SLMHC announces retirement of President and CEO, appointment of new President and CEO

Tim Brody - Editor

Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre’s (SLMHC) Board of Directors have announced the retirement of Heather Lee as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SLMHC and the appointment of new President and CEO Douglas Semple.
“We appreciate and are grateful for Heather’s leadership,” Board Chair Sadie Maxwell stated in a June 16 posting to the health centre’s website (https://bit.ly/3QyfBFn). “She was committed to SLMHC’s Statement of Mission, Vision, and Values (MVV). Her commitment to the MVV provided the path for our hospital to continue the journey towards having high quality care for the patients we serve. Her dedication and leadership will be missed.”
“Heather Lee joined SLMHC in 2012 and served and advanced through the roles of Director of Patient Care, Vice President Health Services & Chief Nursing Executive, and finally President and Chief Executive Officer. Heather was dedicated to the provision of high-quality, culturally safe care for all residents in SLMHC’s catchment area. Her passion for individualized care that is patient and family focused, integrated and innovative, aligned well with SLMHC’s objective of Excellence Every Time,” SLMHC shared, thanking Lee for, “her excellence, service and leadership and wishes her all the best in her retirement.”
SLMHC’s Board of Directors announced that Douglas Semple is appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of SLMHC.
“The board is pleased to announce that Douglas Semple is the new President and CEO of the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre,” Board Chair Sadie Maxwell stated. “We are confident that Douglas will continue to provide the leadership he exemplified as advisor for the board and our senior management team over the last number of years. We are pleased he has agreed to be our CEO and we are excited to move forward under Douglas’ leadership.”
SLMHC shared that Semple is a proud member of Kasabonika Lake First Nation in Northern Ontario.
“He was on the founding senior management group of SLMHC as Vice President of Corporate Services and Communications in the early 2000’s. In recent years, he has served as the First Nations Advisor to the SLMHC Board and CEO.
“As with his peers, Douglas is a survivor of the Federal Government’s residential schools policy. Earlier in his life, he decided this experience would not define who he is. This decision in no way meant he would forget or ignore the devastating impacts of the policy. He has put the courage and energy of this decision to a lifetime work of community development and making things better for people, particularly the Indigenous people,” SLMHC shared. 
“I am a proud Indigenous warrior who comes from the lands west of the First Nation community of Kasabonika. The group of people who call Croal Lake their homeland maintain they retain title to these lands,” Semple said. “This is who I am.”
Semple previously won the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation Emile Nakogee Award for Leadership, and the OHA’s Small, Rural and Northern Award of Excellence.
“SLMHC and its new President and CEO, Douglas Semple, are committed to advancing the organization’s Mission, Vision and Values and its journey to Excellence Every Time,” SLMHC concluded.