Paula Fields
President & Chief Executive Officer
Paula was appointed President and CFO in March of 2022.
Previously, Paula had the role of Vice President Clinical Services & Chief Nursing Officer beginning in early March 2019.
She is a seasoned healthcare professional with experience in acute care, home care, long-term care, public health and has served many of the indigenous communities on Manitoulin Island. She has a long history with MHC going back 27 years, starting as a nursing student, then a Registered Nurse on the nursing units for 3 years. When she returned to MHC, she further developed her career as the Occupational Health & Infection Control Nurse, transitioning to a management role as the Nurse Manager of the Inpatient Units, Obstetrics and Pharmacy. Paula led many critical initiatives in her senior management role of Director of Clinical Innovation and Partnerships.
She takes great pride in her contribution to the quality improvement work and shared collaborations with Partners across the Manitoulin region. She especially enjoys engaging with Indigenous Partners in the provision of culturally safe care at MHC.
Paula holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Laurentian University, a Masters of Health Management from McMaster University, and also a certificate of Health Management with the Ontario Hospital Association.
In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband and three children on their Manitoulin waterfront property.
Eric Theriault
Vice President Corporate Support Services & Chief Financial Officer
Eric joins Manitoulin Health Centre after spending over five years in the remote Indigenous community of Moose Factory, most recently as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority.
Eric began his career in his home town of Sudbury in public accounting, then joined the Health Sciences North Corporate Finance team. He is a bilingual senior health professional with oversight experience in Finance, Materials Management, Support Services, Paramedicine, Human Resources, Information Technology, Digital Transformation, Communications, and Health Informatics. He was also an integral leader on the redevelopment project to bring a new health care campus to the James and Hudson Bay region that included a hospital, an ambulatory care centre, a long-term care lodge, a hostel, and staff residences.
Eric holds an Honours Bachelor’s of Commerce degree specializing in Accounting from Laurentian University, a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the Sandermoen School of Business at the University of Frederiction, and a Chartered Professional Accountant designation.
In his spare time he loves to snowmobile and enjoy the outdoors. He is very excited to put down roots and rediscover everything Manitoulin Island has to offer.
Paula Ferguson
Vice President Clinical Services & Chief Nursing Officer
Samantha Smockum
Director of Human Resources
Samantha joined the Manitoulin Health Centre team in March 2020 and is serving as its Director of Human Resources.
She is a seasoned human resources professional with over 10 years’ experience, has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Laurentian University, a graduate certificate from Cambrian College in Human Resources Management and her Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation. She has spent a number of years gaining experience in multi-unionized environments with a focus on labour and employee relations and is committed to creating collaborative workplace environments that empower and support its employees.
As a certified health and life coach, Samantha is passionate about wellness, both personally and professionally. Her spare time is spent with her family enjoying her lakefront home on Manitoulin Island and exploring all the exciting activities the island has to offer.