Shared Health
Shared Health is Manitoba’s province-wide health organization responsible for clinical and preventive services planning and for coordinating specialized health services. It was created in 2017 to integrate certain province-wide functions previously managed by regional health authorities. Shared Health operates tertiary programs at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg (HSC) and leads planning under the Health System Governance and Accountability Act.[4][5] BackgroundManitoba introduced regional health authorities (RHAs) in the 1990s to decentralize service delivery. By 2012 the number of RHAs was reduced from eleven to five, a move the provincial government said would cut costs and streamline administration.[6] Shared Health was established in 2017 as part of a restructuring to centralize certain functions across RHAs, including diagnostics and specialty care. Its mandate was formalized in 2021 legislation that set out governance and accountability provisions. The province appointed the first permanent board of directors for Shared Health in March 2022, chaired by Dr. Brenna Shearer; in February 2024 Dr. Brian Postl was named chair, with Shearer remaining on the board.[7][8][9] Mandate and governanceShared Health is responsible for provincial clinical planning, quaternary programs, and coordination of diagnostics and digital health. Regional authorities continue to deliver local care, while CancerCare Manitoba operates as a partner organization.[10] The organization is overseen by a provincially appointed board. Membership has included representatives from Indigenous organizations, rural and northern communities, and clinical leadership backgrounds. Independent audits in 2025 highlighted governance and budgeting challenges and led to leadership changes.[11] Service deliveryShared Health is responsible for planning and coordinating province-wide clinical and preventive services, including tertiary-level care delivered at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg.[12] It also coordinates province-wide diagnostic services. In 2019, Diagnostic Services Manitoba was integrated into Shared Health, centralizing laboratory, diagnostic imaging, and related services under a single provincial authority.[10] Emergency medical services; including the Lifeflight air ambulance program are administered under Shared Health, with STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service) contracted to assist with fixed and rotary-wing critical care transport.[13] Planning and dataIn 2020, Manitoba released the Clinical and Preventive Services Plan (CPSP), a five-year province-wide blueprint developed with extensive clinician and stakeholder input to enhance equitable access, care consistency, and resource alignment. The CPSP established provincial specialty councils and clinical leadership groups to support its implementation across diverse regions.[14][15] Shared Health also manages Manitoba’s digital health infrastructure. The eChart Manitoba system provides healthcare providers with secure, province-wide access to laboratory results, medication histories, immunization records, and diagnostic imaging, consolidating data from disparate systems for timely and integrated care.[16] In 2025, Shared Health introduced a framework for collecting race, ethnicity, and Indigenous identity data. The change followed reports showing that Black and Indigenous patients in Winnipeg emergency departments faced significantly longer wait times than other groups, underscoring systemic inequities in access and outcomes.[17][18] COVID-19 responseDuring the third wave of COVID-19 in spring 2021, Shared Health coordinated expanded ICU capacity in Winnipeg and Brandon. Critically ill patients were transferred to Ontario and Saskatchewan when local resources were exhausted.[19] Independent audits commissioned by the Manitoba government in 2024 noted that while Shared Health’s centralized governance enabled more consistent, province-wide resource coordination during the pandemic response, communication misalignments between central leadership and regional delivery organizations hindered timely local responsiveness.[20] LeadershipShared Health has had several interim and permanent executives. In February 2025, Dr. Chris Christodoulou was appointed interim CEO, replacing Lanette Siragusa, as part of a broader leadership change across provincial health agencies.[1] See also
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