Cameron Love (MHA’97) wins Telfer’s R. Trudeau medal 2024
Transforming our health system at the height of the pandemic was a challenge that Cameron Love (MHA’97) was ready to take on. After ten years as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), Cameron stepped into the role of President and CEO of TOH in July 2020.
Since then, he’s been hard at work fulfilling his ambitious plan. He encourages innovation in new healthcare deliveries with clinical teams and scientists through research and education for TOH. He also prioritizes partnering with patients and families in the Champlain region to deliver the best care possible.
Transforming Ottawa's healthcare system
Today, Cameron is leading the multi-billion dollar new Ottawa Civic Hospital development on Carling Avenue. It will be one of Canada’s most technologically advanced health sciences centres. Cameron’s only goal? To improve people’s lives in our community, province, and country.
Cameron is devoted to the health of our nation beyond his 9 to 5 — he serves on multiple local and provincial committees dedicated to the health and wellness of our communities.
Passionate about giving back, he works as a preceptor to residents in the Master of Health Administration program at Telfer. In 2013, he was honoured with Telfer’s MHA Preceptors Award for his dedication to educating the next generation of healthcare leaders. He also serves on Telfer's Health Programs Advisory Board.
The Telfer School of Management is immensely proud to bestow the prestigious R. Trudeau Medal — the highest honour an alumnus can receive — on Cameron Love for his life-changing healthcare leadership, undeniable community impact, and meaningful engagement with his alma mater.
“My MHA at uOttawa gave me my start”
Cameron completed his undergraduate in biology and psychology at Queen’s University in the early ‘90s and began working at a local hospital in Kingston. He worked with the Chief of Staff as a data analyst and wondered what to do next.
A year in, he liked the idea of doing administrative work at a hospital but didn’t have a master’s degree to advance to the next step. After consulting close colleagues, Cameron narrowed his MHA choices to the University of Ottawa, Dalhousie University, and the University of Toronto. Thanks to a strong recommendation by a colleague and Telfer's comprehensive program with clear career opportunities in healthcare leadership, Cameron chose uOttawa.
“My MHA played a pretty significant role in my career,” says Cameron in an interview. The classes provided the much-needed background, education, and management knowledge for future executive roles.
“But the most important thing was the residency. I did mine at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). It engrained you within hospital leadership,” Cameron reflects. “Practical experience and exposure to senior leadership teams and boards were integral.” The residency acts as a grounding tool for the students’ interests — they learn what to expect working in a hospital or another healthcare setting of their choice.
The MHA program consists of an extensive network of industry leaders. “Because of my MHA and CHEO residency, I got my first job,” says Cameron. “I moved to Toronto with my then-girlfriend, now wife, after graduation because of the exposure from the MHA program. It gave me my start.”
New Ottawa Hospital Carling development: what it means for the health of the Ottawa community
Cameron started at TOH in 1998 and was closely involved with the operational oversight of the merger when the Civic Hospital, the Riverside Hospital, and the Ottawa General Hospital consolidated their services to become The Ottawa Hospital. In 2006, Cameron began planning for the new hospital with the leadership team, creating a plan for the future.
“A key element to any hospital is the quality of infrastructure,” says Cameron. “We rebuilt Riverside into a freestanding ambulatory care centre and expanded critical care at the General, but the Civic was showing its age. The best investment was to build a new campus.” From planning to opening, it takes 20 to 25 years to build a new hospital in Canada. The new building is now under construction near Dow’s Lake and Little Italy.
Cameron and the team at TOH are rebuilding the future of healthcare for the Ottawa region. The new Civic Campus is a key foundational component of the plan to transform the system. It will be the most modern academic healthcare centre in Canada.
The plan includes developing long-term care and regional surgical centres, specialty clinics, expanding primary care, supporting community organizations, and integrating service models. It is about building a healthcare system for the future generations of our community.
Training and retaining healthcare leaders in Ottawa
“When you work in an academic centre for years, educating future healthcare workers is the core fabric of what we do as an institution,” says Cameron. TOH is closely involved with Telfer, collaborating on transformative research with scientists, medical professionals, and academic researchers.
“The reality is, as healthcare grows, we need more people, and there must be strong leadership. I got my start because of opportunities others gave me,” says Cameron. “I’m giving back to support the evolution of the next generation of healthcare leaders.”
