A familiar face in the community will take over leadership at Bluewater Health, effective January 1, 2023.
Paula Reaume-Zimmer is being promoted to President and CEO of the Sarnia and Petrolia sites, with the pending retirement of Mike Lapaine who has served in the roles since 2016.
During a virtual news conference on Monday, Reaume-Zimmer said she was thrilled, and excited to get started.
"I feel very overwhelmed today and extremely grateful that the board is placing its confidence in me as the next CEO," said Reaume-Zimmer. "I have had the fortune for the past five years to have Mike as our CEO and learn from him, and he's been an incredible mentor."
Bluewater Health Board Chair Margaret Dragan said Reaume-Zimmer was a great choice for the position.
"We're very pleased that we were able to find such a talented leader internally," said Dragan. "It was with unanimous support that the board named Paula as the new President and we're all thrilled. I could tell by the reaction from staff, that they are just as equally thrilled."
Reaume-Zimmer currently holds a dual role as Vice President of Integrated Services at Bluewater Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Lambton-Kent. She is also the CEO of Lambton Elderly Outreach (LEO).
Her professional career began as an inpatient psychiatric nurse, and she has held various roles in the mental health and addiction services sector, as well as emergency department leadership.
She has earned her Doctorate in Health Administration from Central Michigan University, and is also an alumna of the University of Toronto’s Rotman Advanced Health Leadership Program.
"When we think about resilience and understanding mental wellness, I've lived that for the past 30 years," she said. "I understand the impact that many life events have on our mental wellness, and I think that's going to be a front and centre responsibility for us as leaders to focus on."
Reaume-Zimmer said it's been a trying couple of years with COVID, and Bluewater Health is looking to build further resiliency among staff.
"We have to work very hard on how we are able to insert new energy and excitement into our organization while still delivering the quality patient care," she said. "We are definitely embarking on a new health information system. That's kind of on our doorstep and it will be a huge investment and change that our organization will have to prepare itself for."
Lapaine, meanwhile, joined Bluewater Health in 2008 as Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer.
During that time, he played an integral leadership role in overseeing the 2010 opening of the new Norman Street building at Bluewater Health in Sarnia, which was the largest public sector redevelopment project in Sarnia-Lambton’s history, as well as the amalgamation of Sarnia's two hospitals.
"My decision to retire was largely personal," said Lapaine. "I've had some instances in my personal life that have made me reflect on many things. The fact that I'm now 62-years-old means that I should think about the future a little bit with my family and my new grandchild. I feel very confident in Paula's ability to continue to steer the ship at Bluewater Health through the challenging times that healthcare finds itself in right now."
Bluewater Health said the next few months will be a transition period for Reaume-Zimmer to ease into the new role, which isn't expected to impact hospital operations.