The new Progressive Conservative government is cleaning house .
Premier Tim Houston says transformational change is needed in order to improve health care.
He’s fired the CEO of the Nova Scotia Health Authority Brendan Carr and the entire board of directors.
“I’ve said all along that transformational change was needed to improve health care and it starts today,” said Premier Houston. “We’ve put an experienced team in place with a mandate to listen, make decisions and take quick action. They will remove the barriers that are getting in the way of change and providing better health care to Nova Scotians.”
The four-person leadership team will be led by Karen Oldfield, who has been appointed interim CEO of the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA).
Oldfield previously served in the office of former premier John Hamm and was CEO of the Halifax Port Authority.
Working with her will be:
— Jeannine Lagasse, appointed deputy minister of the Department of Health and Wellness after serving as associate deputy minister
— Dr. Kevin Orrell, appointed CEO of the newly created Office of Health Care Professionals Recruitment; he is the former deputy minister of Health and Wellness
— Janet Davidson, appointed as the administrator of the Nova Scotia Health Authority; she is the former chair of the NSHA board of directors and was interim CEO of the NSHA in 2019; her previous roles include deputy minister of Health in Alberta, CEO of Toronto East General Hospital and other leadership positions in several health organizations
The Office of Health Care Professionals Recruitment will focus on recruiting and retaining doctors, nurses, continuing care assistants, paramedics and other professionals. It reports directly to Ms. Thompson.
From Sept. 20 to 23, the premier, minister and the leadership team will tour the province to hear from frontline health-care professionals.
