Report shows former CEO of IWK still owes more than $22,000

A review has found the former CEO of Atlantic Canada’s biggest children’s hospital still owes more than $22,000 for potentially personal expenses charged to her corporate credit card.

The independent review of Tracy Kitch’s expenses was ordered by the IWK Health Centre’s board of directors after discrepancies were identified by the CBC and the hospital’s financial department.

Kitch resigned Aug. 23 for what the chairwoman of the hospital’s board of directors described as personal reasons.

She joined the IWK in August 2014 and was earning an annual salary of $296,289 at the time of her departure.

The executive’s corporate credit card statements reportedly included thousands of dollars charged by the Bay last November, multiple charges from iTunes and Netflix and more than $2,000 for a limousine service.

Before joining the Halifax hospital, Kitch was executive vicepresident of patient care and chief nursing executive at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

The review by Grant Thornton covers expenses reported between Aug. 2014 and June 2017.

Grant Thornton said its review of corporate credit card transactions, expense claims and other costs identified $47,273.32 of potentially personal expenses, of which $25,009.28 has been reimbursed.

“In many instances, the support for these expenses was not sufficient for us to determine the business reason, or appropriate approval may not have been documented,” the report said.

It said there were “significant delays” in the submission of claims, which limited the hospital’s ability to identify potential issues.

Dr. Krista Jangaard, vicepresident of medicine and academic affairs, has been named interim CEO. The Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre, known locally as the IWK, provides care for women, children, youth and families from the Maritimes and beyond.