Departing Health P.E.I. CEO Michael Gardam reflects on his time in the role

Just a few months from now, Dr. Michael Gardam will trade Prince Edward Island for Prince Edward County in Ontario. 

Gardam announced his pending resignation as CEO of Health P.E.I. in July, and is just days away from exiting the position.

He's moving back to Ontario to be closer to family members — but he also said the last few years have been tiring. 

"When you look at what we've been through over the last three years, it is kind of a 24/7 job and it is exhausting," Gardam told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin on Monday. "At some point you say, 'I've put my time in. I think that we've made amazing progress. It's time for somebody else to pick up the ball and just keep running with it.'" 

Gardam was interim CEO at Health P.E.I. before taking over the role permanently in October 2021. 

Before coming to the Island, he was a well-known Toronto-based infectious disease specialist whose warnings about a certain novel coronavirus often found a home on national airwaves.

Despite leaving the leadership role when the new year arrives, he'll continue to work with the health authority until the end of March. 

Although guiding the province's health ship through the COVID-19 pandemic and severe staff shortages took its toll, he said he's proud of what the agency has been able to accomplish during his tenure. 

"The mood within Health P.E.I. is very different from what it used to be," he said. "I think people feel more included, more empowered.

"I do think morale is better. I think we've been able to bring more people to Health P.E.I." 

Gardam pointed to the ability to recruit foreign-trained doctors and nurses, a physician leadership structure, and a new people strategy as things that will have positive impacts on Islanders' health care in the years to come. 

He cautioned, though, that residents may not see the effects until later down the road. 

"It's hard when you're given the direction [that] you have to improve things now, but you don't have all the levers of power to be able to actually improve things, so it can be very, very frustrating," he said. "It's all poised to be better, but you don't turn it around in a second."

As for his replacement, he hopes whoever is the next Health P.E.I. CEO continues to share information and opinions openly.