Leadership in a Time of Uncertainty: Lessons from A Community Care CEO
Two decades of industry experience couldn’t prepare Perry for a global health pandemic
TORONTO, August 11, 2020 -- Steve Perry didn’t just follow a career path, he found his vocation.
Perry, now three years into his role as chief executive officer of Carefor Health & Community Services, has been working in community-based healthcare for over 20 years. He stumbled somewhat accidentally into the industry as a young adult, but quickly fell in love with the ability to directly help a community he cares so deeply for.
“I think a big thing in doing what we do, is that you get to see the impact of what you do every single day,” he said.
Carefor is a non-profit home health care and community support services organization operating in the entire Eastern Ontario region, and a member of the Ontario Community Support Association. The organization offers a variety of services and programs in client homes, in the broader community, at several of its residential care facilities (including hospice) and at nursing clinics.
Perry, a loving husband and father of two, settled comfortably into his role as a leader by personalizing his work, aiming to treat everyone — from clients to employees and everyone in between — as he would want his family to be treated. However, leading a staff of 1,600 through a global health pandemic was not something anticipated so early in his tenure as CEO.
So, at a time when leadership was of utmost importance, Perry utilized his team.
“I feel a good leader listens to everyone,” said Perry. “As a leadership team we have always really supported one another.”
And that support is critical, especially when dealing with society’s most vulnerable.
Perry and his team began monitoring the pace of the pandemic long before it reached Ontario, and some tough decisions were made early on. Weekly meetings turned daily, and together they decided to suspend some programs, redeploy staff to remote working arrangements and to close all of their care facilities to non-essential visitors before it was mandated by the government.
“My perspective was, I would rather us be criticised for doing everything we could to keep people safe, even if it meant restricting movement and restricting access for people,” he said.
Simultaneously, Perry’s biggest concern — and subsequently his number one priority — became acquiring enough personal protective equipment (PPE) for the organization.
“Procuring and securing PPE was a huge, huge challenge in a highly anxious environment,” said Perry. “You were willing to do just about anything to get that PPE for your staff and your clients, but everyone on the planet was in the same boat.”
With traditional supply chains shot, Perry leveraged non-traditional supply chains in order to equip his team with the equipment necessary to keep them safe.
“Attempting to acquire PPE in the midst of a global pandemic experiencing worldwide shortages was incredibly stressful... Particularly knowing that our team was relying on us to acquire the equipment they needed and to keep them and our clients safe,” said Perry.
Now, as restrictions ease and Ontario begins to open up, Perry is determined to not let his guard down. On any given day, Carefor is procuring thousands of pieces of protective equipment, and at times supporting other organizations to have access to sufficient amounts as well.
“If you look at the profiles of those who are the most at-risk, it’s our client base,” he said. “As a team, we are choosing not to look at it in terms of fear, but as motivation. We need to be proactive and not lose sight or get too comfortable with our PPE levels as things move forward.”
For Perry, effective leadership, especially in uncertain times, is calculated.
“It’s important to act decisively, knowing you are working with imperfect information,” said Perry. “Act with a sense of urgency, but also with calmness and a team approach.”
He said that is what really helped his team keep their “A-Game” over the past few months. Perry knows he is far from the frontlines, and is thankful for the dedicated workers who surround him.
“Everything we do everyday can make a difference in somebody’s life,” he said. “That’s really what motivates me. To equip our team with the resources they need to do the really good work they do everyday.”
Moving forward — even with so much still unknown — Perry hopes to continue providing his staff and clients with the safety and peace of mind they deserve.
“I am defined in no small degree by what I do and who I do it for,” he said.
“Yes, it’s been an incredibly challenging time, but everyday is a new day and there have been an awful lot of silver linings in all of this as well.”
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About OCSA
Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) represents close to 230 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services that help seniors and people with disabilities live independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. These compassionate and cost-effective services improve quality of life and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature institutionalization. They are the key to a sustainable health care system for Ontario.
For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca
and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets.
