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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2011-07-13, Page 5with Signal -Star • Wednesday, July 13, 2011 r CEO Bill it was all about the people :IGH administrator titires to finally land gone es Signal -Star ill `-1hihert, ft was always about pie. " rotiring CEO of Alexandra and (general Hospital is to put the politics and finan- ting of health administration 'lint and as of Juane 30, he had sh to catch. i)olitety and humbler accepted gifts and kind words from hospital board members on official day of work, Thibert uunisce about the important s to the health facility or the n of the latestmedical tech- )r equipment, his memories arly focRsed on eight years of ig a family and team at r was fitting that the cvremo- e cutting and parting friendly m staff were administered in *liars cafeteria, environs that t openly admitted he. fre- with some regularity. Baily enjoyed my tf nne here, staff gathered for the final „l won't miss the politics, 1 tniss the staff, You are the want to be with. You worked and created a family envi- t here and you have treated , well. 1 will be visiting for tests and will be a good cus the lab." family roots deeply wed in the health care system, r was a physician of 42 years 1 )ieu Grace Hospital in Wind- Iris mother a nurse,. Bill was 1 tor a career in health care. It ural twists and turns across • 'we before the Thiberts, wife 1 sons Rill, Michael and Dan - ed in Goderich, where eight s9 rvice represents his longest • record of service. +,riginaily thinking of getting. brine;' he recalled. "1 would r r nds with my dad and at 161 )1) in .the hospital, so i was the environment" ray into the world of medi- him- to the nursing program iiversity of Windsor and later, • th a BSC degree in Nursing, (lit straight into the Masters of Health Administration at entity of Toronto. . envisioned that I might be at a hospital at some point In er but wasn't exactly sure when, he said. "My first job e Director of Medical Record to General, a 600 bed hospi- I managed a staff of 35." Retired at last • Dave Sykes Goderich Signal -Star AMGH CEO Bill Thibert retired June 30 and his eight-year career at the hospital was celebrated by staff and hospital and foundation board members at a special presentation in the hospital's cafeteria. Bill is picture with many staff members and cul the ceremonial retirement cake with wife, Ines. The managerial role helped bolster his confidence and served as a foun- dation for his future in administra- tion. He had the opportunity to inter- act with physicians and gained "experience in the trenches" With reorganization came a two- year stint as the Executive Assistant to Medical Services and another two years of service as Executive Assistant Hospital and Financial Services where Thibert was exposed to every facet of a hospital's operation from security and housekeeping to main- tenance and dietary. The experience landed him the position of Executive Director of the Sarnia and District Children's Treat- ment Centre, an out-patient and rehabilitation facility. With most of his family in the Windsor area, the location and job responsibilities suited Thibert at the time and he worked in Sarnia for six years. "We (family) were in Sarnia for six years and it was quite a neat place," he said. "1 got to interact with kids and it was a hands-on job: l was bet- ter suited to the small hospital envi- ronment and I did everything with the kids from carving pumpkins to school plays:' It was Bill's willingness to interact with staff and patients that endeared him to the staff and communities where he worked. He was never afraid to put himself in the line of fire fora head shaving or an on-stage performance with employee Mary Smith at a benefit concert; to raise needed funds for medical equipment or to improve the profile of the hospi- tal an(' is supporting boards to meet the needs of the local healthcare system. . His experience in Sarnia led to his hiring as the CEO at Seaforth Public Hospital in 1992, a community he cared for and made an impact in. "We had eight doctors and were operating satellite clinics and doing successful recruitment but when talks of closure of mall hospitals sur- faced 1 wondered what my place would be in a single administrative structure for the eight hospitals in the area: he said. NI wondered what my role might be in that structure and took a look at the market" The market led him to Campbell- ford in 1998 where he administered a hospital of 41 beds. But the Thiberts always held a soft • spot for this area of Ontario and :when a position became available in Goderich, it was a fortui- tous meeting with Mary Lapaine, who was the chair of Ontario Hospital Association at the time; that alerted Bill to a posi-. tion at AMGH. "We always identified with Goderich and had itin the back of our mind to return to the area," he said. His eight years in Goderich as CEO of AMGH represents his longest term of service in any one location. While the challenges were significant, the rewards of building a formidable management team and competent staff were satisfying. "lhe partnership had folded and I was able to create a management team here and everyone started working together; he said. "We built a team here. Once we were out of the partnership, there was a real morale issue but now staff had access to on site management and we could progress and concentrate on our hos- pital and issues." • The fire and Life Safety issue chal- lenged both the resources of the hospital administration, its staff and patients of the facility. The multi -mil - tion dollar retrofit to bring the hospi- tal ospi-tal up to fire and safety standards, proved to be the ultimate team - building and exercise in patience that tested the capabilities of all involved. "That was a significant issue and every department was closed and relocated at sorne time in the proc- ess. We had to spend capital dollars and appeal to the government for funding: he said. "It would never have been accomplished without the patience and co-operation of the amazing staff here. They truly per- formed and pulled together. I am so -grateful for that." With hose challenges now behind him and mere footnotes to a success- ful 32 -year career in health adminis- tration, Bill Thibert is after bigger fish. Somewhere on the open water a big fish is preseti1ng the ultimate challenge.