Outgoing hospital CEO Norah Holder reflects on the challenges, and what matters most in healthcare.
by Jessica Wortsman // Photography by Roger Klein
Norah Holder, President and CEO of Collingwood General and Marine Hospital, will be retiring in May after five years at the helm and more than 12 at CGMH. When asked what she’ll miss the most, Holder answered unequivocally, “The people. They are what bring me joy. I will miss watching people become fulfilled in their roles. I will miss mentoring.”
For Holder, healthcare has always been about the people. They are what have kept her dedicated to the profession for more than 40 years and about whom she worries the most these days.
“Right now, the biggest challenge is the health and wellness of our people. Healthcare workers are leaving because they’re exhausted, and they don’t feel valued and appreciated in many ways.”
That’s why, Holder says, it’s critical to focus on recruiting, but also on retaining the healthcare workers that the hospital has now. Before her departure, she’s determined to implement a health and wellness program for her staff but points out that we, too, can make a big impact.
“It’s the small things that really matter,” says Holder. “If you see someone you know that works in healthcare, say thank you.”
“This is one of the most giving communities that I’ve ever worked in,” says Holder. “The hospital means so much to them, they value it, and they are so generous.”
Reflecting on the challenges of the last couple of years, Holder admits it’s been difficult. Meeting the needs of patients, staff and the community in an infrastructure that is too small and too old has required frequent and creative efforts to reshuffle and reprioritize. With the population of Collingwood, Wasaga and the Town of The Blue Mountains growing faster than the hospital can accommodate, she worries how it will manage until the completion of the redevelopment, which will take years. But she’s quick to emphasize that the building is not what matters most.
“The hospital doesn’t define us. It’s our people,” she says. “It’s our people who provide the service and it’s our people who make the innovations so that we can manage to provide high-quality care.”
It’s also the people of this community that Holder cites as helping to ensure that CGMH can provide such quality of care.
“This is one of the most giving communities that I’ve ever worked in,” says Holder. “The hospital means so much to them, they value it, and they are so generous.”
It’s due to this generosity, she adds, that CGMH has been the vanguard of many innovative programs, such as being one of the first hospitals in Ontario to establish a mental health response unit working with the OPP and being the first one in Canada to offer self-sanitizing patient rooms.
As for what comes next, Holder has plans to continue giving back to her community. She’ll also spend time doing what she loves most—gardening, swimming, hiking the trails with her dogs and cheering on her favourite lacrosse team. Most importantly, she’ll have the time to reconnect with family and friends.
The demands of her career and the pace of the last two years have meant limited free time but for Holder, it’s all been worth it. Her work in healthcare has been the most fulfilling and rewarding of careers. From her start as a neonatal and operating room nurse, to her time teaching, followed by roles in the development of vital hospital programs and senior administration, she is grateful to have had the opportunity to make a positive impact on people’s lives.
“It’s a privilege to be able to be in service. I am so privileged to have had this role.”
