Hospitals search for candidates to sit on inaugural Board of Directors

The search is on for experienced individuals who would like to make a difference in how health care is delivered to patients and families in southeastern Ontario.

As of April 1, 2017 Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH) and Kingston General Hospital (KGH) will formally join forces to become an integrated academic health sciences centre, serving patients from across the region. The new organization will be governed by one Board of Directors and one executive team led by CEO Dr. David Pichora.

Although not officially named yet, the new organization will be responsible for one of the largest health-care budgets and will be one of the largest employers in the region. The hospitals are now asking individuals with executive level or board experience to apply to sit on the organization’s inaugural board.

“This is a major milestone and represents how much progress we have made since June when we announced that our two hospitals would be formally integrating,” says Dr. Pichora. “We are now welcoming applications from skilled people to help us oversee the delivery of the highest quality of care to the patients we serve.”

As members of this volunteer board, successful candidates will have an opportunity to shape the strategy for the academic health sciences centre and determine how best to deliver complex-acute, specialty and ambulatory care, along with the new organization’s research and teaching mandates. There are currently four vacant positions to be filled.

“The four new board members will be joined by four legacy members each from the former HDH and KGH Boards,” says Dr. Pichora. “The eight individuals who have already been elected to the new board are Alan Cosford, Sherri McCullough, David Pattenden and Sandy Wilson from HDH and Peng Sang Cau, David O’Toole, Axel Thesberg and Glenn Vollebregt from KGH.”

To complement the skills of the individuals currently on the board, the new organization is specifically looking for individuals with expertise in one of the following areas:

• Patient safety and clinical quality
• Human resources/labour relations
• Enabling performance through information technology
• Legal services

The selection process will be overseen by a Committee made up of representatives from both hospitals. The Committee wants to ensure gender balance and is encouraging women and applicants with diverse backgrounds, including members of the Francophone community and those from across the region serviced by the new academic health sciences centre, to apply.

Individuals who are interested or would like more information can visit the hospitals’ integration website at: https://kingstonhsc.com