Healthcare organizations across Canada continue to face increasing financial pressure. Rising labour costs, growing service demands, aging infrastructure, and constrained funding have created a difficult environment for healthcare leaders tasked with maintaining high-quality patient care while ensuring long-term financial stability.

During the panel discussion, Session 6: Financial Stability in Uncertain Times: Strategies for Healthcare Organizations Within Existing Funding Models, finance leaders Ken Klassen (VP, Corporate Services & CFO, Shared Health, MB), Natalie Urquhart (VP, Corporate Services & CFO, Horizon Health, NB), Bessy Leung (VP, Corporate Services & CFO, CAMH), and Greg Chow (VP Finance, CFO, Mackenzie Health), explored practical approaches to strengthening financial sustainability while navigating ongoing economic and operational challenges.

The session focused on operational efficiency, data-driven decision-making, technology investments, and the evolving role of healthcare finance leaders in supporting organizational resilience.

Looking Beyond Traditional Cost-Cutting

Financial sustainability is no longer achieved through periodic budget reductions alone, and instead, organizations must continuously evaluate how services are delivered and identify opportunities to improve efficiency without compromising patient care.

The discussion highlighted the importance of understanding true cost drivers and focusing on long-term operational improvements. Leaders noted that sustainable financial performance requires balancing fiscal responsibility with strategic investments that support patient outcomes, workforce stability, and organizational growth.

Rather than viewing financial management as a standalone function, participants stressed the need to integrate financial thinking into everyday operational decision-making.

Using Data to Drive Better Decisions

Data analytics emerged as one of the most important tools available to healthcare organizations.

Panelists discussed how combining financial, operational, and clinical data allows leaders to:

• Better understand performance,
• Identify inefficiencies,
• And evaluate improvement opportunities.

Benchmarking against peer organizations was also highlighted as a valuable strategy for identifying areas where performance can be strengthened.

Data alone is not enough, and finance leaders must be able to translate complex information into meaningful insights that clinicians, operational leaders, and executives can use to guide decision-making and prioritize investments.

Investing In Innovation and Technology

Technology was identified as a critical component of future financial sustainability.

From advanced analytics and automation tools to workforce management systems and digital workflows, organizations are increasingly using technology to improve efficiency and reduce administrative burden. While these investments often require upfront funding, panelists noted that they can create significant long-term value through improved productivity and resource utilization.

Several examples highlighted how automation can streamline routine processes, allowing healthcare teams to focus more time on patient care and higher-value activities.

Diversifying Revenue and Building Partnerships

Further explored was the importance of looking beyond traditional funding sources. Philanthropic contributions, strategic partnerships, ancillary services, and other revenue-generating opportunities were discussed as important mechanisms for supporting organizational priorities and future capital needs.

Collaboration was another recurring theme. Whether through shared services, regional partnerships, or coordinated planning initiatives, healthcare organizations can often achieve greater value by working together rather than operating independently.

Conclusion

The discussion demonstrated that financial sustainability requires a combination of operational discipline, data-driven decision-making, strategic investment, and strong collaboration. As healthcare organizations continue to face growing demand and resource constraints, finance leaders will play an increasingly important role in helping organizations adapt and thrive.

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