Ontario's hospitals are guided by a unique governance model that relies on community members volunteering their time, expertise, and lived experience to serve on local hospital boards. To celebrate the incredible work of these individuals, the Why I Serve series profiles hospital board members from across the province, exploring why they chose to serve, what they have learned along the way, the impact of local leadership, and the rewards of contributing to an organization that plays a pivotal role in their community.
In this issue, Remi Loranger, Board Member at Temiskaming Hospital shares their reflection on governance, what the role means to them, and why serving continues to matter.
What inspired you to serve on your local hospital board?
Living and working in Northern Ontario, you quickly realize that our public institutions don't run on autopilot. They rely on local people stepping up to keep them strong. In my day-to-day work as an auditor, I spend a lot of time looking at finances, internal controls, and infrastructure challenges across rural townships. I’ve seen firsthand how tight margins, aging capital assets, and geographic distance put immense pressure on small communities.
With a background that crosses financial oversight, engineering, and enterprise systems, I felt an obligation to put those practical skills to work for our community. The hospital is the cornerstone of our region; ensuring its long-term financial health and operational stability is one of the most meaningful ways I can give back to the place where my family lives.
What do you enjoy most about serving on the board? What has been the most rewarding aspect of your governance journey so far?
I genuinely enjoy digging into the multi-layered problems that sit at the intersection of capital planning, fiscal responsibility, and clinical care. A hospital is a complex operating environment. Balancing immediate operational funding constraints with the long-term need for modern facility upgrades, and digital infrastructure requires careful, methodical problem-solving, which I also enjoy thoroughly.
The most rewarding part has been seeing good governance translate into practical security for our frontline teams. When we approve a responsible capital plan, ask the right questions about risk mitigation, or establish sound oversight that helps the leadership team steer through funding complexities, we're directly helping ensure reliable patient care for our community.
How does having local community members around the board table strengthen hospitals and the communities they serve?
You can’t govern a rural hospital effectively from a spreadsheet in Toronto. Local members bring the lived reality of the district directly into the boardroom. We understand what winter travel means for patient transfers, how difficult it can be to recruit specialized staff to the North, and how deeply interconnected the hospital is with the local economy.
Having local voices at the table builds genuine public trust.
When the community knows that the people responsible for strategic oversight are the same people they run into at the arena, the grocery store, or out on the lake, accountability becomes immediate and personal. Our own families rely on this facility, so our commitment to its success is unconditional.
How has serving on the board changed your perspective on health care?
It has given me a tremendous appreciation for the intricate systems required to make high-quality patient care happen every single day. Before stepping into governance, it’s easy to view health care strictly through the lens of a clinical visit. From the board side, you see the sheer operational weight behind the scenes. The strict funding envelopes, capital asset depreciation cycles, procurement bottlenecks, and cybersecurity demands, policy requirements and political pressures.
It quickly dispels the myth that operational discipline and compassionate care are at odds. Strong financial stewardship and sound technical controls aren't just administrative red tape; they are the exact foundation that protects clinical services and keeps the doors open especially when they are close to shutting due to staffing constraints.
What advice would you offer to someone who is considering joining a hospital board?
Don’t hold back just because you don’t have a background in medicine. Strong boards need a diverse balance of disciplines — finance, engineering, human resources, law, and operational planning are just as critical for long-term health system sustainability as clinical expertise.
Come into the role ready to listen, read thoroughly, and respect the steep learning curve of public sector health funding. Most importantly, keep a clear boundary between management and governance. Your job isn't to direct day-to-day operations; it's to ask the probing, objective questions that support executive leadership, challenge assumptions productively, and protect the organization's mission for years to come.