Andrea McClymont: Always ready to take on new challenges and support her team

Andrea McClymont, Manager of Health Information Services and Decision Support and Chief Privacy Officer, ARH

Family life is paramount to Andrea McClymont. Growing up in her tight-knit family, Andrea’s parents instilled a strong work ethic that shines through in her own career today.

Born and raised in Almonte, Andrea graduated high school with a few ideas of what she would like to study next.

“I really wanted to go into the Paramedic Program but because I was only seventeen, I couldn’t get the particular license required for the ambulance,” explained Andrea. “I applied to a few programs and got into my third choice: Health Information Management. I was already working full-time, and I was afraid I wouldn’t ever go to school if I didn’t pursue one of the programs post-graduation. I ended up really enjoying it.”

Andrea began working in high-tech for about five years, and fortunately, her career path led her to  Carleton Place Hospital doing emergency coding, which allowed Andrea more time before and after work to spend with her young kids.

Closer to home

After relocating to live on Lake Clear near Barry’s Bay for a few years, Andrea and her husband decided to move back closer to family in the Arnprior area. That’s when she started her ARH tenure as the Manager of Health Information Services and Decision Support and the Chief Privacy Officer (and now includes Project Manager for Meditech).

“At ARH, I have had so much opportunity to get involved in many different projects and initiatives,” said Andrea. “Sometimes I do wish for one more hour of sleep, but it really has been a rewarding experience.”

Rising to new challenges

Throughout the COVID-19 experience, Andrea stepped up to the new opportunities that came from the many adjustments needed to deliver healthcare during a pandemic.

This has included leading the ARH Team to accelerate the launch of the Patient Portal and virtual visits that enhanced virtual access to health information and health professionals. Andrea also manages and schedules the Hospital screeners and the team processing COVID-19 swabs, and she makes time to work at the Arnprior Vaccine Clinic every week. Finally, when it was taking approximately 14 days for residents to get their COVID-19 test results back via the Ontario Public Health Lab, Andrea worked with the Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre (VTAC), Queensway Carleton Hospital, and the ARH IT Team to introduce the Meditech system in order to do testing through EORLA.

“That was a big improvement that I was really excited to be involved in,” reflected Andrea. “By setting up the infrastructure to work with EORLA, we decreased the test result turnaround to about 24 to 48 hours.”

For Andrea, the pandemic has been a stellar example of the importance of collaboration.

“COVID has underlined the importance of the community working together – we all have things we can bring to the table. Our ARH teams have worked very, very hard and the focus has always been on what we can do that’s best for the patient and the community.”

Family life

When Andrea isn’t working, she focuses on family time, enjoys hiking and loves (and misses) travel.

“I’m a huge family person and I’m very committed to my kids who are now 22 and 25 – and my new granddog, Kip!”