Outgoing CEO of CHEO Alex Munter Reflects on 13-year legacy

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Good morning!

I want to start off by thanking all of you who wrote in with story ideas. I have not had the chance to reply to all of you yet, but please know I have read your emails and will try to respond to each of you soon!

The lives of children in the Ottawa region changed for the better 13 years ago when Alex Munter stepped into the role of CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, better known as CHEO. 

It was a fitting job for Munter, who dedicated his entire working career to bettering others. He was the first openly gay city councillor in Ottawa, and before that, he ran a community newsletter in Kanata, which he started out of his suburban basement at age 14. To say his loss in Ottawa is big would be an understatement, but he’s going onto a new job where he can accomplish even more. 

I first met Alex when I had the opportunity to be part of the CHEO Telethon on CTV. He always made a point to come over and ask how I was doing. When I began my career as a journalist, Alex was one of the first officials who would speak to me at a time when many others didn’t give me the time of day. 

I had the chance to speak with Alex yesterday on his final day on the job. You can read our conversation below. 

Let’s get to the important news of the day!

— Charlie Senack, [email protected]. 

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EXCLUSIVE LOOKOUT STORY

Outgoing CHEO CEO Alex Munter reflects on 13-year legacy

A fitting goodbye: When Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario CEO Alex Munter made headlines, it was always for the right reasons. 

But after being at CHEO for 13 years, the former journalist and municipal politician decided it was time to take on a new challenge. Munter is set to jump into the role of CEO of the Canadian Medical Association. The search for his replacement is underway, but the equally competent Dr. Lindy Sampson will take over in the interim. 

Speaking to the Ottawa Lookout about his decision to leave, Munter said he has mixed emotions. 

• ”I’ve done this role more than I’ve done any job in my life. I was a city councillor for 12 years, and I’ve been CEO of CHEO for 13. At this point in my life I doubt I’ll do another job for that long. In some ways, it feels like I started here 13 minutes ago, and in other ways, it feels like I’ve lived a few lifetimes. It’s full of memories,” he said. 

Munter began his final day with the hospital's respiratory team, something he also did on his first day on the job. He said they are a lesser-known critical care group that provides life-saving care to children who are unable to breathe. One of the hospital's greatest accomplishments during his reign, he said, was nearly tripling the number of respiratory therapists on call. 

• “When I got here we had three respiratory therapists around the clock and one of them was often called to do critical care transport. Then there would only be two left for the whole hospital,” said Munter. “Today we have seven at all times.”

A team sport: Munter is a classy fellow. At no point during our 30-minute interview did he want to dwell on his personal accomplishments. Instead, he used it as an opportunity to highlight the work all CHEO staff are doing on a daily basis. 

Data research: CHEO has become a leading hospital when it comes to digitizing records thanks to them starting the process early, said Munter. While it might sound like a small step, it means children can get diagnosed with issues quicker and also helps catch autism at an early age. When that occurs, Munter said children are able to get support from an early age which will help them later in life. 

Mental health supports: When Munter started, he said the mental health unit had 200 people working on site. Today, that number is closer to 450, spread out through programs in the hospital and in the community. The need for support continues to grow, the outgoing CEO said, adding that more needs to be done to prevent youth from needing mental care in the first place. 

• “When I got here in 2011, we were at the beginning the surge in mental health. We now know that the convergence of smartphones, and social media was messing with kids' brains and that of course accelerated during the pandemic,” said Munter. “We can’t keep expanding the system. We are still trying to keep up. We don’t have the people to grow it again. We are going to need to start taking this not just on the demand side but also at the grass roots causes.”

The biggest challenge: While Munter admits there have been many challenges the hospital has faced in the last 13 years, the biggest he says was the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand for care grew, but support and needs didn’t. There was also a shortage of personal protective equipment. No vaccines were then available. Fear spread through medical staff who were unable to isolate. They had to keep showing up to take care of the sick. There was so much unknown and uncertainty. 

