After being appointed as acting medical officer of health and CEO of the Haliburton Kawartha Northumberland Peterborough (HKNP) Health Unit, Dr. Thomas Piggott held a virtual media conference on Monday (February 10) along with the new board of health’s chair and vice-chair to share more about information about his new role at the helm of the newly merged health unit.
Dr. Piggott’s position will be an acting role until a new employment agreement is finalized and Ontario’s health minister officially signs off on the board’s appointment.
“It’s really an honour — I’m humbled and excited to support our whole new merged health unit geography as the legacy of (Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit) and (Peterborough Public Health) come together,” Dr. Piggott said.
The board of health for the HKNP Health Unit announced last Tuesday (February 4) that Dr. Piggott, previously the medical officer of health and CEO for Peterborough Public Health, will be assuming the same roles for the new health unit, subject to the Minister of Health’s approval.
Dr. Natalie Bocking, previously medical officer of health and CEO for the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, will be the deputy medical officer of health for the merged health unit.
During the media conference, Selwyn Township deputy mayor and board of health chair Ron Black shared some details about the process of selecting a leader for the new merged health unit, including how Dr. Piggott was chosen to take the lead after he and Dr. Bocking both applied for the position.
Over the past year, a joint merger steering committee was responsible for decisions around merger activities, including the selection of the new leadership.
“We certainly had two great leaders in their respective health units,” Black noted. “As we got closer to the merger decision, we were unable to make a decision.”
The merger committee, with the support of both boards, asked the province and Ontario’s chief medical officer of health for assistance in choosing the new medical officer of health and CEO. The leadership selection committee was comprised of professionals including board of health members as well as provincial leads.
Discussion centred around core competencies, which helped shape interview questions for the candidates and questions for their references. The selection process included a complex scoring matrix, which involved waiting for information around competencies.
“After all the processes were completed, Dr. Piggott was deemed to be the successful candidate to lead the new health unit,” Black concluded.
“Dr. Piggott brings excellent knowledge of our community and public health to the role, and we are confident that our mandate of protecting and promoting the health of all residents will be met and exceeded upon,” he shared earlier in a statement.
With Dr. Bocking serving as deputy minister of health, “there really is an intention to have a second public health position role within the organization,” Black said, noting more detail would be forthcoming.
For his part, Dr. Piggott said, “I’m privileged and honoured to help lead the new health unit in the first year of the merger. It’s very early in the journey, and as you can imagine, a very stressful time for everyone.”
A public health and preventive medicine specialist as well as a family physician, Dr. Piggott joined Peterborough Public Health as medical officer of health and CEO in December 2021, following the retirement of Dr. Rosana Salvaterra.
During those early days, the father of a then-newborn daughter recalls swaddling her during teleconference calls as she was born during the pandemic. Piggott’s wife is also a family physician, and they now have a second young daughter.
“They keep me really busy,” he said. “They’re a source of constant joy but also an inspiration to help (keep) working to make our communities a better, healthier place into the future.”
His family enjoys the outdoors and spends time at the family cottage in the Minden area and has relatives in the Kawartha Lakes area. Dr. Piggott enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and other activities in all of the geographic area covered by the HKNP Health Unit.
Prior to joining Peterborough Public Health, Dr. Piggott served as the medical officer of health of Labrador-Grenfell Health in the northern regions of Labrador, where he also served as the executive lead for population health and rural and remote health in the region. Earlier in his career, he worked as a field doctor with Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
As medical officer of health and CEO for the HKNP Health Unit, Dr. Piggott will be working to design senior leadership team responsibilities and the design of a second public health physician position, which is part of a plan for strengthened medical coverage for the new organization.
The boards of health for the two previous health units had voluntarily considered a merger for some time, in response to an offer from the provincial government for additional one-time funding for health units that decide to merge. The merger, which took effect January 1, will see the HKNP Health Unit receive $10.1 million in new provincial funding.
Although the legal name of the merged health unit is Haliburton Kawartha Northumberland Peterborough Health Unit, the original health units remain operational with no immediate impact on programs and services provided to the public. Later in the year, the merged health unit will announce its official business name and branding.
