Niagara Health board of directors picks new CEO
Chief of staff promoted to lead Niagara Health, St. Joseph’s
Niagara Health's chief of staff has been promoted to the hospital system's new chief executive officer, a position he will also hold for the St. Joseph's Health System in Hamilton.
Dr. Thomas Stewart, who was also the executive vice-president medical at St. Joseph's and Haldimand War Memorial Hospital, will assume his new role on August 1.
Niagara Health announced its board of directors hired Stewart as the new CEO in a press release Monday afternoon.
"The board of directors at Niagara Health is extremely proud of accomplishments that have taken place under Dr. Stewart's leadership since he took on (the role of chief of staff in 2014)," said John Bragagnolo, chair of the board in a statement.
Stewart is replacing Kevin Smith, who stepped down as Niagara Health CEO in May. Like Stewart, Smith was also the head of St. Joseph's.
Stewart was hired by Smith as chief of staff for the Niagara Health System in 2014. Prior to joining the NHS, which has since changed its name to Niagara Health, Stewart was the chief of staff at Mount Sinai and became part of the ORNGE air ambulance scandal in 2013.
Stewart stepped down from Mount Sinai after it was revealed that under his watch the embattled CEO of ORGNE, Chris Mazza, had been paid $256,000 by Mount Sinai for consulting work. The hospital could not confirm some of that work was ever completed.
It was also revealed that ORGNE paid Stewart a consulting fee of $436,000 over seven years. ORNGE could not confirm what work Stewart had done for the air ambulance organization.
Although there was an Ontario Provincial Police investigation into financial irregularities at ORNGE, Stewart was never implicated in any criminal wrongdoing nor accused of doing anything improper.
Stewart said he neverthe-less left his post as chief of staff at Mount Sinai to avoid any appearance of impropriety that could affect the hospital.
Arespected physician with international credentials, Stewart is also a professor at the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. Along with leading Niagara Health in his new role, Stewart will be president and CEO of St. Joseph's, a hospital system with six member organizations and multiple hospital sites.