London Health Sciences Centre announces more executive-level changes

The London Health Sciences Centre is announcing two new executive-level appointments, the latest in numerous high-level changes within the organization this year.

On Wednesday, LHSC announced Danny Tulip, CFA, will join the hospital network in a contract role as chief financial officer, replacing Jacquie Davison. Bill Manson will join LHSC in a contract role in the new position of chief administrative executive.

LHSC says Tulip previously served as CFO of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and more recently was the CFO of Royal Roads University.

Manson has served as senior advisor of environmental health at Public Health Ontario as well as VP of quality, performance and accountability and senior director of performance management at the Toronto Central LHIN.

“Their combined expertise and experience will help guide the organization through the present public health crisis and enable us to effectively support a post-pandemic health system restoration of services,” interim CEO Jackie Schleifer Taylor said in a statement.

LHSC says the positions will help it to better respond to the pandemic and to plan for the resumption of services after the pandemic passes.

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The announcement comes nearly two weeks after it was learned that chief operating officer Neil Johnson and chief people officer Susan Nickle were no longer with LHSC and roughly five months after the ouster of then-president and CEO Paul Woods and the resignation of the LHSC’s board chair.

Peter Bergmanis, co-chair of the London Health Coalition, says the amount of high-level change in such a short time frame is concerning.

“I think I’m scratching my head and many Londoners probably feel the same way. This is the preeminent health-care facility in the southwest and that kind of turnover is almost unheard of, especially in such a compacted amount of time,” he told Global News.

“This is looking like a rudderless ship. And during a pandemic, not a very good situation to be in.”

Bergmanis says staff would like to see more communication and reassurance from LHSC administration about the nature of the changes at the executive level.