Global News has learned that Susan Brown, CEO of the Interior Health Authority, is stepping aside from her duties earlier than planned.

In a letter to staff on Friday morning, it was announced that Brown stepped down as CEO on Thursday, months ahead of her retirement at the end of the year.

“This was a decision that Susan made,” said Dr. Robert Halpenny, the chair of the Interior Health (IH) board of directors. “It’s a personal decision that she made on her own, and the board supported her in making that decision.”

She had previously announced she was going to retire as CEO at the end of 2025.

2:01 Calls for Interior Health CEO to step down

The current CFO and vice president, Sylvia Weir, has been appointed as interim CEO until a new CEO can be selected, the letter reads.

Brown will stay on with IH until her retirement at the end of November and will help with the leadership transition.

“This is a complex organization and she has a wealth of knowledge,” Halpenny said. “We want to take advantage of that wealth of knowledge as we move forward.”

Friday’s news is being welcomed by Gavin Dew, the Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission, who has repeatedly called for Brown’s resignation.

“I’m glad that we’ve now seen this happen,” Dew told Global News. “I’m glad we can now begin to move forward with the hard work of rebuilding confidence and trust for the people that work in the system.”

Brown has been heavily criticized in recent weeks amid a pediatric ward closure at Kelowna General Hospital.

It was initially announced as a six-week closure, but the six-week mark is fast approaching and IH is not able to say when it will re-open other than it hopes to do so ‘as soon as it is safe and feasible’.

The 10-bed unit closed on May 26  due to too few pediatricians working at the hospital.

Numerous pediatricians resigned from the hospital in the last couple of years, seven of them in 2023 alone, citing difficult working conditions.

A number of those specialists have gone public, saying their concerns and calls for changes to the service delivery and staffing model were ignored for years.

According to the pediatricians, the crisis was predictable and preventable.

“I also welcome this leadership change,” said Dr. Alysha Mackenzie-Feder when asked by Global News about Brown stepping down early.  “Perhaps it’s a small step towards the movement of rebuilding trust during this crisis.”

Halpenny said IH started the search for a new and permanent CEO earlier in the year when Brown announced her retirement but where those recruitment efforts stand isn’t known.

Those on the frontlines hope that whoever takes over at the helm of the health authority can bring in a more collaborative approach to health care delivery, one that includes transparency and accountability.

“Let’s plan together. Let’s work together,” Mackenzie-Feder said. “Let’s maybe change this process of these kind of closed-door, top-down meetings. Hear the people that are on the ground in the moments that they need to be heard, so that we’re not just responding out of crisis.”

In its latest statement on Friday, IH announced four new physicians have signed offers to join the pediatric department, but the organization still does not have the number of pediatricians available to “safely re-open the 10-bed inpatient unit.”

“We continue to work towards resuming services and will provide timely updates to the community,” Interior Health said in a statement.

IH also announced Friday that a conciliator is also being brought on to be the in-between person for the doctors and hospital staff and management as they deal with the issues between hospitals and Interior Health.

Brown’s leaving comes at a time when Interior health care has also been dealing with frequent ER closures in rural communities.

1:55 CEO of Interior Health announces retirement