The newly appointed Chief Executive Officer for Southern Health says she has big shoes to fill.

On Monday it was announced that Vice President Jane Curtis will take over as CEO April 29th. Curtis is replacing Kathy McPhail who is retiring, after holding that position since 2007.

"It's actually pretty daunting," says Curtis. "(Kathy McPhail) has been an awesome CEO, a great mentor and she really led by example."

Curtis says she is excited, extremely humbled and very proud to be taking over as CEO.

"This organization is one that has a lot of amazing people working in it and I'm very humbled to be working as the CEO of this organization," says Curtis.

Curtis started in the region about 18 years ago as a registered dietician, working in Winkler and Grunthal. She says over the course of her career she has worked in different areas of health, including acute care, long-term care and in community areas. Over the last few years, she has been involved with strategic planning, decision support and patient safety. Her current role is Vice President - Planning, Innovation, Quality & Risk.

Curtis says she has always been very interested in the communities within Southern Health and says she applied for the CEO position because she feels it can be a good opportunity to impact change.

She notes with the financial status of the province, there are unsettling and tough times ahead for Southern Health. Curtis says over the last few months the leadership team has been working to address those challenges and will continue with that work. She says they must be thoughtful, ensuring they respect the services of the region and keeping patients top of mind.

Curtis says there are benefits to promoting a CEO from within the organization.

"I'm very familiar with the region, I've worked with our senior leadership team now for many years," says Curtis. "I'm very aware of the plans that we are looking at. I've been very involved in decisions that we've made in the past."