OHA silent about sudden departure of CEO and President

Pat, we hardly knew you.

A year after being appointed OHA CEO and President, Pat Campbell has mysteriously disappeared from the OHA.

In a remarkably short announcement June 12, the OHA notes that its Board of Directors has appointed former Mike Harris aide Anthony Dale as their interim President and CEO effective immediately.

It has been a rocky road for Campbell.

This spring she looked less than stellar in responding to the CBC’s Rate My Hospital program.

The same month former OHA CEO Tom Closson publicly disagreed with her interpretation of the Quality of Care Information Act after the Humber River Regional Hospital mistakenly declared a newborn baby dead and claimed the results of their investigation had to be kept secret.

In May the OHA was uncharacteristically snippy about the provincial budget, complaining both about the lack of planning and the refusal of the Wynne government to rig the arbitration process in favour of the hospitals.

The arbitration issue revived criticism of lavish increases in hospital CEO compensation in the years prior to the legislated freeze.

Whereas her predecessor was anything but shy in putting his opinions out there – sometimes controversially – Campbell’s contributions to the OHA BLOG looked like little more than a pleasant PR exercise.

In a recent on-line video, Campbell illustrates her discomfort speaking directly to the media. She told the Brantford Expositor, for example, “we have very short lengths of stay in Ontario hospitals and work very closely with our community partners to do as much as possible in the community but that means the patients that are in hospital are sick.” Huh?

In the OHA’s public release, they thank COO Warren DiClemente for helping the OHA Board through a “difficult transition period.”

Difficult transition period? How long has Campbell actually been gone?

May 31st she issued a statement of condolescence following the downing of an ORNGE helicopter.

The OHA took another run at the arbitration issue on June 7, but this time the release came from Chair Marcia Visser, not Campbell.

We did e-mail the OHA’s public affairs for an answer. They are simply sticking to the script that Campbell is no longer there, and that they wish her well.