Janice Kaffer: A Vision for Community Health that Goes Beyond Hospital Leadership
Release Date: 02/01/2022
Healthcare Change Makers
Paris Semansky is Director, Communications and Public Affairs at CAMH. This role urges her to wear a variety of hats, including being a brand protector, advocate, and problem-solver. Patricia Hoffer also wears a number of hats while being Chief Communications Officer and Vice President, External Relations at St. Joseph’s Health Care London. She takes pride in leading a diverse and dedicated group of communicators and storytellers. In this episode, Paris and Patricia share key strategies that help them ensure their teams succeed in the healthcare setting, their thoughts on strategic...
info_outline Dr. Devin Singh: Tackling the Barriers to Efficient CareHealthcare Change Makers
Dr. Devin Singh refused to be a bystander when he recognized inefficiencies in health systems, and he jumped into action by co-founding Hero AI – a clinical automation platform which aims to improve patient safety and wait times. Devin fuels Hero AI by tapping into his experiences and expertise as Emergency Physician at The Hospital for Sick Children to recognize the needs of providers and patients. “It was really important to think through what the real barriers are to improving care in our institution and beyond”, says Dr. Devin Singh when explaining the early stages of creating Hero...
info_outline Dominic Giroux: The Power of Connection, Communication and CommunityHealthcare Change Makers
When Dominic Giroux transitioned into the role of President and CEO and Hôpital Montfort, he took a unique and personalized approach. This approach included having 1 on 1’s with a variety of people in the organization to get to know their views and what’s important to them. “You need to get to know your people first and earn their trust, and they will tell you what your priorities should be”, says Dominic when explaining the importance of engaging with staff and providing a listening ear. In this episode, Dominic opens up about what helped him transition into his CEO role, what...
info_outline Dr. Frank Martino: Leading with Passion and Inspiring Positive ChangeHealthcare Change Makers
In this latest episode of HIROC’s Healthcare Change Makers podcast, Dr. Frank Martino, President and CEO of the William Osler Health System, reflects on his leadership journey while emphasizing the importance of remaining positive and aiming high in your career, especially in the context of leading one of Canada’s largest community hospital systems. Dr. Martino highlights his organization’s ambitious initiatives, including the adoption of an advanced hospital information system, new redevelopment projects, and a groundbreaking partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU)...
info_outline Catherine Gaulton: The Power of Human InteractionHealthcare Change Makers
With a new year on the horizon, Catherine is looking forward to so many things – the continued efforts in Health Human Resources, advancing the work in the main areas of Risk, the future of Collaborative Benefits, and so much more. “My optimism is around people that surprise me every day. When I think you can’t help but be defeated, human spirit and strength comes forward every time”, says Catherine when explaining her positive outlook for 2024. In this episode, Catherine gives us a glimpse into the mind of a CEO, including her zest for learning new things and how she recharges and...
info_outline Nimira Dhalwani: Staying Connected to What’s Happening on the GroundHealthcare Change Makers
Stress and burnout within IT have been on the rise, which is why it’s transformative to create a sense of work life balance which leaders can help implement. Nimira believes that it’s important to check in with her team’s wellbeing and be there for each other outside of work to establish solidarity and balance. “You take care of yourself first, then you take care of others,” says Nimira when explaining the importance of prioritizing one’s health and leading by example for her team. In this episode, Nimira offers her wisdom on preventing burnout, embracing technological change...
info_outline Carol Couchie and Elvira Truglia: Sowing the Seeds of Healthy RelationshipsHealthcare Change Makers
Midwives play a vital role in supporting patients through their pregnancy journey, establishing strong connections with both the expectant individuals and their families as they prepare for parenthood. This close relationship uniquely positions midwives to recognize and address instances of family violence that their patients may experience. To support midwives in addressing family violence and abuse, Elvira Truglia, Knowledge Translation Lead at the Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM) and Carol Couchie, Indigenous Mentorship Lead at the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives (NCIM) have...
