Interior Health CEO Resigning

Peter McIntyre Saturday, 08 August 2009 15:30 107.5 KISSFM:

The chief executive officer of the Interior Health Authority is leaving the job at the end of the year.Interior Health board chairman Norm Embree says longtime CEO Murray Ramsden has handed in his resignation, effective at the end of 2009.But Embree insists the Ramsden's decision isn't related to the health authority's recent budget challenges.Embree says discussions about Ramsden's resignation began almost a year ago, well before Interior Health was forced to find ways to save millions of dollars.Ramsden has sent a memo to staff and physicians, saying it was a difficult decision, but he says the time has come to move to the next phase of his life. Interior Health is trying to find ways to cut more than $20 million in spending to balance its budget. Ramsden assumed the position of CEO upon the creation of Interior Health on December 12, 2001. Prior to that, he spent five years as CEO of the Okanagan Similkameen Health Region and 5 years as the Chief Operating Officer of Kelowna General Hospital.