The new boss at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) is on the job and he has some lofty goals to improve the hospitals in Chatham and Wallaceburg.
New CKHA CEO Adam Topp was introduced to the local media on Friday afternoon and told reporters he is focused on improving the Chatham hospital and offering healthcare services beyond Chatham and Wallaceburg.
Topp said rural healthcare needs improvement and better integration.
"We haven't done a particularly good job of integrating hospitals and community and I think Chatham-Kent is a great place to show how that can be done," said Topp.
He also recognized that healthcare must be more efficient, but noted that spending in Canada is not out of control because the numbers don't back it up.
"In Canada, it tends to run about 10 or 11 per cent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), which is more than some of the other countries, but certainly less than the 18 per cent in the US," he said.
The new CEO also told reporters that the long waits at Emergency Departments are not the hospital's fault, but rather a health system problem.
"Emergency Departments are the canary in the coal mine for how full our system is and we'll get through that by collaborating with our communities to make sure that our hospital takes care of the patients that the hospital needs to and there's access in the community for the patients in the community when they need it," Topp said.
Topp also addressed why he left Manitoba Shared Health in April 2023 after only having served as its CEO for four months, saying he was in Manitoba for six years and accomplished everything he wanted to achieve there.
He said it's nice to return to his rural roots in Southwestern Ontario.