So what needs to be done to be better prepared for any medical challenge? 

• “We are not equipped for a large growth in demand and we need to retool the system — both the government and healthcare settings —  in order to meet the needs of a growing and aging population. We just don't have the people. We need to train more. We need to work as clinical teams. We need to invest in higher tech and have people working within their full scope to use all their skills,” said Munter. “We need to focus on the people that deliver care and let them do their jobs as opposed to doing paperwork.”

Saying goodbye: Those are skills Munter hopes he will get to use in his new job. He said there is never the right time to leave, but now is a fitting one. 

“Leadership is knowing when it’s time to go and time to pass the baton. It’s important for an organization like this to renew its leadership from time to time. That time has come here,” said Munter. “I hope in my next role I can have some impact on CHEO indirectly by working with the Canadian Medical Association from coast to coast to come up with solutions at a policy level. Up until now I’ve been finding them at a local level.”

Munter's advice for the next Children’s Hospital CEO: “Listen to kids and families and give your people the tools they need,” he said. 

New CHEO building will better serve children with complex needs

About a year ago, CHEO broke ground on a new state-of-the-art facility that will house its Integrated Treatment Centre, also known as 1Door4Care. ]

According to the CHEO website: “The new 6-storey, approximately 200,000-square-foot building will be connected by a link to the main hospital and offer services for children and youth living with complex medical, developmental, behavioural and mental health needs.” 

The project won’t be completed until 2028 but will serve more than 40,000 families a year. Its design is inspired by the Native people’s connection to the lands, which includes natural elements such as native plants in the landscaping and biophysics representing flora and fauna from the Algonquin lands.

The $371 million building has no shortage of features: It will include a multi-use clinic space, a physiotherapy rehab gym, expanded mental health clinics, a new parking structure, and much more according to CTV. 

• “It’s about right-sizing children’s healthcare. It’s the largest expansion to CHEO since it was built in 1974. It reflects that we have a growing population of children and youth in this region,” said Munter. “There will be more kids in 10 years than today. Kids these days need different types of care. They need different facilities than when CHEO opened.”

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OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN

🏠 A new low-rise housing development is coming to Orleans. The plan, supported by a city staff report, calls for the development of 39 homes on land between Provence Avenue and Portobello Boulevard. Local residents initially objected to the original proposal, which called for homes to be built on the location of a small forest beside Lalande Conservation Park. But a land swap with the city proved to be a compromise everyone could live with. [CapitalCurrent]

🚒 A former golfing business in Barrhaven has gone up in flames. Ottawa Fore said it took about an hour to fully put out the blaze at the commercial one-storey building in the 3000 block of Jockvale Road. [CityNews]

🛒 A new T&T Asian grocery store is set to open in Kanata’s Hazeldean Mall on Oct. 24. To celebrate, T&T has planned various performances, including a traditional lion dance. [Grocery Business]

👮‍♂️ Ottawa police are looking for a man who smashed items in an Orleans store after not finding the products he wanted. [CTV]

🚔 Ottawa Police say they are investigating a ‘suspicious death’ in Barrhaven after the body of a man was found at the corner of Greenbank Rd and Strandherd Dr. The deceased person was found in an area with trees near a Marks Menswear store. Police said all deaths are treated as suspicious until deemed otherwise. [CityNews]

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THE AGENDA

🚌 A deal has been reached to get school buses in Renfrew County back on the road. It could take two to three more weeks of work, and the final deal has not been disclosed. The Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium and the bus group were at odds over driver pay. [CBC]

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👮‍♂️ Hamid Ayoub has been found guilty of stabbing his wife Hanadi Mohamed and the attempted murder of his daughter in a 2021 attack in Nepean. Ayoub was described as an “angry, hurtful, abusive man.” [Ottawa Citizen]

