On behalf of VHA’s Board of Directors, it gives me great pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr. Kathryn Nichol as the new President and CEO of VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) effective March 1, 2021.

Kathryn is a familiar member of the VHA family, having joined the organization in 2016 as Vice President, Quality, Best Practice, Research and Education and Chief Nursing Executive. The Board has great confidence in Kathryn’s ability to steer VHA forward during this unique time, and that her expertise, drive and compassionate approach will position VHA well to build on its strong 96-year tradition of providing high quality care with great heart to vulnerable populations in Ontario.

“It is my honour and privilege to assume the role of CEO at VHA,” said Dr. Kathryn Nichol. “I have the great fortune to already know what a spectacular team VHA has and to also know the importance and tremendous value of our meaningful collaboration with so many partners across the sector. I am excited about the opportunities ahead to advance our goals to make care better for the clients and families we are proud to serve, to ensure our team has the support they need and to champion home care during this time of change, while continuing to focus on keeping everyone as safe as possible during the pandemic.”

Throughout her career, Kathryn has demonstrated her commitment to client and family-centred care; her engagement in building partnerships; her focus on supporting and inspiring teams; and her effective advancement of research, innovation, best practice and service excellence. To mention just a few examples: she has designed strategies with caregivers and families to help improve home safety for clients living with dementia, has worked collaboratively with Ontario Health Team partners to drive system transformation through quality and infection prevention and control best practices, and is leading research on the health and wellness of nurses and interprofessional teams.

Over this past year, Kathryn has led VHA’s organization-wide crisis response to the pandemic with unwavering, cooperative and solution-focused leadership. She has collaborated with partners to drive knowledge-sharing and best practice as home care lead at the Toronto Regional Ontario Health Pandemic Planning and Preparedness Table, as co-lead for the Toronto Service Provider Organization Pandemic Stakeholder group, and as co-chair for Sick Kids Hospital’s development of return-to-school guidelines for children with complex medical needs. She also Chairs the Research Advisory Council for The Institute for Education Research at the Michener Institute at University Health Network (UHN), is an Assistant Professor in the Masters of Public Health program at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, and prior to joining VHA, she directed research and innovation at UHN and Sunnybrook.

The dedication, generosity, ingenuity and compassion that have been the hallmarks of our sector’s coordinated response to the pandemic have been truly inspiring. We have shared learning through regional and provincial planning table discussions and rolled up our sleeves on initiatives to keep everyone safe. We have rapidly advanced virtual care, accelerated different models of care, focused on research initiatives and found innovative ways to support our most vulnerable populations. The collaborative partnership through integrated care initiatives and with partners in the 12 Ontario Health Teams that VHA is actively involved in, and the creative approaches to supporting our teams and making care better for the clients and families we are proud to serve fuel our drive for system transformation and will continue to guide our work as key components of VHA’s Strategic Plan 2020-2025: CARE to Transform.

As we look forward to all VHA can achieve under Kathryn’s leadership, we also want to recognize and express our deep appreciation for the accomplishments of VHA’s outgoing CEO Carol Annett. Through Carol’s time as CEO, VHA has become a force of positive change in Ontario’s home and health care sector, an organization that is well known for its great care, for being a collaborative trusted partner and a champion of amplifying the voices of clients and families in care design and delivery. Carol is very pleased that Kathryn will be VHA’s new CEO. “Having worked with her for the past four and a half years, I know Kathryn is passionate about making our vision a reality – high quality care delivered with great heart for every person, every time, everywhere,” shared Carol Annett. “Kathryn is a true champion of our hard-working teams and is committed to advancing a better health care system for all with our partners.” We are grateful that Carol will remain in her role until the end of February to ensure a smooth transition. We look forward to celebrating Carol’s many contributions with all of you and will be back in touch soon with further details.

Thank you for your support of VHA’s new CEO and for your ongoing partnership as we work together to make care better for the people of Ontario.

Be well,

Karen Singh
Board Chair
VHA Home HealthCare