March 11, 2025
Hi everyone,
You can read that in a couple of ways, and yes, today marks my one year anniversary with Health PEI as CEO. A year ago, my family and I made the decision to pick up our lives and go East! What an incredible year, full of successes, challenges, learning and—most importantly—coming to know a phenomenal group of professionals, communities and friends!
Working in a rural healthcare system is different. We don't have the luxury and resources of large urban centres. While some may see this as a downside, I think it has the opposite effect. It means that Health PEI is one of the most resilient, creative and innovative organizations. Smart ideas and discoveries are implemented and scaled in real time.
From the outset, my instincts told me alignment would be key to making progress. The true magic happens when you focus the mind and effort on areas of synergy. This means leaning in, listening to critics and colleagues, and truly collaborating. I am so very grateful for the alignment and willingness to come together. Together we are going to make healthcare better for Islanders and is there any better reason to get out of bed and work hard each day!
Progress in complex systems can take time. That being said, the team has so much to be proud of and have accomplished so much in the past year. We added hundreds of staff to the organization, recruited more physicians than any year prior, the medical school will open this summer, and we have more beds open in our hospitals and long-term care facilities than in any year prior. There is more home care, we are performing twice as many cataracts surgeries each day in the community. The new Mental Health Campus is underway, community access clinics are providing mental health services without a waitlist and the new patient registry is up to date and accurate. Patients are being affiliated daily.
And underpinning all of this is an incredible team of professionals who go above and beyond each and every day. It’s been a privilege to work with you!
As we look forward to the year ahead, there is much more to do! We are concentrated on providing primary care for all. This is our near-term goal! We remain laser focused on recruitment and retention. We are getting better and faster with our hiring approach, we are leveraging relationships and best practices from across the region, country and globe to decrease wait times and improve access to the very best care. We are creating a learning health system which will improve care and help us attract and retain the very best team. We have done all of this together!
I sincerely want to say thank you to each and every one of you—for your help and sage advice, mentorship, friendship and helping me find my way in a new place and culture. I couldn't have made it through this year without your support. While the stresses of the broader world weigh on us, I remain optimistic about what we will achieve TOGETHER in the year ahead.
Mel