NYGH searching for new president.
North York General Hospital president Bonnie Adamson is moving to the London Health Sciences Centre.
Photo/COURTESY
North York General Hospital is searching for a new president after announcing Bonnie Adamson is leaving to lead London Health Sciences Centre.
Adamson, who has been president of North York General for eight years, will stay on at the hospital until Oct. 1 and will take over her new position in London Oct. 25.
"I cannot express how grateful I am for the experience to work with such an impressive team of dedicated professionals at North York General Hospital," Adamson said in a statement Thursday Aug. 26 announcing her impending departure.
"I am very proud of what this organization has achieved and I know our staff, physicians and volunteers will continue their unwavering commitment to provide safe, quality care."
The hospital has already launched a search for her replacement, the statement added.
Dunbar Russel, chair of NYGH's board of governors, congratulated Adamson on her new appointment in London, where she previously had held a senior management position.
"Bonnie has served our hospital well for the last eight years and this is a great opportunity for her to take on a new challenge," he said.
"Bonnie has led our hospital to many great successes including the development and execution of a strategic plan improving the quality of care, while at the same time balancing our budget for the last six years."
Adamson has presided over many accomplishments at North York General.
For example, in April, the hospital was awarded the highest possible accreditation designation by Accreditation Canada, a not-for-profit, independent organization that rates national and international health organizations based on standards of excellence so they can improve the services they provide to patients.
A month later, NYGH was chosen to host a national campaign called Stop! Clean Your Hands Day to promote proper hand hygiene in health care settings.
The hospital was selected because its compliance rate had skyrocketed from less than 40 per cent 18 months before to more than 80 per cent by this spring.
Adamson also led the hospital through some challenges.
Last March, she and acting chief of staff Dr. David White held a press conference after Toronto Police announced they had charged veteran anesthetist, Dr. George Doodnaught, with sexually assaulting patients while they were under anesthetic.
Adamson assured the public the hospital had moved quickly follow a complaint by a patient to ensure Doodnaught was no longer working at the hospital.
She also said hospital staff were "shocked and devastated" by the allegations and offered her heartfelt sympathies to the alleged victims.
Adamson earned $508,000 last year, a sum that prompted the Service Employees' International Union Local 1 to hold an April protest on the bridge leading to North York General against the "exorbitant" salaries paid to hospital presidents.