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After months of preparing and planning, we are excited to share that we’ve reached a key milestone in the integration proposal approvals process. Earlier today, the three boards, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto as well as Catholic Health Sponsors of Ontario formally and unanimously approved our integration proposal. This follows the endorsement, almost a month ago, from the Toronto Central LHIN, to move ahead with our integration plans. The final go-ahead needs to come from the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

This recent approval means that Providence, St. Joseph’s and St. Michael’s are one step away from officially being part of a single health network, and we are beginning to prepare for Day 1, likely August 1.

As board chairs of the legacy organizations, we are proud that throughout the integration discussions one thing has been ever present – the long-standing priority, embraced by the Sisters when they founded these three hospitals, to care for those who experience marginalization or disadvantage. This is fundamental to Catholic health care and will continue to be a priority for the new network. We are moving forward with strong shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality patient care.

An inaugural board has been named – 16 members selected from the legacy boards for their expertise, commitment and diverse skill set that will help navigate our three organizations through a successful transition.  See below for more information on the new board.

The board has also elected Tom Woods, a current director at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, as its inaugural chair.  Tom brings a strong background in corporate and community directorship as well as deep financial experience from his career in banking. One of the new board’s first orders of business was to select an interim CEO. We are pleased that Dr. Robert Howard, current president of St. Michael’s Hospital, has agreed to be the interim CEO. He has been CEO at St. Michael’s for eight years and we are confident that he will lead all three organizations through a smooth transition to a new health network.

We wish to thank Elizabeth Buller, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health Centre, and Josie Walsh, president and CEO of Providence Healthcare, for their vision and leadership; both will be ending their tenure on July 31. We wish Liz well as she moves on to her new role as CEO of Scarborough Rouge Hospital, and to Josie, who is excited to spend time with her growing family as she gets set to welcome her third and fourth grandchildren later this year. She is also looking forward to seeing how she can continue to contribute to the health-care system.

We also wish to extend our thanks to the directors from all three boards, for sagely bringing us to this momentous juncture and in some cases, for continuing to provide leadership and guidance as a director on the inaugural board.

While this is exciting news, we recognize that change isn’t easy for everyone, so we want to thank you in advance for your continued commitment to Our Shared Purpose and the patients, clients and residents you care for, especially during these transitional times.

We encourage you to continue sending in your feedback and questions via oursharedpurpose.com/contact.

[columns columns=3]Virginia West
Chair, Board of Directors
Providence Healthcare

Michael McTeague
Chair, Board of Directors
St. Joseph’s Health Centre

Tom O’Neill
Chair, Board of Directors
St. Michael’s Hospital[/columns]

Inaugural Board Members

[columns columns=2]Nora Aufreiter
Doug Guzman
Wayne Barwise
Colleen Johnston
Domenic Belmonte
Ellen Malcomson
Joe Calderone
Michael McTeague
Hazel Claxton
Rosemary Moodie
Yves Denommé
Virginia West
Peter Gordon
Darryl White
Tony Graham
Tom Woods
[/columns]

Non-elected directors will also sit on the board as ex-officio members, including:

  • David Mulroney as a representative of the Archdiocese of Toronto
  • Trevor Young from the University of Toronto
  • Mary MacLeod, chief nursing executive, vice-president of Clinical Services, and interim vice-president of Human Resources, St. Joseph’s Health Centre
  • Glen Bandiera and Dr. Jose Silveira, representatives of the Medical Advisory Committee
  • Ralph George and Dr. Peter Ballyk, representatives of the Medical Staff Association