Interior Health CEO steps down amid pediatric unit closure at Kelowna General Hospital

Edzi'u Loverin · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 27, 2025 1:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The CEO of Interior Health is stepping down amid an extended closure of the pediatric in-patient portion astatine Kelowna General Hospital (KGH), the determination wellness authorization announced Friday.

Service disruptions to the KGH's 10-bed inpatient wide pediatrics portion were announced connected May 24, with an extended closure of six weeks to statesman May 26, owed to doc shortages.

CEO Susan Brown had announced her plans to discontinue successful April, but volition beryllium leaving successful beforehand of her pending retirement, said Interior Health Board Chair Dr. Robert Halpenny.

"And past Susan has travel to her ain autarkic decision that she wanted to modulation retired of the CEO position," said Halpenny.

"I can't remark connected her idiosyncratic reasons for making that decision."

Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar says helium isn't definite things volition alteration astatine Interior Health pursuing Brown's resignation, and attributes problems astatine the wellness authorization to "meddling astatine the ministerial level."

"Over time, you know, the regular interaction we would person arsenic MLAs with Interior Health has gotten harder and harder… those connection lines and the frequence diminished implicit time."

"And I tin lone presume that was absorption coming from the curate of health's absorption successful presumption of Interior Health leadership."

'Unsafe conditions'

In the 5 weeks since the pediatric portion astatine KGH has closed, aggregate doctors and pediatricians person travel guardant with reports of interior issues astatine the hospital.

Earlier successful June, Dr. Alysha MacKenzie-Feder told CBC News she and six different pediatricians near the infirmary successful 2023 due to the fact that of years of unmanageable caseloads.

"It's not that determination is simply a shortage of physicians, it's that the strategy doesn't beryllium for them to enactment safely and sustainably," Mackenzie-Feder said previously.

KGH is 1 of lone 2 tertiary referral hospitals successful the region; the different is Royal Inland Hospital, around 214 kilometres distant successful Kamloops.

With the pediatric ward astatine KGH closed, immoderate children person been transferred to different hospitals for ongoing care.

WATCH | Interior Health CEO resigns: 

'Reset for the organization'

Halpenny says the wellness authorization didn't initially cognize however agelong it would instrumentality to reopen the pediatric ward aft the closure.

"I'm not truthful sure, initially, that we were definite however agelong this was going to instrumentality ... wherever we basal present is we're precise encouraged with the recruitment process that we're undergoing."

Four physicians volition beryllium coming to KGH over the adjacent fewer months, Halpenny says.

Additionally, the wellness authorization says it volition proceed to enactment with the aesculapian unit relation and Doctors of B.C. through an established associated enactment committee to code the staffing challenges and "stabilize services" and volition name a third-party facilitator to marque recommendations to the board.

"We don't cognize who that volition beryllium arsenic yet … I deliberation erstwhile things are emotional, sometimes we person to instrumentality a measurement backmost and it's often bully to person idiosyncratic who's neutral who tin look astatine some perspectives," Halpenny said.

Sylvia Weir, the existent main fiscal serviceman and vice president of firm services, volition beryllium stepping successful arsenic the interim president and CEO of the authorities agency.

Halpenny says Brown volition proceed to beryllium an worker of Interior Health arsenic she supports the enactment successful its transition.

"I deliberation it's a reset for the organization," Halpenny said.

The B.C. Conservative Party is holding a municipality hallway gathering astir the situation adjacent Wednesday.