Dr. E. A. Lyons, OC, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Saul & Claribel Simkin Centre (operated by the Sharon Home Inc.), is pleased to announce that Irwin Corobow has been selected as the Centre’s new Chief Executive Officer. Corobow will assume his position in January 2014.

“We are thrilled to welcome Irwin to our team,” said Lyons. “He is a respected professional and an active member of the community. I know that he will connect well with residents, families, staff, volunteers, and the community at large. We conducted a comprehensive search and attracted over 30 applicants from across Canada and the U.S. It is wonderful that we found Irwin right here.”

Corobow, originally from Montreal, moved to Winnipeg in 1980 to take a position with Manitoba Health. In 1982, he was appointed Executive Director of Community Therapy Services (CTS), a position he has held since then. CTS is a non-profit private agency that provides rehabilitation services, including occupational therapy and physiotherapy services, through home care, personal care homes (including the Simkin Centre), community mental health settings, schools, and some rural community hospitals. As Executive Director, Corobow has strived to develop and maintain collaborative and effective partnerships with CTS’s stakeholders, such as regional health authorities, health care facilities, government, and others.

Corobow will bring to his position at the Simkin Centre this commitment to engage stakeholders, along with his understanding of the importance of developing programs based on the principle of resident-centred care.

Outside of his professional life, Irwin engages in community organizations as an active volunteer. He has been on the Board of Directors of B’nai Brith Jewish Community Camp since 2009, and now serves as the Chair of its Governance/Nominations/HR Committee. He has also Co-Chaired the Strategic Planning Committee. In 2013, he was nominated by his colleagues on the BB Camp Board for a Shem Tov Award. He is a volunteer with Canadian Blood Services where he is involved in efforts to recruit new donors. He has also volunteered with Congregation Shaarey Zedek and with Jewish Child and Family Service.

While not born and raised in Winnipeg, this is where his roots now lie and he is proud to be an active member of the Winnipeg Jewish community. “To be able to now focus my professional work in the Jewish community is very exciting to me,” said Corobow. His personal connections to the Simkin Centre are strong as several members of his extended family have lived there. “The Simkin Centre is a vital component of our Jewish community. I am looking forward to working with the Board of Directors, staff, and the Centre’s stakeholders in support of their collective efforts at meeting the needs of our residents and their families now and into the future.”

Corobow succeeds former CEO, Kathleen Klaasen, whose last day at the Centre was October 24. Until Corobow joins the Centre in January, Alanna Kull, Director of Care, will serve as Acting CEO.