Karen Oldfield: Raise and Develop Those Around You

Karen and her team are full steam ahead with all the initiatives at Nova Scotia Health today. She speaks with pride about their work around improving patient care and much more. One of the initiatives they’re working on includes the West Bedford Transitional Health facility which helps enhance the chances of patients going back home successfully. Another proud initiative includes the YourHealthNS mobile app, which over half the population in NS have already downloaded enabling them to better navigate the healthcare system.

“We’re on quite a pace, quite a tear, and there’s going to be no rest that’s for sure,” explains Karen when speaking to the dedication of her team and the magnitude of their efforts.

On our newest episode of Healthcare Change Makers, learn more about the initiatives Karen and her team are proud of, the collaboration between NS Health and Life Sciences Nova Scotia, and ways to be supportive of those around you! 

Quotables:

“I like to sit down with the members of the team and basically say, that was then this is now – your history is irrelevant, I’m turning a page.” – KO

“I really like to give people a fresh start with a new leader and it’s something that has worked really well for me. Even in this current role, I can think of a number of people with a fresh start that just blossomed.” – KO

“I want to serve my province in this role and hopefully make a difference.” – KO

“I love having an opportunity to showcase the innovation and intellectual pros of some of our professionals. And they could come from any part of our system, these are people who want to make positive change for the better.” – KO

“Success breeds success, it energizes you and you need the energy to get through the bad.” – KO

“You need to have people around you that care about you, not about your job but about you, and can help separate the important from the urgent. We all get stressed out over the urgent, where it’s the important things you have to stay focused on.” – KO

“I think for the leader, it’s important to find the ways to raise people, to develop people, so they can give voice to what it is they care about and are passionate about.” – KO

Mentioned in this Episode:

·       Nova Scotia Health

·       NS Health’s More Than Medicine

·       Dr. Angela Merkel

·       Dr. Jane Philpott

·       Margaret Thatcher

·       Chelsea Handler

Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast

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