Sandra Griffiths is a Registered Practical Nurse who works as an Executive Director at North Renfrew Family Health Team, which is a hospital-based family health team within Deep River and District Hospital.
Nursing was Sandra’s first and only career choice; she has been an RPN for 18 years, with 11 years of experience in primary care.
Sandra attended Canadore College in North Bay, Ontario, where she obtained her Registered Practical Nurse Certificate in 1998. After completing her studies, she began her nursing career working in both long term care and acute care at the hospital.
It was in 2006 when, she got her first opportunity to work in primary care at the North Renfrew FHT. Prior to working there, Sandra had no experience with administrating immunizations from previous employment. Sandra learned the neccessary assessments, planning, and to skillfully administer immunizations, as well as post-immunization evaluation and care through reading the Canadian Immunization Guide, collaborating with the local public health unit, eagerly inviting any learning opportunities, and on-the-job practice. Now, she is most sought after for her expert knowledge of immunizations and immunization schedules. Sandra is currently in the process of developing a training and education module on immunizations for new health care providers that join the Deep River FHT.
Sandra was encouraged by her physician colleagues at Deep River FHT to apply for the position of Executive Director; she was undoubtedly the right fit. She has been in this role since January 4, 2017, and although the role of Executive Director is a new challenge for her, Sandra says, “I’ve drawn on my life experiences through volunteering in minor hockey and minor soccer; I’m reading books from the Studer Group, and work with a great leadership team at the Deep River and District Hospital. Richard Bedard, CEO of DRDH provides me with great mentorship”.
In her role as an Executive Director, Sandra liaises with the Ministry of Health, Primary Care Branch to and ensures all reports, and annual operating plans are complete and submitted. She oversees human resources as well; she’s involved in physician recruitment for the North Renfrew FHT and the DRDH and also involved with emergency preparedness for the NRFHT and DRDH.
For Sandra, a career in nursing is important because, “Being an RPN is an important part of the health care team, as you provide hands on care to patients and advocate for your patients. You learn so much about people and their backgrounds, their health beliefs, and their families. Often times becoming a key person in the patient’s ‘circle of care’ ”.
In her downtime, Sandra enjoys downhill skiing and golf. She grew up in Deep River and currently resides there with her spouse and 2 sons, who are passionately involved in minor hockey.