Healthcare is a people-driven industry. TOH’s success in research, education, and care delivery is due to its excellent clinicians, physicians, support staff, and leaders. This team’s dedication and commitment will continue to improve healthcare for our community. Rebuilding and reshaping the system depends on the ability to recruit, retain, and train future healthcare professionals.
Research: the path to a healthier Canada
According to Cameron, many people perceive healthcare as solely a service delivery model. It is a lot more than that. TOH is an academic centre with three main focuses: clinical care, research, and education.
“Discovery through research and innovation is tremendously important,” says Cameron. “We reveal new treatments, medications, procedures and devices, all of which improve the delivery of care and ultimately people's health.”
In the current landscape, there is a vast need for more research to align our population’s health with the right healthcare systems. Leadership, administration, and research must come together to inform the industry and help it move forward.
If we don’t have this resource within Canadian universities, how do we teach incoming students about best practices and inspire innovation? To change how cancer care is provided, for example, you have to do research. To change how healthcare is provided in Canada, you have to do research.
“That’s why we work closely with Telfer’s health-related programs,” says Cameron. “Telfer has a robust structure and strong partnership with us and others, generating significant research output and attracting more people to come and stay in Ottawa.”
Prioritizing work-life balance, even as CEO
Steering a ship as large as The Ottawa Hospital and serving vulnerable populations day in and day out is no easy feat, especially in the overburdened Canadian healthcare system. Despite the profession's evident challenges, Cameron is humble, positive, and calm.
“What always brings me back is the people I work with. We have an exceptionally dedicated workforce, from the doctors, nurses, clinicians and support staff to the administrative leaders” says Cameron. “It is a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment to make a difference to people’s health in our community.”
By nature, healthcare is an industry designed to help people. Cameron loves how rewarding it is to directly improve access to care or to build new infrastructure. The tangible impact of the job, along with the support at every level of the hospital, brings him back to work every day.
Cameron emphasizes a balance between a personal and a professional life, which is key for any healthcare worker, whether they are a CEO, the Chief of Surgery, or a front-line nurse. He plays many sports, spends time with his three sons, and goes to the cottage with the family. “It is a conscious thought process not to compromise one above the other. You can’t create a good balance if you are only focused on work,” says Cameron.
Telfer and The Ottawa Hospital: creating a better tomorrow
Beyond their dedicated CEO, The Ottawa Hospital is closely linked with Telfer.
Rob Ashe, one of Telfer’s Strategic Leadership Cabinet members, is leading the $500-million Campaign to Create Tomorrow to fundraise for the new hospital. Rob and his wife Sandra personally gave $10 million to the campaign. The former Cognos CEO and IBM executive has also supported the Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence at Telfer.
And that’s not all. Cameron works closely with Roger Greenberg, the Executive Chairman of the Board at The Minto Group and the winner of the Dean's Philos Award in 2023. The Greenberg family gave a record-breaking $25 million to the campaign. Cameron borrows Roger’s wise words: “Every great community has four pillars: arts & culture, sports & recreation, education, and healthcare”. Rebuilding the future of health is critical for Ottawa to continue to be a great community, recognized nationally and internationally.
“Our healthcare has positives to focus on”
Over the last 10 to 20 years, the demands on our healthcare system have increased, and the pandemic created an enormous challenge. The opportunity in Ottawa around building the new hospital, rebuilding our healthcare system, and strengthening education & research is greater than ever.
“There is a huge amount of potential to be very positive about,” says Cameron. “While there are many challenges with current access to healthcare, there are many positives (like building a new hospital) that create hope and positivity for the future.” Telfer actively plays a role in developing future healthcare leaders to capitalize on this vast opportunity — something unique to Ottawa.
Telfer: building a healthier Canada
A core aspect of the School’s vision for a Better Canada is a strong healthcare system. We collaborate with hospitals, such as TOH, researchers, practitioners, administrators, and community groups to discover transformative insights.
For example, the Telfer Health Transformation Exchange (THTEX) connects business academics, industry leaders, and clinical innovators to address current issues in healthcare delivery in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.
We collaborate with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and contribute significant research about combining business analytics, data, and AI with health systems management. We also host a Health Programs Advisory Board, make a difference with our local research impact, and offer students experiential learning opportunities through our programs.
Telfer is proud to award Cameron Love (MHA’97) our R. Trudeau Medal Winner of 2024. His visionary leadership continues to shape the future of healthcare in Ottawa and beyond. We look forward to continued collaboration between The Ottawa Hospital and uOttawa to inspire and educate the next generation of healthcare executives through empowering research.