Five questions: Verna Yiu is new interim CEO of Alberta Health Services

Dr. Verna Yiu didn't volunteer for the Alberta government position that has devoured six CEOs in eight years. Instead, the Alberta Health Services' board of directors tapped her on the shoulder and said, "You're it – on an interim basis." With a reputation for getting things done, Dr. Yiu had an active first week on the job. She spoke with Allan Maki.

What were your thoughts when you were asked to take charge of the AHS?

My first reaction was to go into a panic mode. My husband said, 'Are you sure you want to do this?'… To be honest, I've never gone into this kind of position to aspire to be the CEO. My reason for coming into the executive role was to try to make quality and safety a function of everything we do, and also to try to have a major role in working with physicians so they can feel like part of the system. That was really my main purpose of coming to the AHS. People who know me know that I don't do things for titles. I do them because I feel it's the right thing to do.

So where do you begin making things better for patients and health-care workers?

There's been a lot of comment made in the past about governance and government interference. We have a mandate to make sure the health care is there with the best quality for Albertans…We need to be an innovative, learning organization; one built around IMIT (Information Management Information Technology) and enabling a provincial clinical information system to really get into the data and analytics…When we amalgamated into one [super-sized organization, the AHS, in 2009] there was no forethought, no planning. We're trying to build those organizational cultures of being a good place to work, a safe place to work, a place that we can all be proud of.

How can the AHS accomplish that?

There's a patient-first strategy, which is also about supporting the support people. How can we ask people to look after others if we don't look after the [care] people, right? …The challenge is to make sure we are aligned [as a 'diverse, complex, end-to-end delivery model,' according to the AHS]. We've been doing all this good stuff that has been happening in the organization. Now we're at a time where we are able to roll it out.

What is your personal story?

I was born in Hong Kong and came here (Edmonton) when I was five. All I can remember was the Chinese food was really bad – and it was cold outside. My parents, at that time, were in their 30s. There was no Internet. They didn't know what Canada looked like. They came because in the 1960s, Hong Kong was very rough and what my father wanted was a good opportunity for my sister and I to grow up in a country with freedom and privileges. I thought my family was really courageous. (Her mom) worked at the University of Alberta.

Will that make you a better CEO, however long you remain in office?

There is an active search that's starting. The timeline that I'll be in this position, the shortest estimate will be maybe six months…One of my roles as CEO is being a facilitator, a supporter, a navigator, a connector. I see my background and how I was raised. The type of role models my parents and my grandmother were and how it influenced me – all of that contributes to what I am as a person. The fact is that I really do believe in being loyal, honest and transparent – just doing my best. This is my province and this is my system and I want health care to be good for my grandchildren.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Editor's note: An earlier digital version of this story interview stated that Dr. Verna Yiu's father worked at the University of Alberta; however, it was her mother. This version has been corrected.