(Today’s Northumberland file photo)
Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) is preparing to welcome peer surveyors from Accreditation Canada from Monday, March 23 to Thursday, March 26 as part of the organization’s ongoing
accreditation process.
Accreditation Canada evaluates safety practices and quality-ofcare standards in healthcare organizations across the country. NHH last underwent this comprehensive review in 2022, as part of a four-year accreditation cycle.
“Accreditation Canada’s Qmentum program is not a single event—it’s a multi-year journey focused on continual improvement,” says Susan Walsh, President and CEO.
“As someone who has served as a peer surveyor myself and experienced the process here at NHH, I welcome this opportunity. It allows our remarkable teams to showcase the exceptional care they provide every day while also identifying opportunities to strengthen our services even further.”
NHH launched the current accreditation cycle in June 2025 by completing detailed selfassessments against Accreditation Canada’s standards. These standards evaluate key areas such as governance, leadership, risk management, infection prevention and control, medication management, and the overall quality of care delivered across hospital services.
Next week, three trained peer surveyors—Ron Noble, Stephanie Pearsall, and Dr. Kevin Wasko (biographies below)—will conduct the on-site review.
During their visit, they will observe hospital processes, meet with care providers and support staff, and
engage with patients and families. Their findings will be submitted to Accreditation Canada, which will then issue a final report and accreditation decision (“Accredited” or “Not Accredited”) to NHH.
“Ensuring quality is central to the Board’s mandate, and we strongly support the hospital’s participation in this essential process,” says Cyndi Gilmer, Chair of NHH’s Board of Directors. “This survey also provides an opportunity to highlight the significant improvements made across the organization since 2022. We warmly welcome the surveyors to NHH and look forward to sharing the results with our community once the final report is issued in the months ahead.”
Surveyor Biography Profile
Ron Noble
MBA, CPA, CMC, FCCHL, LFACHE, ICD.D.
Ron is currently the President and CEO of the Catholic Health Association of Ontario. Ron has achieved a Hons. B.Sc. in Kinesiology, a M.B.A. in Health Services Management and his Fellowship within both the Canadian College of Health Leaders and the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) with the Canadian Association of Management Consultants, a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA-CMA), a certified member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and was previously a certified long-term care administrator with the Ontario Long Term Care Association.
He has over 35 years of executive leadership experience within the healthcare industry, encompassing both the public and private sectors. Ron has provided leadership in the academic health science centre, community hospital, long-term care, community- based healthcare, private healthcare and consulting environments. He has served as Chief Executive Officer of a community hospital, Chief Financial Officer of a large community teaching hospital and CEO of a community-based provider of health care services.
He has worked as a Principal consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and has been the President of his own consulting firm. Ron has also served as the Chair of the Canadian College of Health Leaders, a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Healthcare Association and is a lead surveyor for Accreditation Canada. He has served as Treasurer for the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada Board and
Governance chair for Vision Loss Rehab Canada (CNIB) and is currently a Board member Ontario Gateway North Habitat for Humanity (Treasurer), the Radiation Institute of Canada (Treasurer) and the Michael Garron Hospital.
Ron has a proven a track record of delivering strategy, policy, operating and capital budgets on time and on budget while maintaining quality of care and strategic intent, leading organizations towards achieving their strategic objectives, pursuing life-long learning and contributing to the advancement of healthcare leadership within the Canadian healthcare sector.
Surveyor Biography Profile
Stephanie Pearsall is currently the Vice President Clinical Services/ Chief Nursing Executive for Cambridge Memorial Hospital as well as the Regional lead for COVID testing and assessment for the
Waterloo Wellington area.
Stephanie has over 30 years of clinical experience including Critical Care, Emergency, Obstetrics and
Perioperative programs. She has worked both as a Director and a Senior Leader/Chief Nursing Executive
in urban, community and rural settings.
Stephanie holds a Master’s degree in Health Studies and is a Registered Nurse. Quality practice and quality improvement are of particular interest. Stephanie was the recipient IDEAS Alumni Honorable Mention for a Hospital Induction Project, a presenter for IDEAS PlanDo-Study-Act Quality Improvement Webinars, and a workshop Presenter for IDEAS Alumni Event “Effective Design and Sustained Quality Improvement.”
Surveyor Biography Profile
Dr. Kevin Wasko is the Chief of Emergency Medicine and Program Medical Director at North York General Hospital in Toronto, ON and has been a surveyor with Accreditation Canada since 2021. He previously practiced emergency medicine at Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, ON and began his career in Saskatchewan with a full-scope rural family practice.
Dr. Wasko was the physician co-lead on the Saskatchewan Health System Transition Team in 2017,
leading work on physician engagement, medical governance, and the academic mandate when the
Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) was established and later serving as Physician Executive for Integrated Rural Health. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Dr. Wasko co-sponsored the SHA’s COVID-19
Immunization rollout, co-chaired the Clinical Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Immunization, and was a member of the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre for COVID-19 response.
Dr. Wasko is a graduate of the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Dalhousie University and a Master of Arts in Political Science from the
University of Calgary.
Dr. Wasko has completed fellowship training in clinical quality improvement and is a Canadian
Certified Physician Executive (CCPE) through the Canadian Society of Physician Leaders. He was the
2023 recipient of the Robert Zed Young Health Leader Award from the Canadian College of Health Leaders.
About Northumberland Hills Hospital – Located approximately 100 kilometres east of Toronto, NHH delivers a broad range of acute, post-acute, outpatient and diagnostic services. Acute services include emergency and intensive care, medical/surgical care, obstetrical care and palliative care. Post-acute specialty services (PASS) include restorative care and rehabilitation. Mental health care, cancer and supportive care, dialysis and other ambulatory care clinics are offered on an outpatient basis through
partnerships with regional centres and nearby specialists. NHH offers a full range of diagnostic services, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and mammography. The hospital serves the catchment area of west Northumberland County. A mixed urban and rural population of approximately 67,000 residents, west Northumberland comprises the Town of Cobourg, the Municipality of Port Hope, Alderville First Nation and the townships of Hamilton, Cramahe and
Alnwick/Haldimand. NHH employs more than 850 people and relies on the additional support provided by physicians, midwives and volunteers.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
