
“Every single struggling person you see outside or read about in the news was a child at one point,” DellaVedova said.
Sault Area Hospital issues the awards each year based on its iCcare values: Integrity, Compassion, Collaboration & Partnership, Accountability, Respect and Excellence.