Holland Bloorview is pleased to announce the appointment of Joanne Maxwell as interim lead, experience, transformation and social accountability (ETSA), effective December 11, 2023. Joining the senior management team, Joanne will hold direct accountability in a number of key areas, including client and family experience, client transitions, collaborative practice, health equity and clinical bioethics. Joanne will also be responsible for overseeing the Caring Safely and Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Anti-racism (IDEAA) programs at Holland Bloorview.

“I’m excited to collaborate with my ETSA colleagues and partners to work towards fostering healthy teams that deliver high quality, safe and socially accountable care,” says Joanne. “I look forward to elevating the voices of clients, families and staff through this work.”

In her new leadership role, Joanne is poised to build upon nearly 15 years of experience at Holland Bloorview, along with her clinical background as an occupational therapist (OT) to advance the work of this critical portfolio. She has previously served as senior director, collaborative practice and clinical education with a parallel role as interim director of quality, safety and performance.

Joanne is looking forward to leveraging her extensive experience and strong connections across the hospital to challenge systems of health inequities and improve the health care experiences of historically disadvantaged people and communities through trusting, transparent and mutually beneficial relationships with clients, families, and community partners.

In identifying and pursuing opportunities for socially accountable health care, Joanne emphasizes the importance of better understanding the communities we serve, which starts with the responsible collection and governance of sociodemographic data. Another important element of this work is understanding and supporting the unmet needs of the families we serve.

Joanne also sees the continued roll out of organization-wide education through the IDEAA program as pivotal to delivering on the promise of socially accountable care. “With IDEAA, we are focusing on reaching a broader and more diverse community, and considering how we can deliver on equity and trauma-informed care while ensuring our staff and teams are valued and supported.”

Joanne’s appointment comes at a critical juncture in children’s health care. Emerging from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and facing unprecedented human resource challenges, she understands that there is more work to be done to build trust and confidence in our system. She is also optimistic about the future and the potential we have to make measurable change in the lives of children, youth and families. “As a result of the tremendous amount of advocacy and effort, we are starting to see vital investments in pediatric care which will allow us to expand access to our existing programs, and meet the evolving needs of the children and youth we serve.”

As interim lead of ETSA, Joanne is optimistic that Holland Bloorview’s hallmark collaborative, strength based approach will propel us forward and influence positive change for clients, families and the team. 

We at Holland Bloorview would like to congratulate Joanne on her new interim role, and are thrilled to have her vision guiding Holland Bloorview’s work on experience, transformation and social accountability.