Healthcare Change Makers

Today, Ellen Gardner and Philip De Souza, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speak with Kathy MacNeil, President and CEO of Island Health in British Columbia. Kathy MacNeil still has trouble believing the staff of Island Health now numbers more than 30,000. So when it comes to spreading the message of trust and accountability, she and her leadership team rely heavily on local leaders. A big part of Kathy’s learning journey has been getting comfortable with “heard enough, have to...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Zayna Khayat, Future Strategist at SE Health. Her story is not unlike many first generation Canadians. Zayna’s parents, who emigrated from Lebanon in the early 70s, instilled the values of hard work, humility and authenticity. From an early age, Zayna knew she wanted to tackle the big challenges in the world and after a stint in consulting, has been focussed on solving as she says, “the wicked problems in...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Carol Annett, CEO, VHA Home HealthCare. In the 20 years since Carol joined VHA, home healthcare has gone from being an afterthought – with virtually no status or investment – to becoming an essential, influential and highly-valued healthcare service. Whether people are in recovery, living with chronic illness or want to die at home, the goal of VHA is to support them in living independently and with...

Today, your host Michelle Holden, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Dave Thompson, Senior Vice President with FM Global, and Rocky Prosser, Director of Protection Services at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC). As an insurance partner of HIROC, FM Global works with subscribers like KHSC to help keep facilities safe and to help mitigate property losses. On this episode Dave and Rocky share their unique perspectives around facility risks like water leakage, surface...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Nathalie Pambrun, President, Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM). Although she has worked as a midwife in urban, rural and remote communities across Canada and internationally, and sat on both the NACM (Nation Aboriginal Council of Midwives) and CAM boards before becoming President, Nathalie Pambrun emphasizes that none of us is a born leader. Finding our voice means connecting with our passion and...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Alex Munter, President and CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). One of the misconceptions people have about pediatrics, according to CHEO President and CEO Alex Munter, is that people think of it as a service line, similar to oncology or rehabilitation. This is a mistake says Munter, who stresses that being a child is not a diagnosis and that we need a unique, tailored strategy for...

In a special live studio recording, staff at HIROC had the opportunity to hear from Huda Idrees, founder and CEO of Dot Health. With host Philip De Souza, Huda talks about how the burgeoning startup is leveraging partnerships in tech, healthcare and government to change the way we view patient data. Huda offers advice for healthcare leaders on improving the sustainability and efficiency of healthcare organizations. Key Takeaways: [1:13] Dot Health is about helping all Canadians get...

Join host Ellen Gardner for a one-on-one conversation with David Diamond – President and CEO of Eastern Health in Newfoundland and Labrador. David’s healthcare career started in Human Resources and has taken him across the country with positions in eastern and western Canada. His time in Albert before the creation of Alberta Health Services taught him some important lessons around bringing an organization together and developing commitment to strategic goals. Today through Eastern...

This special episode of Healthcare Change Makers was recorded at the 2019 HIROC Conference. On this episode, host Michelle Holden, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, sits down with Dr. Jeff Klassen, Emergency Physician at St. Boniface Hospital. Dr. Klassen speaks to effective teamwork and communication, sharing the work he is doing at St. Boniface with the TeamSTEPPS program, and his views on the importance of psychological safety in healthcare. Key Takeaways: [1:13] What is...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Elizabeth Brandeis, President of the Board of the Association of Ontario Midwives (AOM). For Elizabeth, the road to becoming a midwife started with her own personal experience with midwifery care, during the birth of her daughter 25 years ago. Now, on the 25 anniversary of regulated midwifery in Ontario, she looks back on where we’ve been and where we are headed. Elizabeth speaks to the long history of...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Rob MacIsaac, President and CEO of Hamilton Health Sciences. Rob MacIsaac followed his father’s advice to become a professional, but after a couple of years as a lawyer, he realized he was drawn to public service. Without being a subject matter expert in any of the diverse roles he’s had – at Mohawk College, at Metrolinx, as mayor of the City of Burlington – Rob has developed a leadership philosophy built...

Today, your host Michelle Holden, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Deborah Gillis, President and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation, and Carrie Fletcher, VP of People and Experience at CAMH. Deborah and Carrie share the path that got them to where they are today and the important role that sponsors and champions have played in both of their lives. As former CEO of Catalyst, a global non-profit dedicated to advancing women in leadership,...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with the four leaders whose organizations have formed a new collaboration to advance the safety of obstetrical and perinatal care in Canada. Each year approximately 380,000 children are born in Canada. The majority of births occur safely, but patient safety events do occur, and while rare, these events can be associated with severe patient outcomes. HIROC, SOGC, and the CMPA have joined forces as partners in...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Julia Hanigsberg, President and CEO of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital There are many reasons that Julia Hanigsberg was drawn to a position in healthcare and she admits most of them have to do with family. Throughout her daughter’s life (born at just 29 weeks and now at 22), Julia and her family have been accessing many healthcare services that her daughter needed to be successful. Her...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Brendan Carr, President and CEO of William Osler Health System. He had always wanted to be a physician, but Brendan Carr’s educational journey started in business when he acquired an MBA. That experience – and time as a commanding officer in the naval reserve – taught him the value of situational leadership and the power of leading through influence and seeking different perspectives and ideas from those...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Karim Mamdani, President and CEO of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences. With a strong interest in building sustainability in the healthcare system, Karim started his healthcare career working with the OHA and PwC in systems management and finance. Before coming to Ontario Shores in 2006 in the role of Chief Operating Officer, Karim worked at a number of academic health science centres – the...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Dr. Andrew Petrosoniak, Emergency Physician and Trauma Team Leader at St. Michael’s Hospital. When people come into emergency it’s often the worst day of their lives. For emergency physician and trauma team leader Dr. Andrew Petrosoniak, that’s what makes trauma care interesting and rewarding. He energizes teams and has built an international reputation around the value of in situ simulation as a quality...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Sherry Janzen, CEO of Salem Home in Winkler, Manitoba. Salem Home sits in a rural part of Manitoba but their innovative Relationship-Centred Model of Care has attracted international attention. Sherry discovered her affinity for older people early in her career and at the urging of her father, studied gerontology at Wichita State University. A defining characteristic of Sherry’s leadership at Salem Home,...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner, Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Kavita Mehta, CEO of AFHTO (the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario). Before her move to AFHTO two and a half years ago, Kavita was ED for nine years at the South East Toronto Family Health Team (SETFHT) where she spearheaded the development of a new four-story clinic; led a restructuring of the Board of Directors; and served as the Executive Sponsor for the East Toronto Health Link. Kavita...

Today, your host Ellen Gardner of Communications and Marketing at HIROC, speaks with Debbie Molloy, the Vice President of Corporate Services at Eastern Health, in Newfoundland. Debbie has responsibility for a number of programs including Human Resources, Quality, Patient Safety and Risk Management, Infection Prevention and Control, Occupational Health & Safety, and Rehabilitation. She has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare, energy, and hospitality industries, and has worked...