Cancer agency CEO to lead Sask. Health Authority

The head of the new Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has been named.

Scott Livingstone will serve as the CEO for the newly amalgamated authority. He’s been leading the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency as president and CEO since April 2010. Before that, he served as CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Information Network, now eHealth Saskatchewan.

“Scott is passionate about health care, and brings a strong patient focus to this new role,” said board chair Dick Carter in a news release. “The board of directors is looking forward to working with Scott as we lead transformation across the health care system.”

Livingstone said he believes he can hit the ground running.

“I am excited and humbled by the opportunity to work with more than 40,000 dedicated health care providers and employees across the province as we build a new organization,” Livingstone said. “My immediate focus will be working with the board on in-depth organizational planning, determining a launch date and recruiting a senior leadership team, to ensure we have a seamless transition on the first day of operations.”

He’s also encouraged by change, adding he looks forward to the opportunity the role presents to recreate the province’s health system from the ground up.

“Instead of inheriting an existing team I get the opportunity to build one,” he said.

Livingstone said the former model of 12 different health authorities can result in 12 different ways of doing things.

His new role was announced by Health Minister Jim Reiter at the legislature Wednesday. The minister also announced Dr. Preston Smith as a new member on the SHA’s Board of Directors. Smith is the Dean of the College of Medicine and Vice-Provost Health at the University of Saskatchewan.

That director position became vacant after former director Don Rae resigned once controversial comments were discovered on social media.

Livingstone becomes CEO when the Provincial Health Authority Act is proclaimed, making the Saskatchewan Health Authority official.

The current regional health authority CEOs still lead day-to-day operations until the Saskatchewan Health Authority launches, which is anticipated to happen in late fall 2017.