The new approach to medical leadership aims to provide clarity, consistency and regionally integrated medical leadership across Island Health.
Key Components
The new medical leadership model entails several key changes to improve clarity, collaboration, and local support, key changes include:
- Each medical staff member will now belong to one department only, based on their primary college and training.
- Departments represent broad disciplines (e.g., Surgery, Pediatrics), while divisions reflect clinical specialties within those departments.
- All divisions are now regional rather than site or geography-based.
- Most leadership roles will combine governance, quality, and operational responsibilities.
- Medical leader journey (recruitment, onboarding, continuous leadership development, and offboarding) processes are clearly defined and enhanced.
- Medical staff have access to clear connection points for support, governance, and quality improvement. More info here Go-To-Contacts.
Changes to Acute Structure:
- A new role, the Site Chief, has been created to serve as the department’s service lead at each site, providing hands-on support with day-to-day issues, HR, scheduling, and system navigation.
- Chiefs of Staff and Site Chiefs will take on a greater role in local operations, empowering them to better support medical staff.
Changes to Community Structure:
- The Community Medical Director role will oversee operations and governance of owned and operated community sites within the designated CLHA region, and enable collaboration and transition between Community, Long-Term Care, and Acute settings.
The Departmental Structure
- Departments are defined by specific colleges and residency training. Every Department has one Department Head.
- Divisions are clinically defined specialty groups within a Department. All Division Heads are regional roles – each division is overseen by one Division Head.
- Stand-Alone Division: Where medical staff from more than one department are working in the same field, there will be a Stand-Alone Division.
Ex: Adult Critical Care, Trauma, Addictions Medicine, Multidisciplinary & Interventional Pain, Palliative Medicine. - Sections are created only for highly specialized sub-groups within a Division.
For illustrative purposes only:
Medical Leadership Roles
| ROLE | MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES | REPORTING TO | MEMBER OF COMMITTEES |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER (CMO)/ VICE PRESIDENT (VP) |
Sets long-term vision and overall strategy for medical services across Island Health. Leads quality, planning, workforce, and system-wide improvement. | President & CEO | HAMAC, ICGC, ELT |
| EXECUTIVE MEDICAL DIRECTOR (EMD) | Oversees consistent operations across regions. Leads system-wide planning, workforce strategy, and quality priorities. | CMO | HAMAC, ICGC, CLHA Council (Chair) |
| CHIEF OF STAFF | Oversees operational performance of their site, ensuring smooth daily operations and addressing challenges. Manages physician issues, contracts, and site-level planning and quality. | EMD | LMAC (Chair), Acute Q&Op (Co-chair), HAMAC, CLHA Council |
| SITE CHIEF *NEW ROLE* |
Provides service-level leadership and supports provision of high-quality team based care. Leads day-to-day service delivery. Brings forward local needs and issues, supports recruitment and privileging processes. | Chief of Staff (Dotted line to Dept Head); Collaborates with Division Heads |
LMAC, Acute Q&Op, CARE Network |
| DEPARTMENT HEAD | Leads strategic planning and quality improvement for the department. Oversees practice standards, performance, credentialling & privileging and CPD. | EMD | HAMAC, CARE Network (Chair), ICGC, Dept Head Council, Dept Meetings (Chair) |
| DIVISION HEAD/SECTION HEAD | Leads their specialty area. Oversees local quality improvement, supports workforce planning and CPD. | Department Head | CARE Network/Specialty Service Area, Division Meetings (Chair), Dept Meeting |
| COMMUNITY MEDICAL DIRECTOR | Provides CLHA-level leadership for Island Health owned and operated community sites, as well as enables collaboration and transition between Community and Acute settings. Liase and foster relationships with key community partners. | EMD | Community Q&Ops Committee (Co-Chair), CLHA Council |
| COMMUNITY MEDICAL LEAD | Provide site-level leadership and operational oversight for owned and operated community sites. | Community Medical Director | Community Q&Ops |
Reporting Structure
Regional
- Executive Medical Directors, reporting to CMO/VP, maintain oversight of operations across regions and provide support to Department Heads, Chiefs of Staff, and Community Medical Directors.
- Department and Division Heads maintain accountability for clinical standards and training, and oversee the affiliated clinical program or service.
- Departments and Divisions collaborate (dotted-line relationship) with Site Chiefs to ensure consistent practice standards and high quality of care across sites.
Acute Structure
- Chiefs of Staff provides site-level leadership and oversees operational performance of their site. They enable and support Site Chiefs in providing high-quality team based care.
- Site Chiefs report to the Chief of Staff at each hospital.
- Site Chiefs collaborate closely with appropriate Division Heads and/or Department Heads on recruitment, privileging and CPD activities among others.
Community Structure
- Community Medical Directors provides CLHA-level leadership for Island Health owned and operated community sites, as well as enables collaboration and transition between Community and Acute settings.
- Site Medical Leads, report to Community Medical Director, and provide site-level leadership and operational oversight for the community sites, such as UPCCs, owned and operated Long-Term Care centres, and Health Care Centres.
More Information
- Jump to Go-To-Contacts for more details.