Bonjour, Hello,
We’re approaching two years since we started the changes to our health care system. I
was thinking the last few weeks that when we talk about these changes, we often talk
about what we want to achieve and how it will help us provide better care to our patients
while creating a safer, stronger workplace for you.
While that’s true and important to remember, I think it’s time we talked something else:
and that’s that – frankly – change sucks.
Two years in, I know that this change has been hard on many of you. There’s
uncertainty, disruption to the way we work, where we work and who we work with. For
many of you, long hours and added pressure is what you’re dealing with every day.
I want you to know that I see all of it, and I take it seriously.
There’s an entire science and business dedicated to change management, simply
because change is so difficult to manage. If we think how hard it is sometimes to adopt
a new personal routine or habit in our own lives, it’s maybe easier to understand how
difficult it is to change an entire health care system with 30,000 staff that serves a
population of over a million people.
In change management, they call this period “the valley of despair”:

 We’re doing our best to manage this change, and I think we’re doing some things well. I
also know that at times we need to do better. Many of you have reached out to me (or to
your managers) with ideas and insights, and we’ve been able to find solutions. Thank
you very much for this.
These changes are about better health care, not “cuts”. Greater capacity, efficiency,
collaboration and safety in a system that works better for us – and more importantly, our
patients. If we’re cutting anything, it’s the confusion and outdated ways of working that
are holding us back.
Along the way, some of you will have the chance to meet and work with new
colleagues, gain new experiences, and share your experience and knowledge with
others. We will grow and improve as a system and as health care providers.
The truth is you are a part of making changes that will improve the care and outcomes
of countless people and their families in Manitoba for generations to come. It’s
challenging, but it’s an amazing opportunity for all of us.
My commitment to you is to always listen, to share, and to do everything I can to make
this change as easy as possible for all of us. To that end, I’d like to ask you something:
If you’ve actually read all this, please take a minute and email me one idea on
something we could do better – either related to how we’re managing this change or in
the way we work. Tell me what the issue is, and what your idea is to make it better. The
only way we’re going to make things better is if we share and listen genuinely.
In closing I want to promise you something: It will get better – for our patients and for
you. We will look at what we’ve built together and see that this change is good.
Again, thank you so much for all you do – especially now.
Sincerely, Mes sincères salutations,
Réal