Hunt for CEO of new region begins in earnest
Application period now closed as work continues on transition to single region
It’s not being disclosed how many people applied for the top job at the new provincial health authority, but Keith Dewar isn’t one of them.
Hired as CEO of the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region on a five-year contract, Dewar decided for personal reasons not to apply for the CEO position with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
“My contract runs until the end of October, so it’s definitely part of my commitment to work until then,” he said Thursday.
In January, Health Minister Jim Reiter accepted all recommendations of the Saskatchewan Advisory Panel on Health System Structure and announced the province will consolidate the 12 existing regional health authorities into one provincial health authority.
Along with the recommendation to move to a single health authority, the advisory panel recommended a single board of directors be appointed to govern the new authority.
The new CEO position was posted May 9 and the competition closed Wednesday.
Citing the confidentiality of the recruitment process, Tracey Smith, assistant deputy minister with the Ministry of Health, said the number of applicants is not being released at this time.
“We wanted to initiate the recruitment process for the CEO because we know that will take a number of weeks in terms of working through that process,” Smith said Friday. “It is a very key position for the new organization.”
At the same time, work is underway to identify who will be on the board of directors for the new health authority.
“The legislation that would establish the board provides for up to 10 members to be on the board,” Smith said.
The advisory panel recommended an expert board be appointed to provide expertise in areas such as governance, performance and financial management and represent the patient experience, she said.
“There’s a number of different considerations that will be looked at in terms of the board itself,” Smith said. “Those decisions haven’t been made yet.”
When the board is in place, members will review applications for the CEO position and recommend a person to lead the new organization.
A transition team is working with partners in the health system to ensure a smooth transition from 12 health regions to one, Smith said.
The provincial government estimates the potential savings associated with amalgamating 12 health authorities into one is in the range of $10 million to $20 million by 2018-19.
Moving from 12 boards to a single board is expected to save about $700,000 a year in board governance costs.
Salary expenses for senior executive level positions will drop when the 12 CEO positions are trimmed to one and some of the 62 vice-presidents in the health regions are let go.
“There’s been no decisions made around numbers,” Smith said. “Really the focus of the planning is around the overarching structure and the types of supports and leadership that will be needed in the new authority.”
The new health authority is expected to be operating by fall.
Despite numerous challenges, Dewar has enjoyed his job.
“My sense is that there will be a great opportunity for our new CEO to take the entire system forward,” he said.