MAHC’S NEW INTERIM CEO HAS VAST EXPERIENCE IN CANADA, DOWN UNDER
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
MUSKOKA — A nurse who rose through the ranks to become a president and CEO with wide experience across Canada and in Australia is taking over interim operations management Christmas Eve at Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare.
Vickie Kaminski takes on the same role at the Bracebridge and Huntsville hospitals with the retirement of Natalie Bubela Dec. 23.
Media reports describe her as a take-charge, no-nonsense health care executive unafraid of controversial decisions.
A MAHC release today says Kaminski is a “senior health care executive with more than 45 years of experience in the Canadian health care system.”
It says she has led health systems in Ontario, Newfoundland, Alberta and Manitoba, along with serving for just over two years as the chief executive (deputy minister) of South Australia Health. With a Masters of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Nursing, her professional background includes 25 years of frontline nursing and nursing leadership in Sudbury.
“Vickie’s health care leadership roles and career achievements are many and impressive, Cameron Renwick, chair of the board of directors, says in Friday’s (Dec. 10) release.
“Not only does the board believe she is exceptionally capable of temporarily leading the MAHC organization, but also find her to be a well-suited candidate to help bridge the leadership gap on an interim basis.
“Her nursing background, previous executive experience at community hospitals including those that are multi-site, and her accomplishments perfectly complement the MAHC mission, vision and values.”
As MAHC continues its permanent search, Kaminski provides additional experience to the seasoned team at a time when the pandemic and occupancy rates continue to challenge the health care system, adds Moreen Miller, chair of the board’s CEO search and recruitment committee.
“Vickie will provide leadership and advice on strategic directions to the MAHC board and quickly become a knowledgeable partner to our existing team.
“Her calm demeanour, her ability to manage complex administration challenges and her consistent approach to engaging her teams were strong indicators that she could fulfill this role for MAHC in the short term.”
Kaminski has also worked as acting president and CEO at Perth and Smith Falls District Hospital for eight months.
She was also president and CEO at Hôspital Regional de Sudbury Regional Hospital (now Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord) for eight years until June 2009
In addition, she was president and CEO of Alberta Health Services from 2014 to 2016 along with being a consultant for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) since July 2019 before she began an 18-month contract, Jan. 6, 2020, as president and CEO of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. There she was responsible for its strategic and operational activities. Her contract was for 18 months, with the option for a six-month extension.
While in Winnipeg Kaminski came in to the role following two years of major overhaul in Winnipeg’s healthcare system, which included going from six emergency rooms in the city to three in two phases of conversions, according to a Dec. 4, 2019, article in the trade publication Canadian Healthcare Technology.
A Nov. 27, 2019, CBC story announcing her new hiring in Winnipeg said Kaminski has dealt with her share of controversy while in leadership roles in public healthcare.
She resigned as CEO of Alberta Health Services in late 2015, alleging political interference by the province’s NDP government meant that she could no longer do her job independently. She claimed the province meddled in union contract negotiations and an ambulance dispatch plan and got in the way of good management.
And in 2007, when Kaminski was CEO of the Sudbury Regional Hospital, George Smitherman — then Ontario’s health minister — criticized the operations of the hospital, according to local media reports.
Smitherman expressed particular disappointment that Kaminski was getting pay increases, while the hospital’s performance was declining.
At Eastern Health in Newfoundland Kaminski was reported to be receiving an annual compensation package near — or over — $400,000 per year for her work at the troubled authority she went to work for.
Kaminski said in the 2019 trade story she wouldn’t rule out controversy while working at WRHA, but said she’s confident everyone in the system will be able to work together to overcome it.
In the CBC story she is quoted as saying: “Health care is not without its challenges. Everybody is very interested in what’s happening in health, and is very emotive about it.”
In the MAHC release, she said: “I am pleased to be able to provide some interim stability and leadership, working alongside a high-functioning team of people while the board concludes their search for a permanent replacement. I look forward to working with the staff to deal with occupancy challenges, wait times and service provision to meet the needs of the communities MAHC serves, and maintaining the effective hospital response to the ongoing pandemic.”
EMAIL: [email protected]
28 years of ‘Local Online Journalism’
Twitter: @muskokatoday, Facebook: mclairmont1
Leave comments at end of story
SUBSCRIBE for $25 by e-transferring to [email protected]
Or go online to https://muskokatoday.com/subscriptions
