PEMBROKE – The Pembroke Regional Hospital’s Board of Directors is very pleased to announce the appointment of Sabine Mersmann as the hospital’s new President and CEO effective November 1st.
Mrs. Mersmann will replace Pierre Noel who is set to retire at the end of this year after 16 years in the role. Mr. Noel will continue in an advisory capacity during the months of November and December.
Mrs. Mersmann was educated as an Occupational Therapist in Germany, and moved to Canada in 1986. For 13 years she worked in various clinical roles as part of the team at Renfrew County’s Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) before being hired by PRH in 1999 as Director of the hospital’s new Rehabilitation program.
The next 13 years were spent in Clinical Director roles at PRH for a wide variety of programs. In addition, she helped to lead the major capital expansion in the early 2000s, while helping bring much-needed services closer to home such as cardiac rehab, systemic therapy and new programs serving our geriatric population.
In July 2012, Mrs. Mersmann moved into the position of Vice-President of Patient Services, Seniors, and Community Care where she has been a leader in quality and patient safety and was pivotal in the organization-wide implementation of Lean management. She also helped bring MRI technology to our region, developed ways in which to embed patient and family advisors into our care processes and continued to find ways to form community partnerships through initiatives like Health Links and the early development work for our area’s Ontario Health Team.
Since January 2021, Mrs. Mersmann has served as Senior Vice-President of Clinical and Support Services, Partnerships and Integration.
In addition to participating in, and chairing several regional and local committees, Mrs. Mersmann has led the COVID-19 response for the Pembroke Regional Hospital and served in regional roles on the Champlain incident command structure. She continues to support the development of the Ottawa Valley Ontario Health Team (OHT) as a member of the steering committee.
Married, with two adult children, Mrs. Mersmann is deeply committed to her community. She enjoys a variety of sports like running, cycling and skiing and enjoys the fun and community experience these sports provide.
“After holding a series of progressive leadership roles over the past 23 years, I feel privileged to have been selected as the next President and CEO of the Pembroke Regional Hospital,” Mrs. Mersmann said, adding that she cares deeply for people and the community she lives in.
“Over the years, our hospital has experienced great advancements in technology, significant improvements in the patient experience, continuous growth and many upgrades. I could not be more proud of our team and the work they have done collectively to ensure our community has the health care it needs and deserves,” she said.
Mrs. Mersmann added that while all of this progress has not come without challenges, particularly during the last several years, she is enthusiastic about the future of local health care and is excited to continue to be part of the hospital’s growth and the opportunities for greater local and regional collaboration and health system improvement through Ontario Health Teams.
Mrs. Mersmann’s professional skillset includes planning and results-oriented leadership, human resource and financial management, quality improvement and risk management, policy and contract development, program and project management, and partnership building.
Mrs. Mersmann’s appointment follows a robust search conducted by a CEO Selection Committee comprised of David Unrau (Board Chair), Richard Wilson (Past Board Chair), Sheila Clarke (Catholic Health Sponsors of Ontario Designate), Dean Sauriol (Board Vice-Chair), Mitchell Stillman (Board Director), Daniel Burke (Board Director) and Dr. Jack Kitts (Former CEO of The Ottawa Hospital who assisted with the second round of candidate interviews).
Board Chair David Unrau said the hospital had a strong response to the CEO opportunity with a total of 55 candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds and profiles expressing interest in the role.
“As part of the lengthy process for recruiting a new CEO, our Selection Committee had a long list of qualifications, skillsets and attributes that we were looking for in a candidate who would be able to lead our hospital into the future,” Mr. Unrau said.
“Sabine brings all of these to the table in addition to her expansive knowledge of the hospital and its needs as well as her involvement in the local, regional and provincial health system improvements.”
Mr. Unrau said that as the Board thanks Mr. Noel for his contributions, they look forward to working with Mrs. Mersmann in her new capacity.
