New Deer Lodge CMO focuses on patient, resident care and safety

By Lindsay Mykes

It’s been over six months since Dr. Nancy Dixon was appointed Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Deer Lodge Centre – a time she describes as full of support and lots of learning. Since then, she’s made herself known as a leader committed to improving patient and resident care and safety, and as a relationship-builder among physicians and other staff.

Her sense of humour has certainly helped.

“It’s a common mistake for people to think that CMO is Chief Marketing Officer,” she laughs, “and I say, No, no, that’s definitely not what I do!” Instead, she’s responsible for overseeing the medical care provided to residents and clients at Deer Lodge, as well as overseeing its physicians, physician assistants, clinical assistants, and staff. Dixon says her favourite part of her job is sitting on committees that look at policy and medication safety to examine different ways they can improve patient care and improve safety.

Prior to this, Dixon was a family physician with additional training in care of the elderly. She worked in several different roles throughout the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, including long-term care, day hospital, geriatric outreach teams, and geriatric rehabilitation. She also served as assistant director for the Enhanced Skills and Integrated Care of the Elderly programs at the University of Manitoba. Born and raised in rural Manitoba, she describes herself as a farm girl through and through – she grew up driving a grain truck out on the prairies. In her downtime, she coaches her nine-year-old twins’ soft-ball team.