Dr. Verna Yiu out as president and CEO at Alberta Health Services
Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO of Alberta Health Services, is leaving her position, less than a year after receiving a two-year contract extension.
"The Alberta Health Services board today announced the departure of Dr. Verna Yiu and the launch of a search process for a new president and CEO as the health-care system shifts to pandemic recovery and renewal," AHS said in a news release Monday.
"We are very grateful for Dr. Yiu's tireless leadership through the worst days of the pandemic, and we thank her for her years of dedicated service and commitment to AHS and to Albertans," board chair Gregory Turnbull said in the news release.
"We have been planning for an orderly transition."
Yiu was quoted in the news release, saying that she had the "extraordinary privilege" to lead AHS for more than six years.
"I would like to thank all staff, physicians and volunteers for their steadfast care of Albertans and their ability to put patients and families first, particularly as we have navigated through the past two pandemic years," she said.
AHS is responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for Albertans.
Yiu's public profile had increased during the pandemic. She often appeared alongside Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, at news conferences updating Albertans on COVID-19 and its impacts on the health-care system.
In May 2021, AHS board announced it had extended Yiu's contract for two years effective June 2, 2021 at an annual salary of more than $573,000.
At the time, then-board chair David Weyant said he was very pleased that Yiu would continue in the role.
"Over the past five years, she has done an excellent job of providing stability to AHS when it was needed the most and has been extraordinarily supportive for all those working in health care," Weyant said in a May 4, 2021 news release.
"She is tirelessly leading this organization through a global pandemic with grace and resilience. We are grateful for Dr. Yiu's commitment to Alberta Health Services and to all Albertans."
Yiu was originally hired as interim president and CEO in January 2016, followed by a five-year term starting in June 2016.
Before that, she was vice-president, quality, and chief medical officer at AHS.
She is also a pediatric nephrologist and a professor of pediatrics in the faculty of medicine and dentistry at the University of Alberta.
AHS said Mauro Chies, vice-president of Cancer Care Alberta and Clinical Support Services, will serve as interim CEO while the board searches for a new president and CEO.
