A former chief executive officer of the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA) in northern Ontario said he’s concerned the organization no longer holds accreditation as it did when he was at the helm 16 years ago.
Pat Chilton made his comments after hearing about the death of 11-month-old Jake Koostachin, who was from Attawapiskat, in the Fort Albany Hospital last month.
“It really hits home when it’s a young boy that’s not even a year old that passes,” Chilton said.
A former chief of staff at the Fort Albany Hospital is also raising concerns about long-standing systemic issues such as doctor shortages.
Neither has direct knowledge of what happened in the case involving the baby, nor are they blaming any individual. But both say an investigation is needed as the family waits for answers relating to what occurred in the hours prior to Jake’s death.
WAHA oversees the general hospital in Moose Factory, the hospitals in Fort Albany and Attawapiskat, and nursing stations in Kashechewan and Peawanuck, in Ontario’s far north.
Jake’s family members say their questions about the Cree baby’s care before his death remain unanswered.
Family says they waited hours for doctor’s call
Kelly Koostachin, Jake’s mother, has told CBC News she took her feverish child to the Fort Albany hospital around 4:30 p.m. on April 9.
The previous week, he had been diagnosed with croup at the hospital in Moose Factory.
Koostachin said nurses assessed her baby and then they were left alone to wait for a doctor to call from the hospital in Moose Factory more than a hundred kilometres away.
She said that four hours later, Jake developed a purplish rash and struggled to breathe.
While she was on the phone with the doctor discussing an airlift to a hospital with a higher level of care, her child was taken to a trauma room and passed away about 20 minutes later.
The family has asked why no doctor was there, why it took so long for a phone call with a doctor and why they weren’t offered telemedicine. They said they have not heard whether WAHA is investigating as required under provincial legislation.
CBC News has asked WAHA for comment but has not yet received a response.
The provincial Ministry of Health said in a statement that medically necessary virtual care services are insured under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) for eligible residents, but decisions regarding the availability and provision of telemedicine are made by health-care providers.
‘Disappointed’ by lack of accreditation: ex-CEO
Chilton said that before he left the CEO job in 2010, he had worked to help WAHA achieve national health quality standards set by Accreditation Canada.
He said it was a long and difficult process, but ultimately felt it was important to prove services met a certain calibre.
The process involved bringing in people working elsewhere in health care to share their expertise about the best way to do things and “take a look at our level of governance,” along with other services and functions, Chilton said.
Accreditation, he said, provides transparency to patients and communities, including ways to monitor complaints.
Why health organizations seek accreditation
Accreditation Canada oversees assessment programs for health and social service organizations that are part of an ongoing evaluation process to help identify what is being done well and what needs improvement.
Sean Molloy, Ontario managing director of Accreditation Canada, said accreditation is routinely sought after as a way to show quality care.
The organization provides four-year programs that are widely used by hospitals across Canada and internationally to review various decisions made in health care and improve hospital services.
“Most organizations have voluntarily signed on and are part of our program, and indeed view it as a mainstay in terms of their own quality structures as organizations,” Molloy said.
As of April 2026, WAHA does not appear on the organization’s map of accredited institutions, for any of its programs that include hospitals and long-term care, and Indigenous health and wellness.
Molloy said it’s up to the health organizations to ask for accreditation reviews and they must pay to have them conducted.
Chilton said he’s sorry to see accreditation has lapsed at WAHA.
“I’m very disappointed. Having the accreditation actually provides something that even the public can gauge what’s transpired in the level of governance and the board of directors, the executive leadership at Weeneebayko, the level of services and the financial aspects of things, whether or not it’s meeting the requirements under the legislation for Ontario.”
Chilton said WAHA wasn’t perfect when he left, but he noted they had a full complement of 13 family physicians working at the hospital, with doctors flying to Fort Albany and Attawapiskat for consultations every two weeks.
The Ministry of Health said in a statement that it expects every hospital to uphold the highest standard.
It said hospitals are subject to the requirements under the Public Hospitals Act, but accreditation is voluntary and not legislated.
Concerns over doctor shortage in Indigenous communities
Dr. Murray Trusler, WAHA’s former chief of staff who also left in 2010, said Jake’s death is tragic.
He noted that infant diseases can often be difficult to diagnose and can advance quickly.
The baby’s family said in a news release they were told Jake died of meningitis, but later said to CBC News that they couldn’t talk about the cause of death.
Trusler said he’s not laying blame on the decisions of individuals at WAHA, but rather, he feels the entire health-care system needs an overhaul.
He said the doctor shortage is felt everywhere, but it’s worse in Indigenous communities due to factors such as isolation and lack of housing that complicate doctor recruitment.
Higher educational requirements mean people interested in health-care careers have to have the money and ability to leave home, Trusler said, noting that communities are relying more on non-Indigenous nurses rotating through from the south.
Mushkegowuk Council calls for inquest
Trusler said he thinks those issues need to be addressed and that leadership at WAHA is doing its best, but they face factors beyond their control.
“I know that Elaine Innes, the chief of staff, and Lynn Innes, who’s the CEO, I think they’re very conscientious and well aware of the need to meet accreditation standards.”
He also said a systemic review could answer questions about the factors that contributed to Jake’s death in Fort Albany.
“I think a coroner’s inquest would really serve that purpose.”
A political organization representing James Bay communities, Mushkegowuk Council, has called for an inquest to examine the circumstances of the child’s death.
The coroner is investigating but has not said whether there will be an inquest.
CBC News has contacted WAHA to ask for more information related to Jake’s death, and questions about staffing levels and accreditation, but has not yet received a response.
