The BC Care Providers Association has found a new CEO – someone who is well-known to Kamloops.
Former Health Minister and Kamloops Mayor Terry Lake will take over the top job, and he will be starting in just over a week.
Speaking on the NL Morning News, Lake says the COVID-19 response is a big priority, and he says he’s already had discussions with Health Minister Adrian Dix and Seniors’ Advocate Isobel Mackenzie.
“In the last months of your life if you’re in residential care, you don’t want to live it in solitary confinement… Are there ways that we can work with families, work with residential care providers, to ensure that we have a humane approach to visitation that protects residents and workers, but allows for a quality of life that is missing at the moment.”
He says he hopes to talk with Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry about the issues facing residents in care homes during the pandemic, adding he has some familiarity with the role he’s stepping into.
“The seniors file, when I was Minister, was very important to me. I worked very closely with the BC Care Providers. We did a lot of work, we set up the office of the Seniors’ Advocate, so I’m very familiar with that office and its role, and I’m looking forward to working collegially with them,” Lake says.
“I like to be able to make a difference. With the baby boomer expansion moving into seniors years, there’s probably no greater challenge in the long run than seniors care.”
Lake says his office will be in Burnaby but he will be continuing to live in Kamloops.
“I’ll be doing a lot of travelling, I’m sure I’ll get to know the Coquihalla very well, as I have in the past. And these days, of course, we’re able to do a lot remotely,” Lake added.
“If there’s one thing COVID-19 has taught is, it’s how to cut down on our commutes. Which is good for the environment and also good for quality of life. So we’ll be working from Burnaby and from Kamloops.”
The BC Care Providers had been looking for a new CEO after Daniel Fontaine stepped down in late-April.
Seniors Advocate on Lake’s Appointment
Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie says she is looking forward to working with Terry Lake when he gets going in his new role.
“I had a very good relationship with Terry Lake. He and I did not always agree, the current minister and I don’t always agree, but both Minister Lake and Minister [Adrian] Dix are incredibly respectful – not just of this office, but of understanding a variety of opinions and the need to have a variety of opinions,” she said, during a conference call.
“I think that is a very positive step forward. I think he is going to bring a background of being informed about the complexity of matters.”
Mackenzie adds she may not have always agreed with some of Lake’s decisions while he served as B.C. Health Minister.
“I’ve certainly made decisions in my life that in the fullness of time didn’t prove to be so brilliant so I think that most of us rise above that and recognize that, and I have every every expectation from what I know of Terry Lake that he will do that.”
– With files from Victor Kaisar
