Residents interested in having an impact on the delivery of local health care services are being invited to consider joining Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) in west Northumberland as a community member representative on its board of directors.
The NHH board is inviting expressions of interest from Northumberland residents who have an interest in volunteering. To that end, the board is hosting a virtual board volunteer open house on Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m., which will be accessible through Zoom.
Jennifer Gillard, NHH’s vice-president of patient experience, public affairs and strategic partnerships, said being a board member is an interesting and important role.
“There are many volunteer opportunities in Northumberland, and all bring their own unique rewards,” Gillard told kawarthaNOW. “Hospital board governance is truly unique. It’s an opportunity to be part of shaping the oversight and growth of an institution that, over time, touches the lives of virtually all of us.”
The NHH board is made up of a diverse mix of local volunteers who bring their skills and work and life experiences to the governance of the hospital. The board is comprised of volunteers drawn from around west Northumberland County. Volunteers work to enable the board to meet the responsibilities expected of it in the province of Ontario.
These responsibilities include providing strategic direction to the hospital’s management team, selecting the CEO and chief of staff and evaluating performance, providing oversight to the physician credentialing process, and monitoring the operational and financial performance of the hospital.
“The role of the local hospital board is critical, very interesting and, as current directors will speak to at the upcoming open house, very rewarding,” Gillard said.
As a key part of its commitment to providing meaningful opportunities for public input into the NHH board’s decision-making processes, and as a method of succession planning for the board, the NHH board of directors regularly recruits community members to serve on the board’s committees for quality and safety, governance, and facilities and campus development.
In addition, community members attend and participate in full board discussions.
Community members serve up to five one-year terms. While the individual time commitment may vary from year to year and committee to committee, as a general practice the expectation for community members is participation in one committee meeting and one full board meeting — about two hours each, or four hours in total — every other month, from September through June.
Board business is conducted with a mix of virtual and in-person meetings which generally fall in the early morning and early evening.
Community members may be appointed to the board as a director when a vacancy occurs.
The skills, interests, and lived experience of each member will be matched with the board needs at the time and as documented in board by-laws, with an aim to ensure representation from across the west Northumberland region that NHH serves, the hospital noted in a media release.
The NHH board says it is committed to the hospital’s core values of integrity, quality, respect, compassion, and teamwork.
“We are pleased to once again host our annual virtual board volunteer open house and highlight the many rewarding volunteer opportunities available with NHH’s hospital board,” said Cyndi Gilmer, NHH board chair, in extending the 2025 call for interest. “Over the past three years, we have been able to connect with and recruit many talented and dedicated residents through these virtual open house opportunities. Our aim is to raise awareness and interest.”
Those passionate about making a difference in the quality and service of health care in west Northumberland County, are encouraged to review the expression of interest form and related frequently asked questions document, which are available on the hospital’s website at nhh.ca/AboutNHH/BoardofDirectors.
