Letter from our new CEO, Sumeet Kumar

I am extremely happy to join Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital (RLMCMH) as the new CEO. I take this opportunity to thank the Board of Directors and the hospital team, for welcoming me with open arms. Living in smaller communities has always fascinated me because I find people more hospitable and allows me to build a personal connection with everyone over time. I have already started to experience the positive interactions with the staff at the hospital.  

On a professional front, I bring with me over twenty-six years of experience across industry verticals. In healthcare, my experience spans across both rural and urban geographies in the areas of addictions and mental health, acute care, pediatrics, and seniors care.

At my last job with St. Joseph’s Care Group, I enabled their 480-bed long term care division Hogarth Riverview Manor (HRM) to emerge from the mandatory management order installed by the Ministry of Long-Term Care in 2017 wherein a third party was brought in to co-manage HRM's operations, through the establishment of a quality management system that embraced problem solving capability at the frontline, and embedded quality improvement into the fabric of the home.

Prior to St. Joseph’s Care Group, I worked at Sidra Medicine where I supported the greenfield 400-bed children’s tertiary hospital to activate operations and optimize processes by installing quality management practices previously implemented at SickKids.

At North Bay Regional Health Centre, I got an opportunity to support the amalgamation of two hospitals – a district general and a regional mental health hospital, by installing a robust foundation for change that enabled improved quality of care for the patients.

At Vancouver Coastal Health, I successfully implemented a regional integration project involving 6 urban and 2 rural hospitals that addressed the issue of emergency congestion, increased bed utilization to 94%, and improved patient flow in acute psychiatry.

My passion for organizational change, optimizing systems and processes, and in developing governance frameworks led me to publish ‘Courageous Leadership’, a book on leadership in healthcare excellence. In 2023, I am honoured to have received a national award in Healthcare Quality from 3M and the Canadian College of Healthcare Leaders.

On the personal side, I am an adventurous traveler, a family man, and like to play tennis, and swim. I hope living in Red Lake will allow me to develop new skills and love for fishing, golf, and outdoor winter sports.

I look forward to working with you all and wearing multiple hats, same as many of you do, to further our relations with the local and regional partners including physicians for operationalizing the Kiiwetinoong Healing Waters - Ontario Health Team, and for delivering safe, quality, and compassionate care to the residents of Red Lake, Ear Falls, and Wabauskang First Nations.

Sumeet Kumar President and CEO