Dear Drs. Jenkins and Voon and the South Island Facility Engagement Initiative (SIFEI) membership,
First and foremost, please accept my best wishes for a healthy and happy 2024. I am reaching out to you directly as I begin the new year in the position of Executive Medical Director, Medical Staff Governance in Medical and Academic Affairs. Improving our processes for governance, creating better representation for our medical staff at all levels, and making the system more fair and transparent are all priorities for me in this role.
Over the past few weeks, I have been connecting with Dr. Ian Thompson ahead of his retirement to learn about all the work that he has undertaken in this portfolio. This includes the work with several agreements under the Physician Master Agreement (PMA), including the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Regional and Local Engagement and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Physical and Psychological Health and Safety. With this work, we all share common a goal: working for a healthy and supported medical staff in an environment of kindness and understanding.
I am eager to continue the work of strengthening relationships between our health authority leaders and medical staff Island-wide, leveraging your input and feedback for current processes, and regularly engaging your membership so your views are represented in decision-making.
In this new role, I will be linked with the newly developed Medical Staff Partnerships & Communication portfolio to make more progress in these critical pieces of work. Many of you know that Alanna Black has taken on the role of Director, Medical Staff Partnerships and Communication, and I will be working closely with her in this capacity. We are building a dedicated team of individuals who are committed to collaborating with you to prioritize increased medical staff engagement and bi-directional communication.
As an early commitment to our collaboration, I would welcome the opportunity to meet your local medical staff at upcoming MSA or Advisory Committee meetings. I am also aware that in February 2024, the results of the annual Doctors of BC membership survey will be released. Thank you to all of you who took the time to complete the survey and share your thoughts. This survey is an important gauge of the status of our relationship with the health authority and a useful way to monitor any change or progress. Alanna and I would be happy to attend your local level Doctors of BC presentation to your membership to participate in real-time dialogue.
With the increased complexity of delivering health care in 2024, I feel strongly that we need to build resilient relationships and bolster our collaboration early and often. I am eager to discuss what that looks like from your perspective so we can rely on one another to continue problem-solving for the betterment of patient care.
I look forward to working with you this year.
Sincerely,
Dr Keith Menard
Medical Director, Medical Staff HR Planning
Vice-Chair, HAMAC
Chair, Medical Education Resource Committee
Island Health