🔪 The Ottawa Police are continuing to investigate after a 66-year-old Metcalfe man was stabbed to death on Sept. 23. The victim, identified as Roger Dale Lusk, survived the initial injuries and was listed in critical condition with “non-life threatening” injuries. What changed is unclear. Ottawa Police have not said if they are looking for a suspect. [CBC] 

📆 A service was held at the Infinity Convention Centre in Ottawa on Oct. 7 to mark one year since the attacks in Israel. Among those in attendance were Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, who both spoke about the rising hatred and antisemitism Jews across the country have faced since the terrorist attacks. Due to security concerns, the location of the venue was not publicly announced and there was a strong security presence in the area. [Kitchissippi Times]

🪪 The family members of an Ottawa senior who fell victim to distraction theft in the College Square parking lot on Sept. 11 say they are dissatisfied with police response. The incident happened when a man and woman offered to help the woman load groceries from Loblaws into her vehicle. One of the strangers then swiped the women’s wallet out of her backpack. [CTV]

ARTS

Theatre

Cautionary Tales | Gladstone Theatre, 910 Gladstone Ave | Oct. 16-26 | See Bob Run and Never Swim Alone helped catapult MacIvor into the pantheon of Canada’s foremost playwrights. Gladstone resident company Plosive Productions teams up with newcomer Sunny Ryan Productions for this exciting double bill. | Tickets start at $24. 

Beowulf in Afghanistan | Great Canadian Theatre Company, 1233 Wellington St. W. | Nov. 12-24 | A Canadian soldier harnesses the medieval Anglo-Saxon text of Beowulf as a life raft through the clash of conflict, and after. A world premiere, supported by GCTC’s Tributary Project. | Tickets start at $28.  

Art

Art Hive: Community Open Studio | Parish Hall, 40 Campus Dr. Kemptville | Oct. 19 | Drop in and create art in the community! Art hives are inclusive and supportive open studios, where people gather to create art together. | By donation. 

Soul Sisters Art Workshop- DAY-DREAMY FLOWER DOODLES | Kemptville Campus, 40 Campus Dr. Kemptville | Soul Sisters art classes for women, offer beginner-friendly, free-spirited opportunities to grow in our creativity and enjoy some peaceful, playful self-care  | Tickets are $42.38. 

Music

Symphony of Seasons | 355 Cooper St | Oct. 19 | Get ready for a magical evening celebrating the beauty of nature's changing seasons through a symphony of music and art! | Free. 

Ottawa New Music Festival | Alma Duncan Salon, Ottawa Art Gallery, 10 Daly Ave | Oct. 17-18 | Two evenings full of exciting new music! We can't wait for YOU to hear THIS! | Tickets start at $20. 

Live Music Shows

Crop Circle Catalysts | Bar Robo, 170 Queen St | Oct. 9 | A dynamic fusion of jazz and folk, featuring soulful improvisations and smooth grooves.  Free Show. 

Talel McBriar | Montgomery Scotch Lounge, 750 Gladstone Ave | Oct. 10 | Singer-songwriter blending traditional folk with alternative rock, haunting melodies and introspective lyrics. Tickets $10.

Young Stitch | Rainbow Bistro, 76 Murray St | Oct. 11 | Toronto rapper known for his intense flow, hard-hitting bars, and catchy melodies. Tickets $25.

Sussex | Red Bird, 1165 Bank St | Oct. 12 | Two-time CFMA winners with a genre-defying blend of acoustic guitar, vibraphone, pedal steel, and upright bass.  Tickets $28.

Phew | Club SAW, 67 Nicholas St | Oct. 13 | Former frontwoman of Osaka’s pioneering 1970s punk band Aunt Sally brings her compelling voice and fearless sound. Tickets $18.

Listings for music shows are provided by OttawaGigs.ca, the best place to discover live music in Ottawa. Check out Ottawagigs.ca for full listings across the city.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

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• Ottawa is still talking about those crazy cloud formations. Here is what caused them. [Ottawa Citizen]

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