info_outline Dr. Jackie Schleifer Taylor: Being True to Oneself and the Path of Authentic LeadershipHealthcare Change Makers
For Dr. Jackie Schleifer Taylor, being a healthcare leader and change maker is more than simply being the one at the helm. In this episode, Jackie offers a deep dive into her background, her experience in healthcare, and how she takes actions to cultivate an impactful organizational culture. Underscoring the importance of authenticity in leadership, Jackie believes leaders should be genuine and true to themselves. “It takes time to develop trust and that commitment to be believed and understood,” says Jackie, emphasizing that healthcare leaders should always be creating a culture of...
info_outline Sonia Hsiung and Natasha Beaudin: How Connection and Belonging Can Change the Culture of Our Health SystemHealthcare Change Makers
When HIROC put a call out at the 2023 Alliance for Healthier Communities Conference for changemakers, the community delivered. We heard about some amazing healthcare changemakers across the province of Ontario – people like Sonia Hsiung and Natasha Beaudin, and the social prescribing initiative they have been involved in. Sonia is with the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing and the Canadian Red Cross, and Natasha works with the Alliance for Healthier Communities. On this latest episode, Philip De Souza sits down with Sonia and Natasha to talk about how the social...
info_outline Kevin Smith: People Want the Context of ‘Why’Healthcare Change Makers
Today’s guest is President and CEO of University Health Network, Canada’s largest academic health sciences centre. Kevin Smith pursued his education in Canada, the U.S. and Great Britain, studying psychology, science, public policy and medicine. If Kevin’s had a frustrating day, one of his best experiences is talking to young people who are enthusiastic and filled with hope. He says the system is in good hands with the generation in training today. Open forums and site visits are a regular part of Kevin’s life at UHN, and he sees the challenging questions he gets as a sign of a...
info_outlineEarly in her leadership journey, Janice Kaffer, Former CEO of Hôtel-Dieu in Windsor, realized that you need people around you who think differently than you and have different skillsets. Building that kind of team resulted in better decisions, including those that weren’t always easy for Janice to make.
Today we’re talking with Janice Kaffer, who up until early January was President and CEO of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor Ontario. She’s calling this time semi-retirement as she continues to work on a project that will keep her connected with the hospital for at least six months.
Janice honestly admitted on social media last year that being a leader in a time of extended crisis takes a toll. When she did finally take some time off, she recovered her sense of self in a surprising and delightful way – by doing Lego. It grounded her in a way she could never have imagined.
Janice says it took some time to understand she was more than a hospital leader – that she was a community leader as well. Her own modest upbringing convinced Janice that she had an obligation to talk about issues around poverty, politics and the social determinants of health because it all has an impact on health.
Today she’s proud of the part she played and continues to play in changing the perception in Windsor of what a hospital is and what it can be.
Quotables
“Through the last two years of the pandemic, Bill (Marra) has been at my side, we’ve been working together, we went into the nursing home together, we’ve led most of the response together.” - JK
“Because the crisis has been going on for so long – it’s not constant, it’s ebbing and waning periods of intense activity – so you never really get a chance to step away from that time, to take care of yourself unless you make that time.” – JK
“My grandkids love Lego, but they’re brutal. I find little bits all over the house!” – JK
“The team we built at Hôtel-Dieu Grace is incredibly diverse and very involved in the decision-making at all levels. I always benefitted from the fact that many members of the team felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas.” – JK
“Over the years I developed a perspective that the job of the CEO for a community hospital it isn’t just about leading your own team, it’s also talking about those things in your community that affect health in the broader sector.” – JK
“Hôtel-Dieu Grace is more than a service delivery organization. We’ve tried to be an organization that connects to the community and speaks to a longer-term contract to change health for the better.” – JK
“Social media allows me to interact with people in a way that is super comfortable for me.” – JK
“One of the things that was important to me when I became CEO at Hôtel-Dieu was to create an opportunity for patients and families to have voice, but also for staff so that there’s balance.” – JK
“Unless we start taking seriously that the healthcare system is too lean, is too efficient, is needing investment, retaining staff is going to difficult.” - JK
“A lot of women hesitate to ask. Leaders have an obligation to make sure that everybody understands that we’re open to mentoring and coaching, and we’re here to share and assist.” - JK
Mentioned in this Episode:
The Hospice of Windsor & Essex County Inc.
Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast
Follow us on Twitter, and listen on iTunes.
Email us at [email protected].