New Medical Leadership Model

Key Components:

The new medical leadership model entails several key changes to improve clarity, collaboration, and local support:

  • 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, ensuring a more integrated and efficient approach across the organization.
  • 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.

Changes to Acute Structure:

  • *NEW* Site Chief, has been created to serve as the department’s service leader at each site, providing hands-on support with day-to-day issues, HR, scheduling, recruitment 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:

  • Clarifying and standardizing the Community Medical Director role, which will oversee the operations and governance of owned and operated community sites within the designated CLHA region, and enables 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.
  • *NEW* Stand-Alone Division: Where medical staff from more than one department are working in the same field, there will be a Stand-Alone Division. Approved Stand-Alone Divisions:
    • Adult Critical Care
    • Trauma
    • Addictions Medicine
    • Multidisciplinary & Interventional Pain
    • Palliative Medicine.

  • Sections are created only for highly specialized sub-groups within a Division.

Medical Leadership Roles: 

ROLE MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
 		 REPORTING TO MEMBER OF COMMITTEES
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER (CMO)/
VICE PRESIDENT (VP)		 Sets long-term visio​n 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 with Site Chiefs to ensure consistent practice standards and high quality of care across sites.
  • Download a graphic General Acute Structure
  • View specific departmental structures here: Resources

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.
  • Download a graphic General Acute Structure
  • View specific site ​structures here: Resources

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.
  • Download a graphic GeneralCommunityStructure.pdf
  • View specific community structures here: Resources​​
     

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