Emergency-room physician Dr. Brendan Carr has been named CEO and president of the Vancouver Island Health Authority.
Carr assumes the role immediately. He has served as acting CEO since May, after the retirement of Howard Waldner, and joined VIHA last year as executive vice-president and chief medical officer.
Carr’s compensation package is $350,000 plus benefits and pension, for a total of $400,000.
In the past Carr, has served as vice-president of medicine with the Capital District Health Authority in Halifax and as an assistant professor with Dalhousie University, according to a VIHA news release. In addition to being physician, Carr has his master’s degree in business administration. VIHA describes him as an advocate for transformation in health care.
“Improving the quality of care and examining how we can better integrate care across the health system is a top priority as we move forward,” Carr said in a news release.
VIHA says it serves more than 760,000 citizens, employs 18,000 staff, operates 153 health facilities and manages an operating budget of $1.9 billion.
Waldner was a controversial VIHA boss credited for building infrastructure but criticized for a topdown leadership style that some communities resented. He retired in April after arriving here in 2004 from Calgary.
During Waldner’s reign on the Island, he delivered Royal Jubilee's $349-million Patient Care Centre in 2011, and a $600-million deal to build two North Island hospitals by 2017.
In 2010-2011, Waldner was paid $373,001, with an additional $29,683 in travel and expenses for a total of $402,684, according to VIHA’s financial statements.
