LONDON, Ontario - The Chairs of the Boards of London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph’s Health Care, London (St. Joseph’s) announced today that both organizations will return to a model in which each hospital is led by its own CEO. This separate CEO model will be implemented, effective January 1, 2011, after current CEO Cliff Nordal’s retirement.

“The shared CEO model under Cliff Nordal’s leadership was a great success and was the right model for the completion of acute care hospital restructuring,” said St. Joseph’s Board Chair Dr. Gerry Killan. “And we have achieved the distinct visions and roles established in 1997.”

Under the current five-year agreement for the shared CEO role, it was mandated that as the agreement came to a close, the two Boards would review the leadership structure required at the next stage of the hospital care system’s evolution. After careful deliberations, the Boards are moving forward with a separate CEO model to best serve and advance the delivery of patient care and the hospitals’ role in the local and regional community.

“LHSC and St. Joseph’s became leaders in hospital integration before the shared CEO role was established. We advanced that tradition under the leadership of Cliff Nordal, and we will continue to lead the way in the coming years,” said LHSC Board Chair Bob Siskind. “We recognize the critical importance of the interdependencies of our two organizations. We remain absolutely clear and steadfast in our commitment to integration, to our academic missions and to working together to serve the patients and the needs of our community.”

At the time of the separate CEO implementation in January, 2011, the consolidation of acute care services between St. Joseph’s and LHSC will be nearly complete. Over 60 programs will have transferred, nearly 5,000 staff and physicians will be working in new locations and almost 600 million dollars of construction will have been completed.

St. Joseph’s will be continuing its transformation from a focus on acute inpatient care to being a community and regional care provider of specialized acute day surgeries, clinic treatments and diagnostic programs, as well as a regional centre for specialized mental health care.

LHSC is the major community and regional centre for acute hospital care, including emergency, trauma, critical care, cardiac and other specialized programs. LHSC’s programs embody large inpatient programs that are supported by a range of diagnostic and outpatient services.

The Boards will continue working together to plan the next steps required at the Board level to best serve the hospitals’ commitment to integration.

“This is another significant juncture in the evolution of hospital care in this community. I have offered my full support to the Boards to help ensure a smooth transition,” adds Nordal.

“Both organizations have much work ahead of us,” said Killan. “Under Cliff’s leadership, we will focus our attention on the achievement of our 2011 restructuring milestones and to advancing the strategic plans of both organizations. All of our integrated structures will remain in place and it will be the expectation of new leadership to build and enhance these structures – to carry on the tradition.”