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.
Elin Bjarnason
Vice President – Clinical Service Delivery
Dr. Elin Bjarnason came to Island Health in 1986 from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
As Vice President - Clinical Service Delivery, 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, Planning & Partnerships
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.
Catherine Claiter-Larsen
Vice President – Innovation, Analytics & Chief Information Officer
Catherine Claiter-Larsen joined Island Health in August 2005.
As Vice President – Innovation, Analytics & 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.
Cheryl Damstetter
Vice President – Priority Populations and Initiatives
In the role of Vice President – Priority Populations and Initiatives, Cheryl leads strategy development, and monitors the progress of our integrated system of care for key populations and services. In partnership with the Vice President – Clinical Service Delivery and Vice President – Medicine, Quality and Academic Affairs, Cheryl ensures there is a fully integrated approach to the development of strategy and implementation into service delivery. She also works with our partners in addressing the social determinants of health to create vibrant and healthy communities.
Jeremy Etherington
Vice President – Medicine, Quality & Academic Affairs
Dr. Etherington comes to us from Interior Health (IH) where he has served as the VP Medicine and Quality since 2010. In this role he provided leadership in the areas of medical administration, quality improvement, clinical and enterprise risk management, accreditation, infection prevention and control, ethics, clinical networks, and was the IH academic liaison with the Southern Medical Program.
James Hanson
Vice President, Operations and Support
As Vice President – Operations and Support, James provides strategic and operational leadership in the areas of Facilities Maintenance, Design and Construction, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Management, Protection Services, Housekeeping, Food Services, Laundry, Logistics, Patient Flow, and Health Emergency Management.
In this role James leads a diverse and integrated team focused on enhancing Island Health’s physical infrastructure, processes and support services to improve our patients’ experience and ensure system sustainability.
Kim Kerrone
Vice President – Chief Financial Officer, Legal Services & Risk
As Island Health’s Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer, Legal Services & Risk 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.
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.
Dawn Nedzelski
Chief Professional Practice & Chief Nursing Officer
As Chief Professional Practice & Chief Nursing Officer Dawn plays a key role in supporting clinical programs to deliver the highest quality health and care to the people we serve.
Victoria Schmid
Executive Lead - Experience
As Executive Lead for Experience, Victoria is responsible for the organization’s strategies and approaches to staff, volunteer, and patient experience; she works in close collaboration with the Medicine, Quality & Academic Affairs portfolio on physician experience. Victoria is also the Executive Director of Quality, Safety and Improvement and has been with Island Health since 2015.
Richard Stanwick
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.