Innovator, mentor and relationship-builder. These are the words that come up again and again when you ask people about Dr. Andrew Ignaszewski, or Dr. Andy as most of his patients call him.
But describing Dr. Ignaszewski’s career at PHC by listing the roles he’s held doesn’t begin to describe the impact he’s had on the organization during his 30-year tenure.
The person
Innovator
In early 2019, Dr. Ignaszewski assumed the roles of interim department head for the department of medicine and physician-in-chief. From day one, he got physicians thinking about innovation and how they could do things better.
“Andy was the one who had the idea that we should encourage and support physicians to innovate,” said Dr. Anita Palepu, Head, Department of Medicine at Providence Health Care.
He met with the 18 division heads and asked each of them how they could improve care. From that list of projects, he asked them to pick one that they really wanted to bring to life.
Together, Drs. Ignaszewski and Palepu created a program that allowed physicians across all divisions to put forward projects that have the potential to transform how care is delivered in a particular area. In early 2020, they were able to secure some funding to start the Department of Medicine Innovation Platform.
They hired Dr. Kristine Chapman as physician lead for Innovation and Quality, and assembled a working group to review the applications.
“Even for projects that weren’t successful in securing funding, Andy would take the time to mentor and advise physicians on how they could move their projects forward,” said Dr. Palepu.
After the first few projects were funded, the program got the attention of Providence Health Care leadership who saw the potential to take the concept behind Innovation Platform and apply it to other areas in the organization. Now PHC is home to Innovarium, a whole innovation ecosystem that includes initiatives like Ideas:Forward, PHIR+E and PHC Ventures.
“Andy likes to be provocative and push boundaries. He wants to see growth, improvement,” said Sandy Barr, program director, medicine, older adults and palliative. “I’ve worked with Andy for years, ever since I was a coordinator in the Healthy Heart program. He challenges you to go the extra mile.”
Sandy worked with Dr. Ignaszewski to help establish the Innovation Platform. “My role was to operationalize the ideas brought forward to the Innovation Platform. I would help hire staff, find space, and source equipment.”
With a laugh, Sandy added “He created a lot of work for me. But it was all good work – all about supporting innovation and being cutting edge.”
“Andy understands that innovation isn’t a top-down process. It needs to come from the front lines, from the people delivering the care,” said Dr. Palepu. “Part of innovation is empowering providers, seeing where there are gaps, what can we do better.”
“Moving to the new St. Paul’s Hospital is the impetus we need to do things better. We have the lead time to prototype and fix things be,” Dr. Palepu continued. “We don’t want to be in a new building doing things the same way we’ve been doing them for the past 20 years.”
Mentor
When he immigrated from Poland, Dr. Ignaszewski was considered a ‘foreign medical’. He had to jump through a lot of hoops to practice medicine in Canada.
“Looking back, there were many stages in that process where I could have really used some help,” reflected Dr. Ignaszewski.
That experience is one of the reasons he has been a committed mentor for dozens of medical staff at PHC. For Dr. Ignaszewski, mentorship is critical for physician engagement.
“When I took over as the head of the Department of Medicine, and then as physician-in-chief, I had six program directors reporting to me. Many of them were grappling with the same set of problems. I offered to mentor them. I may not have known everything about their areas, but I could help them articulate the right questions to ask to help move them forward,” said Dr. Ignaszewski.
“One of Dr. Andy’s strengths is that he pushes you to take on challenges,” said Dr. Kristine Chapman. “He has lots of energy and enthusiasm. If he believes in you, you feel it.”
His colleagues highlight Dr. Ignaszewski’s energy, his passion for his work and his ability to motivate people. He has mentored and coached dozens of junior staff, encouraging them to push boundaries and think bigger.
Relationship builder
At the core, Dr. Ignaszewski is passionate about his patients and delivering the best possible care. People really light up and feel seen around him. Patients and families connect with him.
“Andy really cares about the human aspect of health care. He takes the time to build relationships with people,” said Teija Beck, Executive Director, Jim Pattison Medical Campus, St. Paul’s Foundation. “I love taking donor meetings with him. Even though there are big financial decisions at stake, the tone is always warm, friendly and informal.”
This ability to connect helps him share his enthusiasm about things and help others understand how things can be better because of the change.
“Andy has sincere relationships with people over time. He has some magic about him that helps people understand how they can make a difference,” said Dr. Chapman. “He can take complex ideas and help patients, donors and administrators understand his vision.”
This skill has been a huge asset to the St. Paul’s Foundation. With Dr. Ignaszewski’s help, they’ve raised in excess of $5 million over the years to support various hospital programs, including $1.5 million for the Innovation Platform.
“What I like about Andy is that he really believes in the idea of high tide floats all boats. He is very collaborative in everything he does,” said Teija.
Looking forward
As Dr. Ignaszewki steps down as physician-in-chief and winds down some of his other administrative responsibilities, he’s created an important legacy of innovation and collaboration for his colleagues to continue.
“Through the Department of Medicine Innovation Platform, we’ve focused on transformation and on engaging physicians to make this happen. I’m excited to see how the new St. Paul’s Hospital transforms how care is delivered,” said Dr. Ignaszewski.
“Providence Health Care is in debt to Andy for his vision and how he got people thinking about new ways of offering services,” said Sandy.
Dr. Palepu summed up Dr. Ignaszewski legacy with the simple statement “he has left everything better than he started.” Now that’s putting your heart into everything you do.
