WCR This Week

Patrick Dumelie

EDMONTON – Patrick Dumelie, president and CEO of Covenant Health, has received the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada's national Midcareer Leadership Award.

Dumelie came to Edmonton in 2006, first as president of Caritas Health Group and then, under a province-wide reorganization, as the head of Covenant Health.

The award, given to a leader under the age of 50 who has made a significant contribution to the ministry and provided a strong voice for Catholic health care, was presented at the CHAC's annual conference in Calgary May 2.

In its submission nominating Dumelie for the award, the senior leadership team of Covenant Health lauded him as "undoubtedly one of the most remarkable, dynamic and inspiring leaders in Catholic health care in this country today."

The team paid tribute to Dumelie's deep commitment to the mission of the organization. "He leads with a clear sense of his own calling to advance the healing ministry of Jesus and the legacy entrusted to us."

"He thrives on challenge, encouraging staff to get engaged in creating positive change." The CEO is adept at seeing strengths in his team and challenging members to take on new roles and opportunities to contribute, the team said.

They noted that, under Dumelie's leadership, the number of Alberta Catholic health facilities operated by Covenant Health will grow from 16 in 2006 to 21 facilities by 2014.

The team said his accomplishments also include an increase in services for the province's vulnerable seniors by opening a new 150-bed geriatric mental health facility and launching a palliative care and end-of-life institute.

When Covenant Health faced a $15-million deficit at the end of its first year, Dumelie led the leadership team in articulating the values and principles that would guide deficit reduction.

"This process stood in stark contrast to the mid-1990s experience in Alberta, which many of our staff remember as a time of short-sighted decision-making that left a wake of disruption in the health care system for years."

Dumelie, the team said, also "exudes a spirituality of abundance" even in difficult financial times. Rather than focusing on scarcity and limitations, he draws attention to the amount of money that is available to Covenant Health for its programs.