Ginette Rodger, senior vice-president of professional practice and chief nursing executive at The Ottawa Hospital, was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the 2 p.m. ceremony on Tuesday, June 8, “in recognition of a distinguished career in health care and her outstanding contribution to improving the effectiveness of health services in Ottawa and throughout Canada.”
Committed to advancing the nursing profession and the quality of healthcare, Ginette Rodger has been a leader in the management, education and research of nursing practices in Canada and around the world. She
has served on a variety of commissions and boards of health as well as nursing, political and educational organizations including the Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation, Canadian Red Cross Society and
the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON). She has also been a successful strategist for many projects including the redesign of the Centre for Gerontology at the University of Alberta and funding for the first Canadian Ph.D. program in nursing at the University of Alberta.
Ms Rodger’s dedication to improving health care has been recognized by six Canadian universities that awarded her honorary degrees. She received the Prix Vigor in 1981 for the best health care and social services administrator in the province of Quebec. In 2004, the City of Ottawa named her the Nurse Leader of Care, Knowledge and Innovation. In 2007, she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.