MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
January 18, 2011
LONDON, Ontario - London Health Sciences Centre President and CEO Bonnie Adamson is pleased to announce that Dr. Vanessa Burkoski has accepted the position of Vice President, Professional Practice and Chief Nursing Executive.
Dr. Burkoski joins LHSC from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care where she served as the Provincial Chief Nursing Executive for the past three-and-a-half years.
“We are extraordinarily fortunate to have someone with Vanessa’s extensive experience join our hospital and senior leadership team,” says Bonnie Adamson, LHSC President and CEO. “Her significant leadership, strategic advice and nursing expertise will serve us well as we work together to achieve our vision of excellence at London Health Sciences Centre.”
As Ontario’s longest serving Provincial Chief Nursing Executive, Dr. Burkoski was responsible for establishing nursing policy; providing strategic direction and leadership on a broad range of nursing issues such as workplace health, nursing education and research, and best practice clinical guidelines for nursing practice; and, establishing the agenda for nursing research funded through the Ministry Research Unit.
Dr. Burkoski began her career as a public health nurse in Windsor and Chatham before moving into the role of Primary Care Nurse Practitioner at the Sandwich Community Health Centre in Windsor and then on to Director of Emergency and Critical Services at Windsor Regional Hospital.
She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, her Nurse Practitioner Certificate, and her Master of Science in Nursing at the University of Windsor. She completed her doctorate at the University of Phoenix this year, focusing her research dissertation on the effect of less urgent and non-urgent visits on emergency department overcrowding. As well, she is an adjunct professor at the University of Windsor, Faculty of Nursing.
“I am looking forward to taking on this new role with one of Canada’s leading hospitals. This position will provide me with the opportunity to make a more direct impact in nursing and patient care on the frontline, and that is very exciting and very important work,” says Dr. Burkoski.
At LHSC, Dr. Burkoski will be accountable for the overall leadership, strategic direction and management of professional practices including nursing, social work, psychology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, nutrition and speech language pathology. She will be accountable for care and practice quality, academic affairs, research, education and professional development, in accordance with the mission and values of London Health Sciences Centre.
About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been in the forefront of medicine in Canada for 135 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, South Street Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute, a joint research initiative with St. Joseph’s Health Care, London. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 50 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in Southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca
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For LHSC media inquiries, please contact:
Stephan Beckhoff
Corporate Communications and Public Relations
London Health Sciences Centre
519-685-8500, ext. 74772 pager 14772
After-hours assistance:
Call LHSC Switchboard at 519-685-8500 and ask to page the communication consultant on-call
