Criticism follows CEO

Allegations made by doctors in New Brunswick that Andree Robichaud can’t handle the pressure of running a hospital organization have been overblown, says the chairman of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s board of directors.

Ron Nelson said Robichaud, unveiled on Tuesday as the choice to replace outgoing hospital president and CEO Ron Saddington, was simply caught in the middle of a tumultuous time in New Brunswick health care’s history.

Robichaud, who will take over the hospital’s top job on Oct. 1. was caught in a controversy surrounding the four-week suspension of Richard Garceau, a microbiologist at Dr. Georges L. Dumont Regional Hospital in Moncton, N.B.

Colleagues rallied around Garceau, later walking out of the hospital in protest of the suspension, no reason for which was given.

Nelson said despite claims by the Opposition Conservatives that Robichaud was forced from her job, health care officials in New Brunswick that she was pushed from her job as president of Vitalite Health Network, the organization has said publicly this is not the case.

Nelson said they knew before hiring Robichaud the Campbellton, N.B. native was involved in controversy in her home province, but believe she is the best person for the job.

"I have to say our search committee was unanimous in our support of her," Nelson said. "We find her to be an absolutely wonderful leader, very good communicator and she is willing to take on tough issues and tough decisions."

During her time in New Brunswick, the province’s regional hospitals amalgamated, forming Vitalite Health Network, which was originally known as the Region Health Authority A.

The controversial amalgamation met with opposition from doctors like Garceau, who voiced their opinions in the media. Tensions escalated when health authorities suspended Garceau for doctors allege are nothing more than personal reasons.

During a recent media conference Garceau’s colleagues said they remained silent out of fear.

"We are afraid about speaking out because who is the next doctor, comma, like Dr. Garceau, to tell what he thinks is not correct in the hospital and is there a possibility of this doctor being suspended," microbiologist Gabriel Girouard told the Saint John Telegraph-Journal late last month.

New Brunswick MLA Claude Williams (P.C., Kent-South) said Robichaud was under pressure from the regional health board. He added she handled the situation well and likely took the job in Thunder Bay as a way to prepare for retirement and not because she couldn’t handle her role as head of Vitalite Health Network.

"If Robichaud wanted to move onto another big challenge for her career, I would have thought she would have moved to someplace bigger (than Thunder Bay)," Williams said. "She decided to move there and, with all respect to her, if she was planning to retire in the next few years that career move is a perfect decision."

Williams said Robichaud wasn’t directly involved in any of the controversies, including the Garceau case, which were instead handled by the respective individual hospital boards. A lot of the problems, he said, were actually ways for the local boards to conduct damage control or trying to fix unpopular health-care decisions made by the provincial Liberal government.

While in charge at Vitalite Health Network, Robichaud oversaw health-care facilities that served about 250,000 people and operated under a $590-million budget.

"She was dealing with a lot of pressure and we believe the Liberal government was calling the shots," Williams said. "The pressure was adding up and she decided to move on."

Robichaud said the Liberals had their own health-care reform agenda and she was forced to oblige. She added that she felt it was the right thing to do for New Brunswick.

While the Garceau matter remains confidential, Robichaud said she isn’t worried about bad press because she has nothing to hide.

"In terms of how we handle staff, well that’s a human resources matter and that is confidential and we don’t comment," Robichaud said. "I had a great time and when I told my board there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Unfortunately, when you have one or two disgruntled employees that’s what comes to the surface."