Susan Brown out as Interior Health CEO

KAMLOOPS, BC – Susan Brown (pictured left) is out as the president and CEO of Interior Health, two weeks after the Board of Directors said it was standing by her following calls for her resignation. It’s not clear whether the change in senior leadership was Brown’s idea or whether she was pushed out of the role by Interior Health in light of ongoing issues with the Kelowna General Hospital.

There’s been an extended closure of the pediatric in-patient unit at Kelowna General Hospital. Service disruptions to the KGH’s 10-bed inpatient general pediatrics unit were announced on May 24, with an extended closure of six weeks to begin May 26, due to doctor shortages.

Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar told CBC News he isn’t sure things will change at Interior Health following Brown’s resignation, and attributes problems at the health authority to “meddling at the ministerial level.”

Interior Health has named Sylvia Weir (pictured right), the current chief financial officer and vice president of corporate services, as interim president and CEO. According to Weir’s LinkedIn profile, she has been with the health authority since 2008, and has been CFO since 2020.

“Sylvia Weir has 25 years’ experience in health care, bringing experience both from the United Kingdom and Canada,” her biography on the Interior Health website said. “As CFO and vice president, Sylvia led IH’s business support and accounting functions, manages contracted services and is responsible for capital planning and projects.”

“Sylvia is known as a values-based leader and is committed to supporting the delivery of front-line clinical services and building strong relationships and community partnerships.”

Reached for comment, Interior Health told CFJC Today that Weir will now transition temporarily into her new role while the search for Brown’s successor is identified.

“Susan continues to support Interior Health through this leadership transition until the end of the year, as planned,” the statement to CFJC Today said.

“Susan Brown is concluding her tenure as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and will now focus on supporting the organization in its transition in advance of her pending retirement, as announced last spring,” the statement from Interior Health said.

Brown joined Interior Health in 2011 as vice president of clinical operations, and has been president and CEO for the past seven years.

Recently, Interior Health Board Chair Dr. Robert Halpenny said the Board “fully supports” Brown, following calls for her resignation from Kelowna MLA Gavin Dew.

“And just to reiterate, the board fully supports Susan as she completes her tenure at IH,” Halpenny said at the June 18 meeting.

In announcing Brown’s departure, Interior Health also said it “remains committed” to reopening the pediatric in-patient unit at Kelowna General Hospital as soon as possible. The ward was closed on May 26 due to what Interior Health called “limited physician availability” and its expected to reopen on July 4.

“We are pleased to announce four new physicians have signed offers to join the department. However, at this time, IH does not have the required number of pediatricians available to safely re-open the 10-bed inpatient unit,” the statement said.

“We continue to work towards resuming services and will provide timely updates to the community.”

The health authority also said it has established joint action committee with the medical staff association and Doctors of BC to address the staffing challenges and stabilize services over the long term.

It also said it will appoint a neutral, third-party facilitator as soon as possible who will be tasked with making recommendations to the Board of Directors on “further actions to support strengthening pediatric services at KGH.”

“Efforts will continue to reopen KGH’s in-patient pediatric unit as soon as possible and we are committed to keeping the community updated as progress continue,” Interior Health said. “KGH remains equipped to support any children requiring emergency care although pediatric in-patients will not be admitted at this time.”

“In the meantime, we extend gratitude to the pediatricians providing on-call coverage to the emergency department and we thank everyone working at the emergency department for their efforts during this challenging time.