Mark Farrow joins northwest Ontario hospitals as CIO

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Bridge Northwest is pleased to welcome Mark Farrow (pictured) as the interim regional chief information officer (CIO) with Northwestern Ontario Hospitals. Mark is a seasoned digital strategist and technical executive leader with an expansive career in healthcare and technology.

He brings extensive experience in implementing innovative information systems, leading large-scale IT transformations, and advancing digital health through initiatives such as MEDITECH Expanse, cybersecurity programs, and AI-based health solutions.

Mark’s first involvement with the region came during the Bridge Northwest Scoping Workshop, held in partnership with ONE Health Information Technology Services late October in Thunder Bay. The event brought together teams from across Canada to review and refine the Scope Statements — key documents that define which modules and functionalities will be implemented at each partner organization.

Together, participants ensured the incredible work completed by our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) during content validation was accurately captured. These Scope Statements will lay the foundation for building MEDITECH Expanse for the Northwest Region.

In his interim role, Mark will collaborate with the Bridge Northwest team, ONE HITS, and hospital leadership across Northwestern Ontario to advance the implementation of MEDITECH Expanse and support regional opportunities for alignment, shared services, and IT/IS modernization.

From December 2022 to December 2024, Mark served as chief information officer and chief privacy officer at Oak Valley Health. As a member of the senior leadership team, responsible for Information Technology, Telecommunications and Privacy portfolios across three sites. Reporting to the vice president corporate affairs and CFO, led a team of 52 staff and with an operating budget of $15 million. Staff resource to the audit and finance committee, regularly presenting information technology, privacy and cybersecurity updates.

Earlier, he worked in senior management roles at Hamilton Health Sciences for over 20 years.