Sudden departure of two LHSC executives might cost $750,000 in severance
The sudden departure of two more top-executives from the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is raising new questions tonight about executive compensation at public hospitals.
Neil Johnson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, as well as Susan Nickle, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief People Officer are no longer employed by the hospital.
The hospital notified staff of the departures on Wednesday.
Johnson worked at the hospital in various leadership roles over 33 years, and recently oversaw the mass vaccination clinic at the Western Fair District Agriplex.
Nickles was hired in 2013.
The London Health Coalition’s Peter Bergmanis questions if three departures among the hospital’s top brass in just the last six months risks creating a leadership gap.
“This is a very disconcerting distraction again, at a time of pandemic when all resources should be focussed on struggling COVID-19 to the ground,” says Bergmanis.
In January, former CEO Dr. Paul Woods had his contract terminated by LHSC after the public learned he had travelled to the United States during the pandemic.
On Thursday, a request to interview both Interim CEO Jackie Schleifer Taylor and Board Chair Phyllis Retty were declined by the hospital’s communications department.
Instead, a three-sentence statement was emailed to CTV News which confirmed the departures, wished Johnson and Nickle the best in their future endeavours, and expressed the hospital’s ongoing commitment to deliver high quality healthcare.
Subsequent questions emailed from CTV News did not receive a response.
Those questions included:
- Were the contract terminations the decision of the Interim CEO, the hospital board, or both?
- Were the contract terminations ‘with cause’ or ‘without cause’?
If severance is paid according to Johnson and Nickles’ employment contracts, is that the best use of more than $750,000 of health care dollars?
CTV News has yet to receive a reply.
According to their most recent contracts, and based on the public disclosure of their 2020 salaries:
- Termination without cause would see Susan Nickle owed 40 weeks of severance, totalling $189,288.
- Termination without cause would see Neil Johnson receive 104 weeks of severance totalling $576,576.
“This is a lot of money not going to any (healthcare) service,” says Bergmanis. “We have to cap the top wage scales, especially in public hospitals.”
Earlier this year, former CEO Paul Woods filed a $3.5 million dollar lawsuit against the hospital following his contract’s termination.
CTV News attempted to reach both Johnson and Nickle for comment, but has not yet receive responses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.