Current president and CEO Jerome Quenneville will not be part of a new "integrated governance" structure between the two boards in charge of three Wellington hospitals.
On Dec. 9 the board of directors for Groves Memorial Community Hospital in Fergus and North Wellington Health Care (NWHC), which operates hospitals in Palmerston and Mount Forest, announced a new integration agreement that "will provide a solid foundation" for future delivery of health services.
"The two hospital boards believe that this form of integrated governance is in the best interest of the communities served by the two organizations, across three hospital sites and that we are stronger together," states a press release from NWHC chair Tom Sullivan and Groves chair Howard Dobson.
"We also believe that it will further our partnerships with other health care provides including family health teams, CCAC (Community Care Access Centre) and the Canadian Mental Health Association."
Also announced in the Dec. 9 press release is the departure of Quenneville, who has served as president and CEO of both hospital boards since 2007.
Sullivan and Dobson stated Quenneville decided not to renew his contract when it expires on March 10 "as he believes that it is in the best interest" of the hospital board alliance.
"We know that this was a difficult decision for Jerome and we admire his wish to provide NWHC and GMCH with the flexibility to appoint a new CEO," states the press release.
Quenneville's contract has been part of an ongoing dispute between the two boards that led Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) official Gloria Cardoso earlier this year to call the partnership "fractured and dysfunctional.”
Sullivan told the Advertiser in August that both hospital boards had previously agreed to let Quenneville’s contract expire but the Groves board didn’t ratify the decision as did NWHC.
“They changed their mind, and not only that, they unilaterally hired the CEO – they hired the CEO as their sole employee beginning at the expiration of his current contract with us both,” he said at the time.
Sullivan said the LHIN stated sharing of a CEO is the essence of the agreement between the two corporations and without it there is no alliance.
On Dec. 9 Sullivan and Dobson announced the hospital boards have hired Stephen Street as president and CEO. Street has served as vice president of corporate services and planning for NWHC and Groves since 2011.
'Integrated governance'
The new integrated hospital governance structure delegates decision-making authority to a joint executive committee consisting of five representatives from each hospital board.
The committee will oversee "quality of patient care and resource utilization," while the two hospital boards will be in charge of medical staff, material clinical changes, and relationships with foundations and volunteer auxiliary organizations.
Board officials say the new agreement will:
– bring stability to the governance of the three hospital sites;
– better position the organizations for long term stability of hospital operations;
– facilitate planning, decision making, and resource allocation to meet the needs of patients;
– strengthen the organization’s ability to attract and retain talent, including physicians, specialists, and leadership;
– allow for the continued achievement of the objectives set out in the alliance agreement;
– support the achievement of a robust, integrated model of care in Wellington as contemplated in the Rural Wellington Plan;
– contribute to the advancement of rural health care in Wellington County;
– create a stronger voice to advance health care issues in the county; and
– eliminate duplication of board and other activities.
The new agreement will be made available by Dec. 11 on the LHIN website at http://wwlhin.on.ca/boardandgovernance/boardmeetings.aspx.
