New hospital president looking forward to handling complex issues

When Wendy Hansson officially takes over as Sault Area Hospital’s new president and CEO this summer, she’ll be directing a hospital facing ongoing challenges as well as changes handed down from a new provincial government.

With SAH often operating at over capacity, patients frustrated with long waits in the emergency department and wait times for certain procedures to be done, how is Hansson, in the camera eye as the hospital’s new president, prepared to deal with those issues?

“With things such as wait times, we have the opportunity to look at data to streamline the patient flow, and how we re-orient the system around the patient and their families. I look forward, when I arrive, to getting a better handle on the unique challenges to the Sault. I look forward to getting into the details,” said Hansson, speaking to SooToday from Vancouver in a telephone interview Friday.

In addition, legislation for Ontario Health, known as the People's Health Care Act, 2019 and introduced Feb. 26, would involve replacing the province’s 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs, one of which serves northeastern Ontario, including the Sault and area), and merging their duties with those of six other provincial health agencies, including Cancer Care Ontario, a move that concerns some.

“I’m excited about that actually, because other parts of Canada have moved toward some of these changes, and Ontario can learn from what has worked well and what hasn’t worked well and use that to our advantage in what we have to do in health care,” Hansson said.

“There are always changes, new government changes and policies and the health care system has to adapt because patient populations are getting older, we have to ask how do we keep the system sustainable, how do we get value for every dollar we put into it, and of course we have to look at it through the eyes of the patients and families.”

While stating she is not yet familiar with full details regarding SAH’s call for the province to approve and support a new Level III Withdrawal Management Services facility to help address the Sault’s opioid scourge, Hansson said “it’s fantastic” local health care professionals and civic leaders have come together to present and support the concept.

“That’s a feather in the cap of the Sault as a community that comes together collectively to solve a problem. I’m excited about that...I’m looking forward to learning more about it,” Hansson said.

The Level III Withdrawal Management Services facility, if approved by the province, would be a new, 33-bed replacement for the existing 16-bed SAH detoxification centre located at 911 Queen St. E., first approved by the SAH board in October 2017.

SAH has requested $11 million for construction of the facility, with an additional, ongoing request for $5.8 million for operational expenses (on top of the current $1.1 million it receives for the existing detox centre).

Hansson said her application to apply for the hospital’s top administrative job came about due to a combination of reasons.

“I was recently in the Sault in November (for family reasons), right around when Mr. Gagnon (Ron Gagnon, former SAH president and CEO) was leaving and the role was being posted...so it was serendipitous.”

“I have 25 years of experience in health care, and I thought of it as a natural extension of my experience,” Hansson said.

“I’ve worked in all aspects of the health care system so I understand the complexity of it, so I just felt my experience would be of value to the Sault, particularly given the changes that are in effect with the new provincial government, looking at how to further advance integrated systems to improve patient care, so with all of those factors I was excited to apply and bring back my skills and experience to a community that really served me so well in my career and personal life.”

“I’m looking forward to learning from the hospital’s staff, physicians and volunteers and reacquainting myself with the community and the hospital’s partners,” Hansson said.

When not steering the hospital, Hansson, a married mother of two daughters, said she looks forward to skiing in the Sault and area next winter (her family has “deep roots” in the Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club, Hansson having raced for the club for several years), as well as enjoying hiking and spending time at a family cottage.

Hansson, a Bawating Collegiate graduate with a B.Sc. in kinesiology and a Masters degree in health administration, both from the University of Ottawa, began her career working with the Ontario Ministry of Health in Toronto.

Relocating to the west coast with her husband, Hansson has lived and worked in BC for the past 20 years, currently serving as Vice President Quality & Innovation and Chief Transformation Officer for Providence Health Care/St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.

Hansson officially starts her duties as new SAH president and CEO July 3.