In response to a request by the London Health Sciences Centre, Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj has been seconded to serve as acting-president and CEO of LHCS effective May 23.
The duration of Musyj’s secondment is still to be determined.
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The London health care facility, which is critical to health care in southwestern Ontario, has experienced turbulence in its executive suite, having gone through two presidents since 2021.
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“A stable and strong London Health Sciences Centre is good for London, Windsor, the region, the province, Canada and in fact internationally,” Musyj told the Star. “I am honoured to be part of the LHSC team.”
The president’s position at LHCS is currently vacant after Dr. Jackie Schleifer Taylor took a leave for health reasons last November. Schleifer Taylor replaced the previous president Paul Woods in 2021 after Woods was terminated for travelling to the U.S. during the COVID pandemic.
The Ontario Ministry of Health launched an investigation after The London Free Press reported details of two trips last fall by senior staff to Portugal and the United Arab Emirates and a planned trip to Australia. Sixteen staff travelled to Portugal to attend an international hospital conference and six executives travelled to the UAE.
The total cost of the three trips was approximately $470,000, sparking criticism from unions and taxpayer groups.
LHSC cancelled the eight-day Australia trip two days before 11 of its staff were scheduled to depart.
Schleifer Taylor went on leave after the Free Press report, however, hospital officials said her leave was unrelated.
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“Mr. Musyj will take on the role and accountabilities of the President and CEO to provide additional leadership capacity for our executive team and the broader LHSC team,” LHSC chair of the board of directors Matthew Wilson said in a statement. “This secondment is open-ended while Dr. Jackie Schleifer Taylor remains on a leave of absence.
“Mr. Musyj brings extensive health care leadership and expertise to LHSC, including more than 15 years of experience leading a major hospital organization. This secondment builds on a long history of partnership and collaboration between LHSC and Windsor Regional Hospital.
“Mr. Musyj’s familiarity with LHSC and our community will be invaluable as he assumes this acting role to provide additional corporate leadership capacity to our already talented executive leadership team.
“LHSC continues to be unwavering in our commitment to excellence in patient care, teaching and research and inviting Mr. Musyj to provide leadership will further enable us to deliver on our goals.”
Musyj joined WRH in 2000 and became president and CEO in December 2007. His nearly 17 years of experience as the Windsor hospital’s CEO is more than three times the average length of time hospital CEOs serve in Ontario.
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Born and raised in Essex County, Musyj is licensed to practice law in both Ontario and Michigan.
“We wish David success in his role assisting LHSC,” said WRH board chair Patti France.
“While we will miss David on a day-to-day basis, we are proud of his achievements here locally, extremely excited for his new opportunity and confident in his leadership abilities in this role.”
In Musyj’s absence, Karen Riddell will take on the role of acting-president and CEO for WRH. Riddell has been with WRH since 1999 and in an executive role since 2017. She became chief nursing executive and chief operating officer in 2021.
Though Musyj will move to London in his new role, he will eventually return to Windsor. He’ll also continue to be directly involved in the planning and ongoing discussions for the construction of the new hospital in Windsor.
“Karen is an incredible leader who supported WRH’s clinical team in navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic and the more recent criminal cyberattack, adding to the many years of experience in hospital nursing she already carried,” France said.
“It is a testament to WRH’s leadership that we have such incredible ‘bench strength’ to make the changes necessary to ensure continuously strong leadership at the top of Windsor and Essex County’s largest employer.”
Riddell will remain chief nursing executive but Nicole Krywionek has been promoted to interim vice-president.
Krywionek will sit on the WRH executive committee and be responsible for Critical Care, Cardiology, Diagnostic Imaging, Patient Relations, Professional Practice, Corporate Education and Training and Clinical Quality and Safety.
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