On Jan. 31 the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital (LACGH) Board of Directors announced that Wayne Coveyduck, President and Chief Executive Officer at Lennox and Addington County General Hospital, would retire effective March 31, 2024.
In April 2023, after 15 years of unwavering commitment and exemplary leadership, Coveyduck advised the Board of Directors of his planned retirement date of September 2023. He delayed his departure date, to March 31, 2024, at the request of the Board of Directors to establish a strong project framework for the long-term care and MRI builds and to allow a comprehensive CEO recruitment process to come to completion.
“Wayne’s departure marks the end of an era characterized by significant organizational growth, transformative initiatives, and a legacy that will endure for years to come,” said Board Chair Deb Lowry. “We are thankful for Wayne’s remarkable vision, innovation and commitment to providing high quality care for our patients and community. His leadership will be deeply missed.”
In Coveyduck’s tenure he has overseen the expansion and enhancement of LACGH’s programs, services and facilities, ensuring that the hospital remained at the forefront of medical technology and service to the community. He created a magnet institution where people want to work – implementing a staff recognition program in his early years as a CEO and exemplified by being able to staff services without the use of Agency staff during the pandemic. He also led the organization through three successful Accreditation Canada assessments and achieved back-to-back Silver Awards for a Quality Healthcare Workplace from the Ontario Hospitals Association and Health Force Ontario.
Wayne Coveyduck.
In addition to work done within the walls of the hospital, Coveyduck’s vision for an innovative campus of care, supported by the Board of Directors, has resulted in the addition of many valued services since he became the CEO in 2008, including: convalescent care, primary care office space, specialist clinics, an Acquired Brain Injury Home, chemotherapy service, echocardiography, mammography, bone mineral densitometry, CT, dialysis, supportive living, and soon MRI and a 128-bed long-term care home. This patient-centered approach, forged by strategic partnerships, has created a comprehensive, and ever evolving healthcare environment for patients and their families that is close to home. All of this was achieved without capital funding from government and while maintaining a positive financial position.
Preceding his time at LACGH, Coveyduck drove excellence as the CEO of Temiskaming Hospital in New Liskeard for 22 years, and then as the Executive Director of the OVC Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the University of Guelph for three years. Coveyduck is a proud Fellow of both the Canadian College of Health Leaders and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). In 2003, he received the ACHE Regent’s Award for outstanding healthcare executive leadership for activities he is still known for today. On Jan. 5 of this year, he was awarded Life-Time Fellow status with the ACHE.
As Coveyduck embarks on this well-deserved chapter of retirement, the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital Board of Directors expresses its sincere gratitude for his dedication, transformative leadership, and commitment to high quality patient and resident care. The hospital community, as well as the broader community it serves, will undoubtedly feel the positive impact of Coveyduck’s contributions for years to come.
With retirement comes recruitment and the LACGH Board of Directors is pleased to share that Michael Bell has accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer, effective March 25, 2024.