The restructuring continues at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA).
Just over a month after Colin Patey was ousted as CEO, another high-ranking administrator is no longer with the organization.
Sarah Padfield has left the organization, according to Ken Deane, CKHA’s interim president and CEO. Padfield’s position of chief operating officer has been eliminated.
“On behalf of the organization, I thank Sarah for her service and contribution to the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance,” Deane said in a release.
Deane, who has been on the job for less than two months, said changes were warranted to help the Alliance evolve.
“Over the past six weeks, I’ve developed an appreciation for the organization. I’ve looked at the organizational structure and how it supports and enables the organization moving forward,” he said. “I concluded we need a more balanced focus, as we need to ensure we are organized in such a way to have a really strong focus on patients through our programs; a strong focus on our people here, working towards a healthy work place; and third, performance – we need to make sure we meet our financial goals.”
Deane said not every hospital has a chief operating officer, and that position’s duties can vary greatly from facility to facility.
“That position changes from hospital to hospital. It even takes on different forms at different times through an organization’s history,” he said. “We didn’t have it; we created it; and now as part of our evolution, we are moving out of it.”
Deane added there was a need for “greater balance around the senior management table.”
CKHA officials say Willi Kirenko stays on as vice-president and chief nursing executive with responsibility for clinical programs and services including pharmacy, laboratory services, and diagnostic imaging.
Debbie Ancocik has been appointed vice-president with responsibility for human resources, occupational health and safety, partnerships and system integration.
CKHA officials say Ancocik has worked in local health care for more than 40 years, most recently as director of employee services and labour relations with the Alliance.
“I have always loved what I do and this incredible organization. I am humbled to have the opportunity to serve CKHA as vice-president and look forward to taking on this exciting new role,” Ancocik said in a release.
Deane said he has high confidence with the staff at the Alliance.
“There are some wonderful people here that I’ve had the chance to meet.”
The organization will begin recruiting for a vice-president with responsibility for finance, decision support, hospital information management, and operations.
“The V-P of finance is to make sure we have the right financial management systems and programs in place. We need to fulfill our feduciary duties for the best value for the money,” Deane said.
