Our team

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Governance structure

The Archipel Ontario Health Team (OHT) was born in 2023 from the merger of the Ottawa East OHT and the Prescott-Russell team in development. Ottawa East includes the Vanier ward, Lowertown and Orléans, and Prescott-Russell is formed of eight municipalities: Clarence-Rockland, Hawkesbury, Casselman, Alfred and Plantagenet, Champlain, Hawkesbury East, The Nation and Russell.

Archipel OHT includes close to 70 partners offering services in urban, semi-rural and rural areas. Our governance is based on aCollaborative Decision-Making Agreement (CDMA) within a Shared-Leadership Framework.

By signing the CDMA, the partners commit to working together to optimize the coordination and delivery of health care and community services to better meet the needs of the population. This optimization work is carried out through various groups and committees, made up of community members and healthcare workers from different sectors. It is essential that the composition of these entities be representative of the population served. Among other things, we ensure that rural and urban duality, as well as both official languages, are well represented in our working groups and advisory committees.

Ultimately, our OHT is accountable for the health outcomes and health care costs of our defined population. For this reason, our clients at the heart of Archipel and are involved at every level, from governance to collaborative decision-making to field work. Creating a system by and for its users is a task of co-design that we are undertaking with humility and enthusiasm. We are also accountable to our partners, the service providers, and to Ontario Health who provides financing to support our activities.

Executive Committee

The Archipel Executive Committee plays the role of a board of directors, adopting broad directions to support the work of the OHT.

The 16 members of the committee are selected by their peers for a two-year term, and are from the community and partner organizations. The cochairing is assumed by two sector representatives, and must be shared between the two regions of Ottawa East and Prescott-Russell. A third chair seat may be held by a client-partner representing the population.

Members of the Executive Committee

A woman is smiling in front of a painting on the wall.

Martine Whissel

Vice President, Ottawa East

A woman wearing a black jacket and a pink shirt

Sylvie Lefebvre

Vice President, Prescott-Russell

A man in a suit and turtleneck is smiling in front of a brick wall.

Marc-André Sabourin

Administrative Director, Archipel

Sylvie Lefebvre, Executive Director of Prescott-Russell Community Services, has been sitting as co-chair of Archipel since November 2022. Martine Whissel, Executive Director at the Eastern Ottawa Community Family Health Team, joined her in March 2025.

With their expertise and experience, the two co-chairs are well placed to ensure that collaboration is equitable. They also ensure that partners work together to provide better connected, person-centred care in their local communities.

Representatives from care providers on the Executive Committee (12 seats)

Promotion and prevention: Linda Cléroux, Eastern Ontario Health Unit (Prescott-Russell)

Primary care: Martine Whissel, ESF Communautaire de l’Est d’Ottawa (Ottawa East)

Primary care: Dr Élie Skaff, ESF Connexion (Ottawa East)

Secondary care: Frédéric Beauchemin, Hawkesbury and District General Hospital (Prescott-Russell)

Emergency services: Véronique Legault, Prescott et Russell Emergency Services (Prescott-Russell)

Community services: Sylvie Lefebvre, Prescott-Russell Community Services (Prescott-Russell)

Mental health and addictions: Dania Versailles, Canadian Mental Health Association (Ottawa East)

Home care: Marcelle Thibeault, Carefor (Champlain)

Acute and transitional care: Marie-Andrée Carrière, Montfort Renaissance (Ottawa East)

Rehabilitation services and complex care: Stéphanie Laplante, Santé Bruyère Health (Ottawa East)

Long-term care: Joanne Henrie, Centre d’accueil Roger-Séguin (Prescott-Russell)

Palliative care : Lynne Thevenaz, Maison de l'Est (Ottawa East)

Representatives from the community on the Executive Committee (4 seats)

Patient, Client and Family Advisory Committee: Pierre Benoit, Cochair (Ottawa East)

Patient, Client and Family Advisory Committee: rotating Cochair (Prescott-Russell)

Indigenous community: vacant

Francophone community: Joëlle Plourde, Centre de planification des services de santé en français (Province)

Ex officio members on the Executive Committee

Ontario Health at Home: Stephany Kawka

Réseau des services de santé en français de l’est de l’Ontario: Normand Glaude

Hôpital Montfort: Carolyn Crowley

Advisory committees

Advisory committees focus on aspects related to the management and vertical integration of structures, while working groups oversee the planning of a coordinated care continuum for certain priority populations. View committees and working groups.

On the operational side, the Transformation Office staff is responsible to support project implementation.