For interviews and information requests please contact:
Sandra Kahale – Media Coordinator
Ontario Community Support Association
647-997-1800
About Carefor
Carefor is a local not-for-profit charity that provides home health care and community support services across Eastern Ontario. Whether in the home, in the community, at care facilities or one of our clinics, our 1,500 staff are part of the circle of care that is tailored to our clients’ needs. For more information, please visit carefor.ca.
Trevor Eggleton
Manager – Communications, Marketing & Fundraising
Carefor Health & Community Services
613-793-6566
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Ontario relies on community health workers every day to treat illness, support mental health, provide care at home, help people live independently, and keep families well, and in many cases, they provide this care 24/7. They care for people of all ages and backgrounds, often with highly complex needs, and they are essential to achieving a sustainable and high performing healthcare system. Closing the wage gap is not simply about fairness; it is about protecting access to care, reducing system pressure, and ensuring Ontario ’ s healthcare investments deliver maximum impact. The ten provincial community health associations are committed to working collaboratively with the government to build a stable, sustainable community health workforce, which supports a stable and sustainable healthcare system, a goal we all share.
Ottawa, Ontario – [January 14, 2026] — The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) is calling on the provincial government to prioritize sustained investment in Home Care and Community Support Services in the 2026 Ontario Budget. Without action, seniors will lose essential services and hospital emergency rooms will face even greater pressures. Appearing today before the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, OCSA CEO Lori Holloway highlighted that community-based care is a cornerstone of Ontario’s health system—keeping people healthy at home, enabling them to age with dignity and preventing unnecessary hospital and long-term care admissions. “Without new investment in Community Support Services, seniors will lose meals and personal care services, caregivers will lose day programs for their loved ones, and hospital beds will fill up as more people are stuck waiting for care that should be delivered at home,” said Holloway. OCSA represents more than 200 not-for-profit home care and community care providers across Ontario, delivering services such as high-needs home care, Meals on Wheels, assisted living, transportation to medical appointments, adult day programs for people living with dementia, and respite supports for caregivers. While the province has made recent investments in home care expansion, OCSA emphasized that these gains are fragile if the community supports that enable people to remain safely at home are allowed to erode. Community Support Services account for less than two per cent of Ontario’s total health budget, yet received no funding increase in Budget 2025 . As a result, many providers are already planning service reductions or facing difficult decisions, including reducing meal delivery routes, limiting day programs and respite services, scaling back transportation programs, and closing adult day programs for part of the week. In turn, service reductions will place additional strain on working caregivers, 69% of whom are experiencing burnout and nearly half of whom are considering leaving the workforce to care for their loved ones. “These are not abstract risks,” Holloway said. “They are real service reductions being planned right now in communities across the province.” When community supports are unavailable, patients end up in hospital and/or remain in hospital beds longer—not because they need acute care, but because the services required for safe discharge do not exist. A hospital Alternate Level of Care (ALC) bed costs approximately $730 per day , compared to $103 per day for home and community care. Ontario’s aging demographics make the issue increasingly urgent. Nearly one in five Ontarians is now over the age of 65 , and the senior population is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. OCSA is urging the government to immediately: Sustain home care through a renewed multi-year investment of $442 million investment annually, and predictable funding; Invest $150 million annually to stabilize Community Support Services and prevent service cuts; and Address workforce shortages by closing the wage gap facing community health workers, who earn 23 to 46 per cent less than their hospital counterparts. “Ontario cannot build its way out of an aging population with hospitals and long-term care beds alone,” Holloway said. “Care delivered at home and in the community is where people want to be, and it is the most cost-effective and compassionate approach for the health system.” About the Ontario Community Support Association The Ontario Community Support Association represents more than 200 not-for-profit organizations providing home care and community support services across the province. OCSA members deliver essential services that help people live independently, age at home, and reduce pressure on hospitals and long-term care. For more information visit www.ocsa.on.ca or @OCSATweets For media inquiries please contact: Karla Sealy (she/her) Manager of Communications 416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext 242 karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca
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