Through working for 18 years on acute care’s front-line to now leading the fourth largest chiropractic association in the world by membership, I’ve lived varied perspectives of our health care system.
My passion for quality patient care in Ontario began in 1992 with my work as a registered nurse caring for elderly patients with complex needs at Queensway General Hospital, in Toronto’s west end.
As my career evolved, I moved to Trillium Health Centre (now Trillium Health Partners) in 1998, where I held several senior level positions, from Director, Medical Health Systems, to Vice President, People, Corporate and Clinical Support Services. At Trillium, I applied a new leadership philosophy and accountability framework to initiate customer service models that improved patients’ experience and outcomes. I was also honoured to lead the implementation of the University of Toronto’s Mississauga Medical Academy and the Shared Service West Organization transformation, on behalf of four organizations.
In addition to my nursing and midwifery credentials, I have an MBA from Queen’s University and am a graduate of the Rotman School of Management Advanced Health Leadership Program.
Since joining the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) as CEO in June 2018, I’ve been focused on building relationships with all partners that impact chiropractors and their patients in Ontario. I want to ensure that we are making a difference for our members and supporting others in their accountabilities to the profession.
In my previous tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) and Vice Chair of the Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres (OACCAC) Board of Directors, I collaborated with multiple partners to help drive our system’s transformation to integrated, patient-centred care.
I was inspired by the initiatives our interconnected teams implemented to improve our patients’ experience and outcomes. These initiatives ranged from a primary care advisor model that achieved a 76 per cent engagement rate with primary care providers across the region to our seamless transitions hospital partnership that reduced the number of patients returning to hospital within 30-days after discharge by 52 per cent.
Delivering home and community care every day gave us a front-line advantage. It showed us what works and what is vital to our health care system. These experiences opened my eyes to our system’s potential.
View the video below for an overview of some of my proudest accomplishments as CEO of the Mississauga Halton CCAC.
I’m excited by the possibility of creating a world-class, fully integrated health system in Ontario and potentially across Canada. Like many health care leaders, I’m also constantly thinking about ‘how’ to best achieve this for Ontarians.
I think collaboration is integral to advancing the best quality care for patients. And in December, 2016, our CCAC won an IABC Canada Silver Leaf Award of Excellence for our Faces of Care advocacy initiative that underscores the value of teamwork to patient care and outcomes. I also outlined five ways engagement can help leaders steer their teams through complex change in a Leadership Lab guest column for the Globe and Mail.
I provided counsel on various provincial home and community care working groups, am a member of the Canadian College of Health Service Executives and occasionally contribute to discussions among our Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care leaders.
I am also currently a board member of the Regional Geriatric Program of Toronto.
I believe all health care partners must share their insights and work together, hand in glove, to shape a system that overcomes long-term challenges and continuously raises the bar for quality of care. This blog is another way for me to share what I have learned through my experience and various perspectives of our evolving health care system.
I invite you to subscribe to it and welcome your thoughts.
Together, we can build a patient-focused, world-class health care system.
Caroline Brereton ON Care 