Senior Leadership

Veronica Nelson

President and CEO

Veronica began as RMH President and CEO in September 2025. She was previously serving in the same role at Haliburton Highlands Health Services from June 2023. Veronica started her career at RMH in 2000 as a Medical Radiation Technologist and worked her way up to being the Director of Diagnostic Imaging. She has also been a Project Manager, Interim President and CEO, helped lead the development of the local Ontario Health Team, and served as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Dr. Michel Boivin

Chief of Staff

Dr. Michel Boivin became Ross Memorial Hospital's Chief of Staff in September 2025. He had been a Staff Intensivist at Northumberland Hills Hospital, along with serving as a locum at both Brockville General Hospital and here at Ross Memorial Hospital. Previously, he was a faculty member for 20 years at the University of New Mexico, becoming Professor of Medicine, Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit, and Program Director of the Critical Care Fellowship. He has also led the intensive care unit at the Heart Hospital of New Mexico, developed its ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) program, and helped lead their ICU response during the COVID-19 pandemic. An expert in the use of ultrasound in critical illness, Dr. Boivin has been invited to speak and teach at international conferences and universities across North America.

Cheryl Harris

Interim Chief Nursing Executive

Cheryl has a long history at RMH as a staff nurse in our Surgical and Critical Care programs, an educator, Manager of Perioperative, and Director of Surgical, Obstetrics, Pharmacy, Dialysis, and Health First. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience in program development and education, and has championed many corporate initiatives.

Brenda Friar

Senior Human Resources Director

Brenda has more than 15 years of extensive experience across diverse industries. She has a background in strategic HR leadership, employee engagement, talent acquisition, and change management, demonstrating her ability to drive organizational success through people-centric strategies.Brenda has held various leadership roles, including Human Resources Manager at Maple Leaf Foods, Director of People and Culture at Noblegen Inc., Director of Human Resources at Flying Colours Corp., and Senior Manager of Human Resources at Fairhaven Long-Term Care Facility. She has been responsible for developing and implementing innovative HR initiatives, fostering high-performance cultures, and ensuring compliance with employment laws and regulations.Brenda holds a Bachelor of Education from Queen's University, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Human Resources from Fleming College, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Trent University.

Ulvi Iskhagi-Bayat

Vice President Facilities & Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Ulvi Iskhagi-Bayat joined RMH in late 2025, bringing a progressive employment history with more than a decade of healthcare leadership experience. He has been the CFO at Haliburton Highlands Health Services and Senior Director of Financial Services at Spectrum Health Care. A Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA), he also has a master’s degree in accounting and finance from University of Windsor.

Dan Meraw

Vice President Integrated Services & Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Dan joined RMH in May 2020 as Director of Information and Communications Technology. He previously served as the Chief Information Officer and IT Director at Orillia Soldiers’ Hospital for seven years. Dan arrived at RMH and helped lead our implementation of Epic, involving almost 150 locally maintained applications, interfaces and other electronic services, and the deployment of several hundred end-user devices such as WOWs, Rovers, med carts, printers and scanners.