The President and CEO of the Listowel Wingham Hospital Alliance is getting set to retire.
Karl Ellis has spent over 24 years in the hospital sector, and has been with the LWHA since 2010. He says it's hard to put into words how he's feeling trying to look back on his career, but he notes that during his time with LWHA, a number of major projects were completed.
"The redevelopment in Wingham was a very big project. Bringing a CT scanner into Listowel certainly made improvements to access there. Looking forward to bringing a CT into Wingham and then further expanding the Fischer Clinic in Listowel. So a lot of changes there and certainly, we've got a great leadership team here and it's been great working with them and having their support," Ellis shared.
Ellis says they've accomplished a lot at both the Listowel and Wingham hospitals in his time, in no small part thanks to the great work of both hospital foundations.
"We've got two very supportive foundations in Listowel and Wingham, and we wouldn't have the hospitals or the healthcare in these communities without the donors and the broader community. We've got two great little hospitals and we've always been well supported by the community," added Ellis proudly.
Going forward, Ellis hopes the healthcare sector can see some major improvements in staffing.
"Health human resources is a big issue, not just in Huron and Perth, but across the healthcare system. So I'm hoping to see some stabilization, not just for physician and nursing staff, but the support staff in both of our hospitals. There's a number of areas where we'd love to have more people employed here than we currently do," said Ellis.
As he leaves behind a long and distinguished career, Ellis says it's pretty simple when it comes to what he'll miss most.
"Certainly the people that I've worked with. We've got great people working in both hospitals and I've met a lot of people in both the Listowel and Wingham communities, and in Mount Forest, Palmerston and Fergus before that. So after that long there's a lot of contacts and friendships developed over that time, so I'll miss all of that," Ellis concluded.
Ellis will stay on as a new president and CEO is sought out, with his official retirement set for September this year.