Last week I stood in front of Grand Erie Public Health’s main building, watching staff come and go with a sense of purpose that felt different than during my last visit. There was a buzz in the air, an energy that often accompanies leadership transitions—especially significant ones that follow periods of uncertainty.
After months of searching, Grand Erie Public Health has appointed Sarah Page as its new Chief Executive Officer, marking what many regional health workers describe as “a turning point” for public health services across Haldimand, Norfolk, and Brant counties.
“We need leadership that understands both the science and the soul of community health work,” Jennifer Morris told me as we sat in a small café near the health unit. Morris, a public health nurse who has served the region for over 15 years, didn’t hide her optimism. “Sarah has been on the frontlines. She knows what works and what doesn’t when policy meets real people.”
Page brings more than two decades of experience in public health administration and community wellness initiatives. Her career path has wound through provincial health agencies, rural health outreach programs, and most recently, as Director of Strategic Planning at Lakeshore Regional Health Authority, where she helped navigate the particularly difficult challenges of healthcare delivery during the pandemic.
What distinguishes Page’s appointment is her dual background in epidemiology and community development—a combination that Dr. Amrit Singh, former provincial health advisor, calls “increasingly essential for modern public health leadership.”
“The days when public health could operate in isolation from social determinants are long gone,” Dr. Singh explained during our phone conversation. “Leaders like Page represent a new approach that integrates data with deep community engagement.”
The appointment comes at a crucial moment for Grand Erie. The region faces distinctive challenges: aging infrastructure in rural communities, persistently high rates of chronic disease in certain neighborhoods, and the lingering effects of pandemic-related service disruptions that have created what local physicians term “a shadow healthcare crisis.”
When I visited the Waterford Community Health Centre last month, I witnessed firsthand the strain on rural health services. Families were waiting three hours for routine vaccinations, while community health workers scrambled to coordinate care for vulnerable seniors with limited transportation options.
“What we need isn’t just more services, but smarter integration of what we already have,” explained David Carmichael, chair of the Grand Erie Public Health Board. “Sarah’s vision for interconnected, accessible public health impressed everyone on the selection committee. She sees both the immediate needs and the long-term picture.”
Page’s selection wasn’t without controversy. Some community advocates had pushed for leadership more directly connected to local Indigenous health traditions, particularly given the region’s significant Six Nations and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation populations.
Elaine Silversmith of the Indigenous Health Coalition acknowledged the concern but offered qualified support. “While we continue advocating for Indigenous leadership in health systems, we’ve worked with Sarah on several initiatives. She listens first, then acts. That’s rare and valuable.”
Page’s approach to public health is informed by her early career experiences working in northern communities. “You learn quickly that health doesn’t happen in isolation,” she told me when we spoke briefly after the announcement. “A community’s wellbeing is connected to everything—their water, their housing, their history, their relationships. Public health needs to reflect that interconnection.”
According to Statistics Canada’s most recent community health profiles, the Grand Erie region shows troubling disparities in health outcomes between urban and rural residents. Life expectancy varies by nearly four years between certain postal codes, while access to preventive services remains unevenly distributed.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has identified rural health equity as a priority area, with their 2023 Rural Health Framework specifically highlighting the need for innovative leadership models in mixed urban-rural regions like Grand Erie.
Page’s immediate priorities include expanding mobile health services to underserved communities, strengthening partnerships with primary care providers, and implementing a community health worker program modeled after successful initiatives in other provinces.
Dr. Louisa Richardson, who served on the CEO selection committee, emphasized Page’s collaborative approach. “What impressed us wasn’t just her credentials, but how she conceptualizes partnership. She sees community organizations not as service recipients but as essential co-creators of health.”
The appointment also represents a homecoming of sorts. Though Page has worked across Ontario throughout her career, she grew up in Caledonia and maintains deep connections to the area. “There’s something powerful about leading in a place where you can see your own history in the landscape,” Page noted. “It grounds the work in something personal.”
As I left the health unit, I noticed a small gathering of staff in the courtyard, sharing coffee and conversation. The scene reminded me that beyond policies and programs, public health is fundamentally about people caring for one another’s wellbeing.
Page formally begins her role next month, inheriting both significant challenges and real opportunities to reshape how public health serves this diverse region. If the quiet optimism I witnessed is any indication, she’s starting with the most essential ingredient for success: the goodwill and hope of the people she’ll be working alongside.
