Hospital hopes to make offer to a CEO candidate this fall

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre officials say they hope to be in position to make an offer to a new president and CEO later this fall.

But there’s still plenty of work to get to that point said Susan Fraser, head of the search committee, said on Friday.

Fraser said Promeus, the Toronto-based consulting firm hired to guide the search to replace former CEO Andree Robichaud, has been working diligently all summer to narrow the list of potential candidates.

“They’ve been accepting applications and assessing the applications throughout the summer. We’re hoping to have preliminary interviews in early October, with some final interviews by the end of October,” Fraser said.

“It’s a fairly lengthy process, but I think it’s really important we get the right person, so we’re taking the time to make sure we do get that right person.”

There are some specific qualities they’re looking for in a new CEO, Fraser added.

The hospital, a regional hub, is a fairly young academic training centre and they’re seeking someone who can help move that forward in the coming years, she said.

“I think it’s really critical. Relationships are really important. Health care doesn’t happen in isolation, so we need someone who has, and can develop, good relationships with other partners and move that agenda forward as well,” Fraser said.

Robichaud announced her departure earlier this year and she left in June. She arrived in Thunder Bay in 2010 from New Brunswick.

The search committee is comprised of people from the TBRHSC board, the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute, the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, a group of physicians and members of the patient advisory committee.