KHSC announces re-appointment of Dr. David Pichora as President and CEO for five year term

Axel Thesberg, Chair of Kingston Health Sciences Centre’s (KHSC) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the re-appointment of President and CEO Dr. David Pichora to a second term for an additional five years, until April 1, 2027.

David has led KHSC since 2017, when the Hotel Dieu Hospital and Kingston General Hospital (KGH) came together to form the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. Under his leadership, KHSC has successfully brought together two of Canada’s oldest continually operating hospitals – a secular site and a Catholic site – into one corporation. In its first two years, he led the organization through the creation of a bold strategic plan, successfully achieved full accreditation and added a number of new programs, innovations and increased funding streams.  

As southeastern Ontario’s largest acute-care academic and research hospital, KHSC remains committed to transforming care in partnership with local and regional health-care providers.

“David Pichora is the right leader and has the vision that, in order to improve the health of our communities, we must partner in new ways with health and social service providers to build strong partnerships and focus on quality and innovation,” says Thesberg. “Ensuring that the journeys patients take through the regional health-care system feel as smooth and supportive as possible and that the voices of patients and families as active members of KHSC’s care teams are heard, is something that David clearly understands.”  

In accepting this appointment, Dr. Pichora acknowledged the support of the Board and his commitment to deliver on a number of key initiatives in the upcoming years.

“KHSC’s Strategic Plan, ‘Transforming Care, Together’ helps us to understand how best to align our strengths, resources, and capabilities with our collective aspiration to transform the health-care system and make our communities healthier,” notes Dr. Pichora. “We have a number of key projects underway already that will help in this transformation – the redevelopment of the KGH site, the implementation of a regional Health Information System, being a supportive partner in the Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Ontario Health Team. As well, leading the KHSC team towards system recovery as we continue to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, will be critical to our success going forward.”   

Dr. Pichora also highlighted to the Board that KHSC’s achievements during his first term would not have been possible without the commitment and dedication of so many staff, physicians, learners and volunteers who live KHSC’s mission of caring for each other each and every day at KHSC.  

Dr. David Pichora bio:

David Pichora completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at Queen’s University and clinical fellowships at the University of Toronto and University of Alabama, Birmingham. He is an active member of the attending staff in the Department of Surgery where he serves as Professor and holds a cross appointment to the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department at Queen’s University. Prior to his appointment as CEO in 2017, David Pichora served as Chief Executive Officer of Hotel Dieu Hospital and has also held the position of Chief of Staff.

He and his research partners are the recipients of a number of research grants from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ministry of Research and Innovation, and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research/Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada in the field of computer navigated orthopaedic surgery. An internationally recognized leader in orthopaedics and trauma, David is a pioneer in the use of motion analysis techniques for documenting patterns of disease in upper extremities. He was named the Paul B. Helliwell Chair in Orthopaedic Research in 2015. He is a past President of the Ontario Orthopaedic Association and the International Society for the Study of Computer Assisted Surgery.