St John of God Health Care chief quits

St John of God Health Care group chief executive Shane Kelly has resigned after more than four years in the role.

Dr Kelly has more than 35 years of experience in the healthcare sector, holding senior roles including as chief executive at WA North Metropolitan Health Service and St John of God Subiaco Hospital.

St John of God hospitals chief operating officer Bryan Pyne will be acting as the group’s chief executive while the board starts a recruitment search.

According to an announcement today, Dr Kelly will finish up in two weeks and will be pursuing a career as a non-executive director.

“This is a great organisation with a wonderful history, and dedicated and professional caregivers and doctors, who are deeply committed to providing exceptional and compassionate patient-centred care,” Dr Kelly said.

“I am extremely proud of all that we have achieved together.

“We have made great progress with our strategy and I feel that with the challenges of COVID hopefully starting to recede it is a good time for the organisation to transition to new leadership, as well as the right time for me personally.”

St John of God Health Care board chair Kerry Sanderson said Dr Kelly had led the group exceptionally during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Under his leadership, St John of God Health Care remained a steady ship and he worked closely with government and other healthcare organisations to ensure that staff, patients, clients and visitors were kept safe while implementing the complex changes required to deal with the pandemic,” she said.

“Notwithstanding the challenges of COVID-19, he has also driven an ambitious five year organisational strategy, progressing many important initiatives and importantly driving an agenda of patient-focused care and clinical excellence, the two fundamentals of outstanding healthcare provision.

“Under his stewardship, we have put in place excellent initiatives to continue to improve clinical governance and safety, as well as a focus on research.”