CEO Leslee Thompson has been with KGH since February 2009. She is pictured here welcoming staff and the community at our hospital's 175th Anniversary celebration back in September 2013.
CEO Leslee Thompson has been with KGH since February 2009. She is pictured here welcoming staff and the community at our hospital's 175th Anniversary celebration back in September 2013.
Credit
Matthew Manor

After six years on the job, KGH President and CEO Leslee Thompson has announced her plans for the future. Last week, Thompson informed the Board of Directors that she would not be looking to extend her contract when it expires in February 2016.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time as CEO of Kingston General Hospital and I feel it is a good time for both the organization as well as me professionally to make a transition and begin planning for the future,” says Thompson. “This has been an extraordinary experience and we have achieved a great deal together. I feel very comfortable in being able to step down at this time.”

Thompson arrived at KGH in 2009 during a time of transition for the hospital. At that time, she set the wheels in motion for a new strategic planning process which resulted in the creation and implementation of the KGH 2015 Strategy for achieving Outstanding Care, Always. Previously, Thompson had been the Vice President of Medtronic Canada, Vice President of Cancer Care Ontario and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Sunnybrook Hospital.

According to the Chair of KGH’s Board of Directors Scott Carson, it will be a six to seven month process to pick our hospital’s next CEO.

“With all of the strengths and abilities that Leslee has demonstrated during her time at KGH, it will be a challenge to find a new candidate of her caliber. But we look forward to talking about the future and moving through this time of renewal,” he says.

With eight months left in her term, Thompson says there are several priorities she would like to focus on before her departure.

“We have a lot of work still underway to improve the patient experience,” she says. “My number one priority is patient flow and ensuring we are able to reduce wait times for admitted patients in the Emergency Department, as well as improve transitions of care into the hospital and out into the community. I look forward to continuing our work together over the coming months.”