Senior Leadership Team

Paul Heinrich, NHF, LLM, MEd, C.Dir., CPA/CMA, CHE, BBA
President & CEO
Executive Assistant: Cheryl Vainio

Paul Heinrich has been proudly serving the North Bay Regional Health Centre as President and Chief Executive Officer since 2012. Prior to this, he was President and CEO at Georgian Bay General Hospital in Midland and Penetanguishene. He spent 10 years as Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine while also serving as Advisor to the Chief Clinical Officer of the Calgary Health Region. He has also held management positions at the Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Board, the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Huntsville Hospital and, Muskoka-East Parry Sound Community Care Home Care Program. Among several previous board roles, he served as director on the Canadian College of Health Leaders Board. He currently serves on the ONE Health Information Technology Services (ONE HITS) board.  He has been a professor in the Healthcare Administration Program at Canadore College since 2017.

In 2023, Mr. Heinrich completed the National Health Fellowship (NHF) through McMaster University, as part of the first ever cohort of 18 fellows from across Canada.  He holds his Master of Education (MEd) from Nipissing University, as well as, a Certified Health Executive (CHE) designation though the Canadian College of Health Leaders, a Master of Laws degree (LLM) from OsGoode Hall Law School of York University, a Chartered Director designation (C.Dir.) from McMaster University, a Chartered Professional Accountant/Certified Management Accountant designation (CPA, CMA), and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) (honours) from Nipissing University.

Andrea Lucas
Vice President, Mental Health & Addictions
Assistant: Maryann Burmudzija

Andrea comes to us from Haliburton Highlands Health Services, and brings with her over 15 years of health care leadership experience and 18 years in mental health at organizations such as Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. She has also worked with Healthtech Consultants supporting the implementation of health information systems (HIS) the same as our recent Meditech Upgrade.

Andrea received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from York University and a Master in Health Studies from Athabasca University. She is a Certified Health Executive from the Canadian College of Health Leaders and is currently working toward a Six Sigma Lean Black Belt. As an RN, Andrea spent nearly two decades providing patient care in various capacities before taking on progressive leadership roles including Team Leader, Nurse Manager, Director and most recently, Vice President.

Bruce Beakley
Vice President, Human Resources
Assistant: Bhoopathy Bora

Bruce Beakley comes to our Health Centre with an extensive background in Human Resource Leadership in both the hospital and municipal sector, most recently as Director of Employee and Labour Relations at Humber River Health. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Human Resources, Strategy and Transformation for St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Elliot Lake. Bruce holds HRPA Canadian Human Resources Executive (CHRE), Canadian Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designations, as well as a Masters Certificate in Municipal Administration. He is currently pursuing an executive certification in Conflict Management (Alternative Dispute Resolution) from the University of Windsor Law/Stitt Handy Group.

Bruce is passionate about knowledge transfer and empowering employees and is a strong advocate of workplace diversity and inclusion.

Joanne Laplante
Vice President, Clinical and Chief Nursing Executive
Assistant: Lorraine Briere

Joanne has been a dedicated Registered Nurse at the North Bay Regional Health Centre (originally at St. Joseph’s General Hospital) for 34 years. She has progressed through a variety of leadership roles, including Manager, Women and Children; Director, Surgery, Women and Children; Director of Emergency and Ambulatory Services and most recently, Vice President Clinical & Chief Nursing Executive. A passionate leader who is patient centred, Joanne has overseen a number of change initiatives both in organizational and system integration.  Joanne holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Laurentian University and a Master of Nursing degree from Athabasca University. Born and raised in North Bay, Joanne is well-known and active in the community. She served on Nipissing University’s Board of Directors from 2017 to 2021.

Ryan Jeffers
Vice President of Corporate Services & CFO
Assistant: Stephanie Courchesne

Ryan Jeffers is the Vice President of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Prior to joining NBRHC as CFO in 2020, Ryan gained over thirteen years of management experience in healthcare with the North East Local Health Integration Network and, more recently, as a member of the senior leadership team at West Nipissing General Hospital. Ryan is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a graduate of Nipissing University with an Honours degree in Business and a major in Accounting.

Ryan provides leadership and guidance to Finance, Human Resources, Decision Support, Information Technology & Information Systems, Facilities, Risk, Quality, Pharmacy and Patient Advocacy.

Dr. Scott Kerrigan
Chief of Staff
Assistant: Chastity Saudino

Dr. Scott Kerrigan is the Chief of Staff. Born and raised in North Bay, Dr. Kerrigan studied Medicine at Western University and Pathology at the University of British Columbia. Building on rewarding experiences in North Bay as a medical student and later as a medical resident, he returned to North Bay as a full-time staff General Pathologist in 2005. Dr. Kerrigan has held multiple medical leadership positions, including Laboratory Director and Head of Service Laboratory Medicine, President of the Medical Staff, Pathology Regional Lead for Cancer Care Ontario, Medical Director Diagnostic Medicine and Trustee for the North Bay Regional Health Centre Foundation.