ALLISTON, ON. - The Board of Directors of Stevenson Memorial Hospital (SMH) announced today the appointment of Gary Ryan as President and Chief Executive Officer Stevenson Memorial, effective immediately. Mr. Ryan has served as interim-President and CEO since September of 2007.

"Gary Ryan has proven his commitment to Stevenson Memorial and our hospital's continued role in serving the needs of our community," said Ted Vandevis, Board-designate Chair of the SMH Board. "His service and accomplishments in working with the entire staff over the past eight months amounts to a lengthy job interview. Our Board is very confident in Gary's knowledge, abilities and style of leadership," he added.

Mr. Ryan will report to the Board. He will perform his duties as President and CEO on the basis of 2.5 days per week. His remaining time will be spent in his role as a Vice President at Southlake Regional Health Centre (SRHC) with his services to SMH provided under the terms of a management services contract.

Under the management services contract, SRHC will provide management and administration services to SMH while recognizing that SMH shall maintain its separate governance and the SMH Board will continue to ensure that the hospital is managed and administered according to the needs of the community and the Public Hospitals Act. The agreement requires that the appointment of the President and CEO must be approved by the Board of SMH.

"Ongoing collaboration and partnership between Stevenson Memorial Hospital and Southlake Regional Health Centre is important to maximizing the resources we can bring to patients," said Mark Rochon, Supervisor at SMH. "Local Health Integration Networks expect to see a system-wide approach to health care," he added.

Mr. Rochon noted that other community hospitals in Ontario have made similar arrangements, maintaining local governance while sharing resources with larger facilities, to improve services to the community.

For the past 20 years of his career. Mr. Ryan has worked in health care administration at Southlake Regional Health Centre, managing a diverse range of hospital departments. Mr. Ryan is currently the Vice President for Acute Care, Rehabilitation and Complex Rehabilitation Services at Southlake Regional Health Centre.

"I have enjoyed working with the team at Stevenson Memorial over the past months and look forward to tackling the challenges that we face in the coming years," said Mr. Ryan. "I have listened carefully to the staff members and the community and want to work with everyone to ensure we deliver the best possible clinical programs and also engage the system for services we need to share," he added.

"This management services agreement will allow us to strengthen the relationship between the two hospitals for higher quality outcomes and to ensure the most effective use of resources," said Mr. Vandevis. "By sharing administrative and support costs, we can devote more to the most important priority of treating and healing patients," he added.