Frequently Asked Questions
Please select a category:
General / Governance Centre of Excellence
Governance Leadership Council (GLC)
Guide to Good Governance
Resources / Tools / Templates
Conference Information / Registration
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:
General / Governance Centre of Excellence:
Q: What is the Governance Centre of Excellence?
The Governance Centre of Excellence (GCE) provides a broad range of relevant services and educational programs including online resources and tools for health care trustees.
Q: How do I contact the Governance Centre of Excellence?
Ontario Hospital Association
200 Front Street West, Suite 2800
Toronto, ON M5V 3L1
Tel: 416-205-1362
Fax: 416-205-1340
Email: gce@oha.com
www.gce-oha.com
Q: How do I request information about the Governance Centre of Excellence?
Information can be obtained by calling 416-205-1362 or by sending an email to gce@oha.com.
Governance Leadership Council (GLC):
Q: What is the Governance Leadership Council and what do they do?
The Governance Leadership Council (GLC) is a 13 member panel that provides external expert advice and counsel to the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) Board of Directors on strategies designed to advance excellence in health care governance and to ensure ongoing improvement of OHA’s governance education programs and resources.
Q: Who is on the Governance Leadership Council?
David A. Brown, Q.C.
Chair, Governance Leadership Council
Deputy Chair, University Health Network
Valmay Barkey
Trustee, Ross Memorial Hospital Board of Governors
Executive Director, Community Care, City of Kawartha Lakes
Jalynn H. Bennett
Director, Hospital for Sick Children Foundation
President, Jalynn H. Bennett and Associates Limited, Toronto
Gail Cook-Bennett
Chairperson, CPP Investment Board
Carol Hansell
Partner
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Claude Lamoureux
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, Toronto
Virginia McLaughlin
Board Member, Bloorveiw Kids Rehab
Past Board Chair, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto
Past Chair, Governance Leadership Council
Ex-Officio OHA Officers:
Mark Rochon
Chair, Ontario Hospital Association
President & CEO, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
Teddene Long
Board Member, The Change Foundation
Trustee, York Central Hospital
Hilary Short
President & CEO, Ontario Hospital Association
Murray Temple
Chair, OHA Governance Committee
Chair, Board of Directors, Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital
Q:How are the members chosen?
Nine members are appointed annually by the OHA Board of Directors in accordance with board protocol.
In addition, the OHA Board Chair, the Chair of the OHA Governance Committee, the OHA President & CEO, and a representative from The Change Foundation Board serve as ex-officio, voting members of the GLC. The Chair of the GLC is appointed by the OHA Board.
Guide to Good Governance:
Q: What is the Guide to Good Governance and why was it developed?
OHA’s Guide to Good Governance, released in 2005, is designed to support OHA’s mandate to promote and foster excellence in health care governance. The Guide provides practical advice in implementing the recommendations contained in “Hospital Governance and Accountability in Ontario”, published in April, 2004, and thus contains a comprehensive overview of the key components of good governance practices, as well as templates and tools to support these practices.
Q: Who wrote the Guide to Good Governance?
Anne Corbett, a Senior Partner with the law firm of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Toronto where she specializes in the areas of corporate commercial law and health law with a special emphasis on corporate governance. Anne is involved in providing advice to boards of hospitals, hospital foundations, not-for-profit corporations and pension administrators with respect to governance issues.
Jim Mackay, the Managing Partner of the Berkeley Consulting Group, focuses on strategic change management and counseling organizational leaders. Jim leads strategic change projects, and provides leadership feedback and executive coaching to global private sector and public sector clients. Jim is also an Adjunct Professor of Strategic Management at the Schulich School of Business, (York University).
For a full biography of each author, click here.
Q: How can I purchase the Guide to Good Governance?
The Guide can be purchased online at www.gce-oha.com. Visit the GCE Publications for Sale page.
Resources / Tools / Templates
Q: What resources are available to me as trustee?
GCE offers many resources, such as conferences and courses to maintain and increase a trustee’s knowledge of governance issues.
GCE offers several publications for sale through the GCE Publications for Sale page.
The Guide to Good Governance Templates are available electronically for Board use.
Template such as:
- Sample Board Accountability Statement from a Community Hospital
- Sample Statement of the Roles and Responsibilities of the Board
- Sample Hospital Governance Audit Questionnaire
Check out our Resources and References page.
Conference Information / Registration
Q: Where do I find a calendar of events?
Visit the Conference Calendar section of the website.
Q: How can I register for a Governance Centre of Excellence conference / program?
There are four easy ways to register:
- Online registration at www.gce-oha.com
- By Fax: 416-205-1340
- Email: sramlal@oha.com
- Mail: Complete a registration form and together with your payment, mail to:
Educational Services
Ontario Hospital Association
200 Front Street West, Suite 2800
Toronto ON M5V 3L1
Q: How do I know if my health care employer (hospital) is an OHA member?
All hospitals in Ontario are members of the OHA.
Q: How do I request information about GCE Conferences?
Please send an email to gce@oha.com with your request
Q: When will I receive the speaker’s material for the conference?
Conference materials, including name badges and speaker handouts will be available for pick up on site the day of the conference.
Q: If I am unable to attend the conference day and have previously registered, will I get a refund?
Notice of Cancellation must be given 3 working days prior to the date of program. An administration fee of 50% of the registration fee will apply to all refunds. Registrants who fail to attend the program or cancel after the deadline date shall be liable for the entire fee. Substitutions are always welcome.
Q: What if there is an emergency at the hospital or a family crisis?
In this case, please call OHA at 416-205-1362 and the situation will be reviewed on an individual basis.
Q: Where are the programs held?
Programs are held in Toronto and regionally throughout the province.
Q: Can I have a program in my area?
Absolutely. GCE plans to schedule these courses around the province and would be pleased to provide a program in your area upon request. Please contact Josie Mazzola, Program Planner at 416-205-1356 or via email at jmazzola@oha.com.
Q: How does the new curriculum work?
The principles for the design of the new program and the courses within are as follows:
Trustees take what they need at the right time; that is, trustees take an appropriate course to meet their specific needs at their stage of development. As, and if, they progress, they take the courses they feel they need in order to meet the new challenges facing them, e.g. chairing a committee, leading the board, etc.
The programs are designed so that there are courses or conferences to meet the most common needs of trustees over their life-cycle.
A certificate will be granted to those completing each course successfully. That certificate would signify that the person is prepared to serve in the capacity covered by the course.
Certificates for individual courses will replace the previous two-level credential programs.
Q: Based on the old curriculum, is my Level I and Level II credential valid?
Although the curriculum has been revised, each credential continues to be valid. The credentials acknowledge the person’s commitment to leadership and development as a health care trustee.
Since many people have and are maintaining a credential, and others are working toward them, a transitional approach has been implemented.
Until January 2008, any new governance course will be accepted as a qualifying credit towards maintaining or completing a credential.
For those in the process of achieving Level I, which requires the completion of two courses, the new Advanced Certificate in Board Governance course will be equivalent to the Effective Health Care Governance as the core course for Level I.
Those in the process of achieving Level II, i.e. have their Level I designation, will be required to take an additional three courses from the new curriculum.
Q: Are the courses compulsory?
Courses are not compulsory. However, some hospitals have strongly encouraged their trustees to complete OHA’s governance courses. Other hospitals, such as Leamington District Memorial Hospital have mandated that new trustees now complete the OHA’s Essentials Certificate in Health Care Governance course within the first year of serving on the Board.