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.
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
Catherine Claiter-Larsen joined Island Health in August 2005.
As Vice President – Strategy & Chief Information Officer, Catherine is responsible for advancing information and technology infrastructure that enables excellence at Island Health. Catherine provides strategic oversight for major technology related capital projects, including Island Health’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) initiatives, and the Unit Dose Medication Distribution project. Catherine is also responsible for Island Health’s strategic relationship with Cerner – the ORCAH Institute – which aims to improve population health through innovation using Island Health’s EHR.
Dawn Thomas
Vice President – Indigenous Health & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Dawn Thomas joined Island Health in June 2020. As part of our commitment to embed cultural safety and humility into our every day practices at Island Health, Dawn is a key member of the Island Health leadership team to help us to advance our work in creating a more integrated, culturally safe and responsive health system free from racism and discrimination. In her role, Dawn is 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.
Elin Bjarnason
Vice President – Clinical Operations, South
Dr. Elin Bjarnason came to Island Health in 1986 from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
As Vice President - Clinical Operations, Elin brings over 30 years of health-care clinical and leadership experience to this role, most recently as Interim Executive Vice President – Quality, Safety and Experience. Prior to this appointment, Elin held Executive Director and Director responsibilities as well as site administration roles for Island Health.
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.
Richard Stanwick
Vice President – Population Health & Chief Medical Health Officer
Dr. Stanwick was appointed the position of Chief Medical Health Officer for Island Health in December 2001.
Dr. Stanwick was the Medical Health Officer for the Capital Regional District (CRD) from 1995 to 1997, a position that expanded to include Director of Research when the function amalgamated to the Capital Health Region (CHR) in 1997.
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.
Marko Peljhan
Vice President – Pandemic Planning
In this temporary role, he 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.
Full Biography
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.