Health Sciences North Home Page

What's New at HSN?

Minister Greg Rickford meets with HSN’s Indigenous Health Team

Friday, July 10, 2026

Minister Greg Rickford meets with HSN’s Indigenous Health Team

Ontario’s Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Greg Rickford, visited HSN’s Medicine Lodge and met with members of the Indigenous Health team as part of a recent visit to Sudbury.

 

Dr. Kona Williams appointed to the Order of Canada

Friday, July 3, 2026

Dr. Kona Williams appointed to the Order of Canada

Health Sciences North (HSN) is proud to congratulate Dr. Kona Williams on her appointment as a Member of the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honours.

 

A respected forensic pathologist, academic leader and advocate for Indigenous health and justice, Dr. Williams has been recognized for her extraordinary contributions to forensic medicine and her commitment to advancing culturally informed practices across Canada.

 

As Canada's first First Nations forensic pathologist, Dr. Williams has helped transform forensic practice through national advocacy, system reform and leadership that strengthens death investigations and promotes equity for Indigenous communities. Her work has also advanced efforts to improve responses to missing Indigenous people and has helped shape modern forensic standards nationwide.

Ontario Hospital Nearly Halves Staff Turnover by Rewriting Their Wellness Playbook

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Ontario Hospital Nearly Halves Staff Turnover by Rewriting Their Wellness Playbook

At a time when healthcare worker shortages and burnout dominate headlines across Canada, a Northeastern Ontario healthcare system has quietly achieved something most health systems are struggling to do: keep more of its people. Health Sciences North (HSN), a regional hospital with a team of over 4,400, serving more than 557,000 people across Northeastern Ontario, has reduced employee turnover from over 15 percent to approximately 8 percent over three years, nearly cutting the rate in half, without launching a single new wellness program. Instead, HSN did something counterintuitive: it stopped adding initiatives and started intentionally connecting the ones it already had. The approach, initiated in partnership with Excellence Canada, is the subject of a new paper released today: Connecting the Dots: Beyond Programs: How Excellence Canada is Supporting Health Sciences North as They Build a Culture of Connection. The paper, part of Excellence Canada's Executive Insights...