Head of adult critical care for Saskatoon Health Region appointed new chair of Saskatchewan’s Health Quality Council

Dr. Susan Shaw, a long-time champion for quality improvement and patient safety, has been appointed board chair of the province’s Health Quality Council (HQC) effective immediately. Shaw, who is head of adult critical care for Saskatoon Health Region, replaces Marlene Smadu, HQC board chair since 2008 and member since 2002.

Cecile Hunt, an existing HQC board member and chief executive officer of the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region, has been named vice-chair. She replaces Dr. Peter Barrett, who along with Smadu and Steven Lewis, chose not to seek reappointment after nine years of service. Daniel Fox, President Emeritus of the Milbank Memorial Fund, has been reappointed to the HQC board for another term.

Shaw says she’s excited and honoured by the opportunity. “HQC plays a unique role in this province,” says Shaw. “They are able to be curious, in a constructive way, about how we provide care to our patient, they provide expertise in analyzing data, they discover and share best practices from around the world, and they provide advice to the system on health policy.” One of the Council’s key roles, says Shaw, is working with health regions to equip frontline staff with tools and information to create solutions that make care better and safer for patients.

In addition to serving as physician co-lead on the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative, Shaw sits on her health region’s Quality and Safety Committee, and is physician lead on a Saskatoon Health Region taskforce examining the region’s hospital standardized mortality ratio data. HQC published a profile of Dr. Shaw in its newsletter, Qreview, in June 2008.

HQC is an independent agency that measures and reports on quality of care in Saskatchewan, promotes improvement, and engages its partners in building a better, safer health system for patients.

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