CEO of hospitals in Niagara and Hamilton resigns from provincial pandemic roles right after Dominican Republic holiday break

The prime executive of Niagara’s clinic program has resigned from his roles as a important pandemic advisory to the government of Ontario just after news reports Tuesday night exposed he has been vacationing in the Dominican Republic.

Dr. Tom Stewart, chief executive officer of Niagara Health and fitness and St. Joseph’s Health care Hamilton, has been on “approved” getaway from Dec. 18 till Jan. 5, according to a statement by St. Joesph’s and first reported Tuesday evening by CBC journalist Bobby Hristova.

Stewart was a member of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s vaunted pandemic “command table” that can make crucial decisions about the provincial reaction to the COVID-19 crisis, as perfectly as its offshoot committee, the COVID-19 science advisory table. The CBC reported late Tuesday night Stewart resigned from his provincial roles.

As of Tuesday night Stewart, who is in isolation at home for the subsequent 14 times, is continue to CEO of both of those healthcare facility methods.

“I regret this non-important travel and I’m sorry,” Stewart stated in the assertion from St. Joesph’s.

Stewart then explained absolutely everyone ought to steer clear of non-important journey, like himself. Nevertheless, he did not explain why he travelled overseas at a time when COVID-19 circumstances were being escalating and the hospitals he oversees are underneath escalating tension.

The statement claimed Stewart’s holiday vacation was “approved,” even though it does not say by who, and it is not crystal clear how extended Stewart experienced been in the Dominican Republic. The federal government issued a vacation advisory in opposition to non-crucial global journey on March 13.

The CBC report followrd quite a few information experiences across Canada of elected officials, which include Ontario’s now-former finance minister, who have resigned or been fired from their government portfolios for journey out of the place during the worsening second wave of COVID-19.

It also arrives as Niagara’s COVID-19 death toll continues to rise. On Tuesday, Niagara Health and fitness claimed its 71st COVID-19 individual death, bringing the cumulative total for the area to at least 154 people today.

Key Niagara Health leaders, which includes chief of employees Dr. Johan Viljoen, have been urging inhabitants to observe COVID-19 safety protocols to steer clear of frustrating the medical center.

“If we do not gradual the amount of infection, the strain on the overall health-treatment method will continue to increase. We have worked challenging to resume surgical methods for clients who need treatment. We do not want to be place in a situation in which we are compelled to cancel procedures once again,” wrote Viljoen in a Dec. 12 statement. “Unfortunately, it is quite straightforward to envision a state of affairs wherever the clinic becomes overwhelmed with COVID people, which is why we want to dedicate to the basic safety protocols in a extremely severe way.”

At the time of Viljoen’s assertion, Niagara Health was managing 35 clients with COVID-19. That range strike a pandemic significant of 92 on Monday but dropped to 83 Tuesday — in portion simply because of various patient fatalities.

The Niagara Health and fitness medical center program signed a letter on Dec. 17 — the day before Stewart’s holiday break began — urging the province to institute a provincewide lockdown as COVID-19 circumstances, hospitalizations and fatalities surged.

“The expected surge of infections post-getaway, combined with the identified increase in seasonal illness we see each year at this time of calendar year, is including grave cause for issue,” mentioned the letter.

This is not Stewart’s very first brush with scandal.

Stewart stepped down from his submit as main of team at Mount Sinai Healthcare facility in Toronto in 2012 after it was unveiled that under his view the embattled CEO of Ornge, Chris Mazza, had been compensated $256,000 by Mount Sinai for consulting do the job. The clinic could not verify some of that get the job done was ever concluded.

It was also exposed that Ornge compensated Stewart a consulting fee of $436,000 in excess of seven a long time. Ornge could not affirm what perform Stewart had performed for the air ambulance business.

While there was an Ontario Provincial Police investigation into fiscal irregularities at Ornge, Stewart was by no means implicated in any legal wrongdoing nor accused of executing something improper.

Stewart instructed the St. Catharines Normal in 2018, when he was produced CEO of Niagara Overall health, he remaining his publish at Mount Sinai to steer clear of any visual appearance of impropriety that could influence the hospital.

Stewart was employed by previous Niagara Overall health and St. Joseph’s CEO Kevin Smith as the Niagara Well being main of personnel, a submit he held right up until he changed Smith in 2018.