Matt Anderson appointed chief of Ontario Health

TORONTO – The board of directors of Ontario Health has announced that Matthew Anderson (pictured) is joining the new provincial health care agency as its President and CEO effective February 1, 2020. Since 2016 he has been serving as the President and CEO of Lakeridge Health, a health system and hospital network that serves Durham Region, Ontario.

Anderson has extensive team-building, system change and healthcare experience, including immersion in hospital and community networks, is highly focused on the needs and experiences of patients and caregivers, and brings a wide range of experiences to draw on to lead the transformation of Ontario’s health system.

He has been working in healthcare since 1992 and rose quickly to leadership positions, becoming Chief Information Officer of University Health Network (UHN) in 1998, a Vice President at UHN in 2000, and was named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 by the Globe and Mail in 2004.

In 2008, Matthew was named CEO of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network and in 2010, became CEO of William Osler Health System.

“Matthew joining Ontario Health as its President and CEO is a significant step towards building a modern government agency that, once fully established, will be responsible for creating a patient-centred, connected healthcare system that delivers high-quality services to Ontarians where and when they need them with the respect and dignity they deserve,” said Bill Hatanaka, Chairman of the Board of Ontario Health.

Much work has been done in preparation for the announcement, which included a rigorous, national search and extensive consultations with many stakeholders across all health sectors to assist in identifying the right candidates for this role.

“We are delighted to have Matthew join our team and are eager to work with him,” added Hatanaka.

Currently, Ontario Health comprises highly-skilled staff from 19 healthcare agencies from across Ontario who bring their combined knowledge, strengths and experiences into one integrated organization.

“I am extremely pleased that Matthew has agreed to bring his years of leadership experience in improving healthcare to his new role as President and CEO of Ontario Health,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “As a trusted, innovative and dynamic leader, he will play a key role in helping to transform our public healthcare system around people’s needs to drive real improvements that patients will experience first-hand and that help end hallway healthcare.”

Under Anderson’s leadership, the team at Ontario Health will:

• Support and help achieve the government’s goal of ending hallway healthcare
• Improve the quality of Ontario’s healthcare by measuring it, creating evidence-based standards for what quality care looks like, and holding healthcare providers and organizations accountable for making improvements
• Meet the healthcare needs of local communities through digital health and virtual care platforms, quality improvement initiatives as well as workforce planning and support
• Apply key learnings from Ontario’s world-class cancer system to address other areas of need – such as mental health and addictions and other chronic conditions
• Leverage digital systems in order to drive efforts to modernize the current healthcare system
• Pace change and achieve transformation while protecting front-line care
• And engage with professional stakeholders, patients, families, other caregivers, Indigenous, Francophone and other communities and partners to ensure Ontario Health’s insights are rich, its relationships are strong, and the opportunities forged together are beneficial to all Ontarians

“I am looking forward to joining Ontario Health and supporting the creation of a modernized and more integrated patient-centred healthcare system,” said Anderson. “The potential for our collective strength in partnership with health sector stakeholders, patients and their caregivers is enormous.”

Ontario Health, once fully established, will be the provincial agency responsible for ensuring Ontarians receive high-quality healthcare services where and when they need them. For more information, visit www.ontariohealth.ca.