Proactive Disclosure of Contracts welcomed by hospitals in London

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release:
January 3, 2012

(LONDON, Ontario) – Today, along with other hospitals in Ontario, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s) proactively released details of compensation for current senior executives. In support of increased transparency, the hospitals already publicly post on their websites hospital performance information such as executive expense claims, patient safety indicators, and quality improvement plans.

“We are committed to improving how we share information and engage the public”, said Ruthe Anne Conyngham, Vice-Chair, Board of Directors, LHSC. “It is our hope that sharing current executive contracts will continue to build an open, honest, and trusting relationship with our community.”

Compensation is a key element in attracting and retaining highly skilled clinical and business leaders. Current executive contracts comply with all applicable legislation, and also align with the very latest recommendations for health care executive compensation as contained in the Manley report released December 9, 2011 - an independent assessment of compensation best practices for Ontario hospitals.

“We know that our community not only depends on us to deliver high quality and compassionate care, but also to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us by the taxpayers of Ontario’, said Marcella Grail, Chair, Board of Directors, St. Joseph’s. “We continuously review and improve our processes and we support the Ontario Hospital Association initiative to develop and implement a provincial framework for executive compensation as recommended in the Manley report.”

Current executive contracts for LHSC can be viewed at http://www.lhsc.on.ca/About_Us/Accountability/Governance_and_Management/Exec-Compensation/index.htm.

Current executive contracts for St. Joseph’s can be viewed at http://www.sjhc.london.on.ca/executive-compensation.

About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been in the forefront of medicine in Canada for 137 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, South Street Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute, a joint research initiative with St. Joseph’s Health Care, London. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 50 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in Southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca

About St. Joseph’s Health Care London
St. Joseph’s Health Care, London is a major patient care, teaching and research centre with a distinguished legacy of service to London, Southwestern Ontario and the veterans of Canada, dating back more than 130 years. St. Joseph’s five key role areas include acute/ambulatory care, complex care and veterans care, long-term care, rehabilitation and specialized geriatrics and specialized mental health care. Facilities and services including St. Joseph’s Hospital, Parkwood Hospital, Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care and Regional Mental Health Care London and St. Thomas are part of the St. Joseph’s family. Our research arm, the Lawson Health Research Institute, continues to direct their research to the development of new knowledge that is continually being applied directly to patient care. More than 400,000 patients annually receive care from close to 6,000 physicians and staff at St. Joseph’s. St. Joseph’s is affiliated with the University of Western Ontario.

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