Hospital wins governance award for collaboration
Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) was awarded the Leading Governance Excellence Award at the HealthAchieve conference in Toronto earlier this month for its collaboration with Peterborough Housing Corporation to develop a supportive housing project for seniors.
The award recognizes hospitals for innovative and effective governance in addressing a problem or opportunity within their organization. The partnership aims to create safe, affordable living spaces for seniors, according to officials.
The adjudication committee was pleased with the high calibre of the submissions and the various examples of excellence in governance, according to the Ontario Hospital Association.
“The exceptional quality of the submissions made the review and selection process very difficult for the committee,” officials stated in an email to the hospital.
“The winning entries exhibited outstanding accomplishments in governance and were judged on the basis of how board practices demonstrably enhanced governance in the organization and yielded leading practices that can be applied to other health care organizations.”
Hospital board chairwoman Adair Ireland-Smith said the award brought her great pleasure.
“The members of our board are dedicated volunteers who care deeply about the quality of care PRHC provides for the people of our community and region,” she stated. “I am so proud and pleased to see them recognized among our hospital peers for the leadership and innovative thinking they have brought to this initiative.”
Hospital president and CEO Dr. Peter McLaughlin said he was thrilled to see the board singled out.
“The seniors’ supportive housing project and partnership are groundbreaking for us on many fronts, and we are thrilled to be working with Peterborough Housing Corporation and our other partners, with the support of the Central East LHIN, to bring this development to fruition,” he stated.
“The availability of this housing will not only help us to better meet the living needs of these individuals – it will also allow PRHC to dedicate more beds and resources to providing acute, hospital-level care for our patients, at a crucial time when those resources are in greater demand than ever before.”
On hand to receive the award were board vice-chairman Don Gillespie, past chairwoman and current board member Mary Ferguson-Paré, board members Margaret Keatings and Bob Gibson, vice-president Brenda Weir and McLaughlin.