NEWS RELEASE
GEORGIAN BAY GENERAL HOSPITAL
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Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) is welcoming a new chair of its board of directors based on election results from its recent members meeting.
Bernie Uhlich, a seven-year director on the board, has been appointed as the new chair for a term of two years. Uhlich follows Tim Kastelic, who recently ended a three-year term as chair.
“I would like to thank Tim for his strategic impact enabling GBGH to advance to its current state where there are so many opportunities for the hospital to enhance and grow our services, which translates into a promising future of care close to home for our community,” says Bernie Uhlich. “Our priorities include adding an acute mental health program, preparing to build a future hospital, and strengthening our culture for current and future team members. Additionally, through our partnerships and affiliations, we will continue to seize the opportunities to enhance collaboration and integration to reduce wait times and improve accessibility. I look forward to leading a board that will advance those priorities and deliver on our promise to ‘make excellent care personal.’”
In addition to Uhlich becoming chair, Jim Mulligan (chair of the quality committee of the board) assumes the vice-chair role. Departing the board are Paul Farley, Barry Stranks and Stan Wolofsky, who are thanked for the many valuable contributions they provided during their terms. Three new directors are also joining the board:
- Barb Bell is a longtime nursing executive leader with expertise in the areas of acute, post-acute care, long-term care and home care sectors at the local, regional and provincial levels. Bell, who spends her off time in the Georgian Bay area, is passionate about quality, safety and fostering a person-centred culture in health care. She plans to bring this professional experience to add value to her role on the board, serving GBGH and its surrounding communities.
- Sean Granville joins the GBGH board with more than 40 years of experience in the energy sector provincially, including roles at the executive leadership level. A retired mechanical engineer, Granville brings to the board valuable experience leading major transformation projects, which are relevant to GBGH, given the hospital’s plans to grow services such as building an acute mental health program and a future hospital.
- Scott McIntaggart, registered nurse, has joined the board in his retirement from a long career in health care, including roles from front-line nursing to executive leadership positions with major hospitals in the Toronto area. McIntaggart, who grew up in Midland and has since returned, has a keen interest in serving his local community, bringing his leadership experience and clinical service planning expertise to GBGH.
For more information on GBGH’s board of directors and its membership, please visit gbgh.on.ca/about-us/board-of-directors.
The hospital has also released its annual report on its website — gbgh.on.ca/gbghmedia/GBGH-Annual-Report-2023-2024.pdf. The report features some interesting statistics from the hospital’s 2023-24 fiscal year (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024), as well as highlights of the year, including the following and more:
- Accreditation Canada survey result of Accredited with Exemplary Standing — the highest level of achievement possible as a result of an impartial, thorough evaluation process, which measures the hospital on more than 2,000 quality and safety standards, of which GBGH met over 99 per cent
- Released the hospital’s strategic plan to guide planning, decision making and priorities from 2023 to 2030
- Added new equipment to our surgical program to expand services, such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
- Launched a dedicated medical assistance in dying and palliative care service to enhance end-of-life care
- Invested $40,000 to support staff learning through the creation of an Education Trust Fund
- Started a series of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging forums for GBGH team members to provide feedback and insights on priorities
- Completed a major renovation of two X-ray rooms with the latest technology
- Continued progress toward building a future hospital and adding a much-needed acute mental health program
In 2023-24, GBGH experienced nearly 43,000 emergency department visits, had nearly 43,000 inpatient days, completed more than 628,000 laboratory tests, delivered 189 babies, and conducted nearly 6,400 surgeries.
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