Chair and CEO

From Board Chair Mike Arnew and President and CEO Jo-anne Marr

This past year, amidst a rapidly changing health care landscape, we have embraced change, navigated challenges and reached significant milestones together. The year began with navigating new waves of COVID-19, which brought more infectious variants, higher Emergency Department volumes and acuity, and longer wait times for surgeries, all while dealing with a system-wide staffing shortage. Our health care system is indeed under strain, but in the world of health care, failure is not an option. The families and patients we serve rely on us to be there for them in their greatest times of need. So instead, with an ‘honoured to care’ mindset we dug deep, and we got to work.

Early in the year, our focus continued to be the pandemic. We opened and then expanded the COVID-19, Cold, Flu and Care Clinic. Then, at the end of 2022 we were presented with a new challenge – the triple threat of COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). We saw very high volumes and sicker patients coming through our doors, and our youngest patients needed us the most. Our COVID-19, Cold, and Flu Care Clinic responded quickly and staffed the clinic with specialists who could care for patients six months of age and older. At the same time, our paediatrics team, with support from other departments, surged to provide services to double the number of inpatients they usually care for. 

Throughout the year we continued to lean on each other and find innovative ways to provide the communities we serve with the care they needed most. 

We opened the newly renovated and relocated Breast Health Centre, a model of patient-centred care, equipped with the most advanced tools and an expert team of health care specialists. We officially launched our new interventional radiology suite that houses a first in Canada innovative GE Healthcare technology.

We are also so proud that Oak Valley Health was formally awarded accreditation with exemplary standing, the highest award possible from Accreditation Canada. It is such an honour to be placed among top-ranked hospitals in Canada. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we improved on our previous result, achieving 100% of the required organizational practices and 99.8% compliance of over 2,300 internationally recognized standards. 

As the emergency of the pandemic subsided we continued to make progress on our strategic initiatives. A highlight of the year included the approval to move forward with the redevelopment and expansion of the new Uxbridge Hospital, an exciting step towards Oak Valley Health’s vision of a modern hospital campus. Our Uxbridge site will feature a hub model of care for the community with three interconnected facilities, including a new hospital with greater capacity, a long-term care home, and the ambulatory care building. 

This year was also a time to invest in our people - our more than 3,000 staff, over 550 professional staff and midwives, and almost 1,000 volunteers. Last year, we were proud to launch our 2023-2026 People Plan, one that will ensure we continue to recruit, develop, and retain team members.

We continued to build on the progress we have made in fostering a safe and inclusive environment. We continue our vital EDI&B work and we are extremely proud to be recognized as one of Forbes Canada’s Best Employers for Diversity 2022, in which we ranked in the top 150 organizations across Canada, and one of only 12 hospitals nationwide.

We also made the addition of a field for pronouns into our electronic health records system, MEDITECH. During registration, every patient is now asked if they would like to share their pronouns. This is a small but important step in our journey to delivering a patient-centred, inclusive environment, where everyone that walks through our doors feels they can come to work and receive care safely, openly, and honestly.

It truly has been a year of challenges, change, and growth. We are so proud of the commitment, innovation, and hard work of our people – staff, professional staff, and volunteers. 

As we reflect on the past year – the challenges and the successes – and turn our attention to the future, we are excited about what is ahead of us. We can take the lessons learned from the pandemic and use them to ensure we are providing the care and services our community needs, both inside and outside of our walls. We will continue to support our people, giving them what they need to succeed, and we’ll further evolve the experience we provide our patients – making it truly extraordinary.

Jo-anne Marr,

President and CEO