Kitchener-Waterloo, ON – November 25 – Following an extensive search process, the University of Waterloo, St. Mary’s General Hospital and Grand River Hospital are pleased to announce Danina Kapetanovic as the first Vice President, Innovation and Chief Health Innovation Officer, starting on January 13, 2025.
Danina is a seasoned leader and strategist with a proven track record in innovation, transformation, policy development, and building impactful partnerships. For nearly 30 years, she has been dedicated to advancing social change, fostering innovation, and supporting entrepreneurship on local, regional, and global scales. She is coming to us from Integrated Health and Social Services University Network for West-Central Montreal, where she served as Chief Innovation Officer.
In May of this year, the Hospitals and University announced their partnership in launching the CareNext Coalition, which seeks to increase the readiness of the local healthcare system to support research and innovation. Under Danina’s leadership, the Coalition will bring clinicians, researchers, and entrepreneurs together to create educational programming, test-drive technological advances, and foster an integrated care system that will reach people where they are.
“The goal of the CareNext Coalition is to harness the strength of the Region’s public institutions, to improve patient experience and health outcomes, equip healthcare professionals, and transform the healthcare system locally, and beyond,” says Mark Fam, President, St. Mary’s General Hospital. “We’re thrilled to welcome Danina, and are confident that she will leverage her deep expertise in strategic partnerships and innovation to position our institutions as leaders in healthcare advancement.”
Through the Coalition, the University and Hospitals are focusing attention on innovation and emerging to enhance patient experiences, improve health outcomes, expand health-related research and teaching partnerships, and drive sustainable, innovation-centered transformation across our healthcare systems.
“It’s an exciting time to be in healthcare in Waterloo Region,” says Ron Gagnon, President and CEO, Grand River Hospital. “Our Hospitals are located in one of the fastest growing, increasingly diverse communities in the province, and we are committed to building our partnerships and exploring new ways of addressing current and emerging healthcare needs. Danina’s expertise and passion in this field will set the Coalition up for success, which, ultimately, means our Hospitals can deliver on our ambitious vision of providing world-class patient-centred care that supports healthier communities.”
Danina holds a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Hunter College, CUNY, a Bachelor of Arts, Honours in Neurolinguistics from McGill University, and several certificates in healthcare innovation, entrepreneurship, and start-up coaching from Duke University, Concordia University, and HEC Montreal. She also serves on the Board of the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation and Hacking Health.
“I am thrilled to welcome Danina to this new and vital role. Her experience in the health care sector and her passion for doing things differently reflect the spirit of the Care Next Coalition and our vision for Health Futures,” said Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waterloo. “Danina’s leadership will ensure that Care Next can fulfil its mission of bringing innovation to the health system by bringing together clinicians, students, academics, and entrepreneurs to create educational programming, test-drive technological advances, and foster integrated care systems. I look forward to working closely with Danina and I welcome her again to our community.”
Currently, Danina serves as Chief Innovation Officer at the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network for West-Central Montreal (CIUSSS West-Central Montreal), a network of 34 facilities delivering comprehensive, patient-centered care to over 700,000 people annually. At CIUSSS and its central hub, the Jewish General Hospital, Danina envisioned and established the Connected Health Innovation Hub, OROT, which aims to make healthcare universally accessible through the “Care Everywhere” strategy. OROT has guided more than 50 projects through various stages of the innovation cycle. Before her role at CIUSSS, Danina was the Executive Director of Hacking Health, a global grassroots network of innovators committed to creating digital health solutions that benefit individuals, healthcare systems, and economies worldwide. The movement organized 160 hackathons across 63 cities, leading to over 1,500 innovative health projects. Danina also brings nearly two decades of global health leadership experience from her tenure with the United Nations, where she led groundbreaking initiatives that leveraged public-private partnerships to address urgent health and nutrition needs worldwide. Her accomplishments include establishing community care centers in conflict regions, developing maternal and child health strategies, and collaborating with industry to create innovative nutrition solutions to combat malnutrition.
Danina will begin her role on January 13, 2025.
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Victoria Ott
Integrated Director, Strategic Engagement
Grand River Hospital & St. Mary’s General Hospital
victoria.ott@grhosp.on.ca
519-588-4698
Rebecca Elming
Director, Media Relations
University of Waterloo
relming@uwaterloo.ca
647-459-8313
About Grand River Hospital
Grand River Hospital is building a world-class health system for all in the communities we serve. One of Ontario’s largest community teaching hospitals, we’re delivering exceptional, patient-focused quality care by a team of dedicated healthcare workers and volunteers. Located in one of the province’s most diverse and rapidly growing regions, we provide services and support to more than 840,000 residents of Waterloo Region and Guelph Wellington at our two campuses (KW and Freeport) and satellite locations. Driven by innovation, we’re proud of our partnerships and collaborations with health system partners, our region’s academic and innovation communities, and diverse community partners. grandriverhospital.ca
About St. Mary’s General Hospital
Located in the heart of Kitchener, St. Mary’s is home to the Regional Cardiac Centre, Regional Chest Program and Regional Eye Program. As leaders in our field recognized globally for world-class, innovative healthcare, our vision of “Inspiring Excellence. Healthier Together” is not just about our approach to patient-centred care, it’s also about our commitment to our staff.
Celebrating a century of care this year, St. Mary’s provides compassionate care to our community serving over 1.4 residents locally and beyond each year. We are the second-largest acute care hospital in the St. Joseph’s Health System with a team of over 2,000 staff, physicians and volunteers dedicated to ensuring patients receive the highest-quality care possible. Learn more about Our Mission, Values & History.
About the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo is a leading global innovation hub that drives economic and social prosperity for Canada and the world. With more than 42,000 students, we are home to the world's largest co-op education talent pipeline, to game-changing research and technology, and to an unmatched entrepreneurial culture. Together, these create partnerships and solutions to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. Find out more at uwaterloo.ca.