Working with the Board of Directors, and led by President and Chief Executive Officer Kathy MacNeil, the Executive Team is responsible for meeting the health needs of the population we serve in an effective and sustainable way.
In collaboration with the BC Ministry of Health, the executive team establishes performance objectives regarding the delivery of health care, and works to ensure those goals are met or exceeded.
How we are organized
More Organizational Information
Kathy MacNeil
President & Chief Executive Officer
Kathy MacNeil is driven by her passion to improve the health and care of patients, staff, medical staff and communities. She was named Island Health’s President and CEO in February of 2018 after serving as Executive Vice President, Quality Safety and Experience since 2015.
Dr. Ben Williams
Vice President – Medicine, Quality, & Chief Medical Executive
Dr. Williams is responsible for the leadership and governance of Island Health’s medical staff. He is also accountable for medicine and quality-related processes governing the delivery of health care provided to patients throughout Island Health.
Catherine Claiter-Larsen
Vice President – Strategy & Chief Information Officer
As Vice President – Strategy & Chief Information Officer, Catherine is responsible for translating the organization’s vision and strategic framework into action; and advancing key enablers to support the organization in achieving its commitment to Excellence.
Catherine brings over 15 years of Executive leadership experience at Island Health to this role, as well as knowledge and skills from her career-long involvement in strategic planning, EHR-related transformation initiatives, and IT operations.
Dawn Thomas
Vice President – Indigenous Health & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Dawn Thomas joined Island Health in June 2020. She is a member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation on Vancouver Island, and her traditional Nuu-chah-nulth name is Aa ap waa iik, which loosely translates to “The one who says the right words about chiefly business.”
In her role, Dawn is helping to advance our work in creating a more integrated, culturally safe and responsive health system free from racism and discrimination. She is also responsible for enabling and facilitating system transformation and service delivery improvements that improve the wellness, health, and care needs of all Indigenous peoples across the Island Health service area including First Nations, Metis, Inuit, and non-status Indigenous peoples – both on- and off-reserve.
Jamie Braman
Vice President – Communications, Partnerships & Primary Care Strategy
Jamie Braman joined Island Health in June 2017. In his role, Jamie serves as a key strategist working closely with senior leadership and key partners identifying engagement and communications opportunities and risks, and provides strategic direction on all matters that impact corporate reputation and standing within the health sector and in the public sphere.
Jamie supports and coordinates strategic partnerships with communities and community organizations to promote health and wellness. He also provides leadership for health system planning responsibilities within Island Health, working with the Ministry of Health and other partners on system advancement and improvement.
James Hanson
Vice President – Clinical Operations, Central/North
As Vice President – Clinical Operations, Central/North Island James oversees all aspects of clinical operations and is responsible for establishing, developing and operationalizing an effective integrated care delivery model north of the Cowichan Valley Regional District to the Regional District of Mount Waddington.
James is also responsible for several Island wide programs and networks including: Home and Community Care; Long-Term Care; Maternal & Child Health; Mental Health & Substance Use; Palliative / End of Life; Rural and Remote; Senior’s Strategy; Food Services; Environmental Services; Protection Services and Patient Logistics.
Kim Kerrone
Vice President – Support Services & Chief Financial Officer
As Island Health’s Vice-President, Support Services and Chief Financial Officer, Kim is responsible for strategic and operational management in the areas of Finance, Legal Services, Contracts and Policy Standards, Staff Scheduling, and Enterprise Risk Management. In this role, Kim provides leadership in the development of new service delivery models to support effective and efficient operations and encourages the innovative use of technology to improve business processes.
Krista Allan
Vice President – Knowledge, Practice and Chief Nurse Executive
Krista joined Island Health as Vice President, Knowledge, Practice and Chief Nurse Executive. She formerly held the position of Chief Health Operations Officer and Chief Nursing Officer with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
She has over 20 years of progressive experience from front line nursing, to consulting and advancing nursing practice, to working with academic, union and regulatory bodies and leading collaborative practice in hospitals, communities and long term care.
Marko Peljhan
VICE PRESIDENT – PANDEMIC PLANNING
INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT – CLINICAL OPERATIONS, SOUTH ISLAND AND COWICHAN VALLEY
As VP Pandemic Planning, Marko oversees Island Health’s pandemic planning and response to COVID-19, while also monitoring analytics and modelling on a provincial scale, under the leadership of the Deputy Minister of Health and Provincial Health Officer.
As Interim VP Clinical Operations, Marko oversees all aspects of clinical operations and is responsible for establishing, developing and operationalizing an effective integrated care delivery model in South Vancouver Island, the southern Gulf Islands and the Cowichan District region.
Dr. Réka Gustafson
VICE PRESIDENT – POPULATION HEALTH & CHIEF MEDICAL HEALTH OFFICER
Dr. Réka Gustafson joined Island Health in September 2022, as Vice President, Population & Public Health and Chief Medical Health Officer.
Dr. Gustafson facilitates service delivery improvements that contribute to the wellness, health and care needs of all residents in Island Health. She oversees our talented team of Medical Health Officers and works closely with senior leaders to drive quality improvements and ground strategies and initiatives throughout the organization. She also represents Island Health on relevant provincial working groups, building relationships with external partners and engaging with relevant national organizations to help facilitate our goal of excellent health and care for everyone, everywhere, every time.
Sharon Torgerson
Vice President – People
As Vice President, People Sharon provides strategic leadership to promote employee and medical staff engagement in order to achieve excellence in health and care.
Sharon’s role encompasses responsibility and accountability for Human Resources, Occupational Health & Safety and Organizational Development in Island Health. Under Sharon’s leadership, the People portfolio engages volunteers, employees and medical staff to achieve superior clinical quality and service excellence.