OHA welcomes Dominic Giroux as Board Chair

TORONTO – Dominic Giroux (pictured), president and CEO of Health Sciences North and the Health Sciences North Research Institute, has been named chair of the Ontario Hospital Association’s (OHA) Board of Directors. Serving on the OHA Board since 2019, Dominic was elected following the OHA’s Annual and Special Meeting of Members.

He served on numerous provincial health committees, was appointed to the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, served on the Drummond Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services, and chaired the board of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

During the pandemic, he played a vital leadership role as co-chair of Ontario Health’s COVID-19 Northern Ontario Regional Steering Committee and on Ontario Health’s COVID-19 Health System Response Oversight Table.

“Dominic is a well-respected leader with an outstanding ability to bring stakeholders together towards a common purpose and who continuously champions strategy and quality improvement,” said Anthony Dale, OHA president and CEO. “He demonstrates a deep commitment to sector-wide collaboration to improve the way the health system works and serves patients. Dominic will help guide the OHA as we strive to learn vital lessons from the pandemic and work to strengthen health services for Ontarians across the continuum of care.”

“As we all know, our hospitals and frontline healthcare workers are under a historic amount of strain,” said board chair Dominic Giroux. “The role played by the OHA and its fantastic team led by Anthony Dale has never been more critical. We have an incredibly experienced and talented Board, and I look forward to us working together with the Province to ensure our hospitals can continue to be there for the people of Ontario.”

The OHA is also grateful for the steadfast leadership of outgoing Chair Sarah Downey, president and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Sarah’s leadership, insights, and guidance helped the OHA navigate through several waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her 30 years of experience and leadership across various hospitals, including community, academic, and complex multi-institutional organizations has proven invaluable, and the OHA is pleased that Sarah will remain as an active member of the Board.

About Ontario Hospital Association
Established in 1924, the OHA serves as the voice of the province’s public hospitals, supporting them through advocacy, knowledge translation and member engagement, labour relations, and data and analytics with the goal of helping hospitals build a better health system. The OHA is also attuned to the broader strategic questions facing the future of the province’s health care system and we work to ensure Ontario’s hospitals have a voice in shaping this longer-term vision.

About Dominic Giroux
Since 2017, president and CEO of Health Sciences North and the Health Sciences North Research Institute, one of Canada’s top 40 research hospitals with 14 sites in Greater Sudbury and staff in 17 other locations across Northeastern Ontario. Under his leadership, the financial performance of HSN and HSNRI significantly improved and new strategic and capital master plans were initiated. He holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Public Policy and Management and Political Science and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Ottawa, an MBA from HEC Montreal and completed the Public Executive Program at Queen’s University. A Certified Health Executive and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, he holds designations from the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Ontario College of Teachers. He has 24 years of senior executive experience in healthcare, as president of Laurentian University, as Assistant Deputy Minister with the Ontario Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and in two Ontario school boards. A former Chair-Elect of Universities Canada and school board chair in Ottawa, he served on or led more than a dozen other boards in health, education, mining, public policy, and community development, and has served on advisory panels for the Bank of Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Finance, The Globe and Mail, Hydro One, and the Mowat Centre.