NEWS & UPDATES

Healthcare and government leaders join VHS Board of Directors

Sept. 29, 2022 – The Victoria Hospice Society Board of Directors welcomed three new members with extensive leadership experience in healthcare and government at the society’s Annual General Meeting Sept. 22, 2022.

Rachel Holmes, BC Assistant Deputy Minister of Immigration and Strategic Planning, joins the board with two decades’ experience on provincial and international non-profit boards. She was the province’s lead representative on the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and government lead on the Government Non-Profit Initiative.

Dr. David Leichman has 35 years’ clinical experience mental healthcare and served a Geriatric Psychiatrist at Island Heath for 27 years, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders and dementia in the elderly. His consulting work involved collaborating with multidisciplinary teams for clinical services to elderly patients in the community, residential care facilities, outpatient clinics, and acute care.

Dawn Nedzelski brings more than 40 years’ healthcare experience to the board, serving in leadership roles at the unit, hospital, community, health authority and provincial level. She retired from her role as Island Health’s Chief Nursing Officer in 2020. She is a recipient of the BC Achievement Award (2011) and the Provincial HEABC Health Hero Award (2015).

“We are delighted to welcome these three exceptional leaders to the board,” says Past Board Chair Paul Pallan. “Their deep expertise and experience in the healthcare, government, and not-for-profit sectors will be invaluable for the next phase of growth at Victoria Hospice.”

We extend our gratitude to Terry Farmer and Marguerite Rowe who completed their terms on the Victoria Hospice Society Board. We also thank Paul Pallan for his role of Board Chair and welcome Trudi L. Brown as the new Chair of the Victoria Hospice Society Board.

Read more about the Victoria Hospice Society Board of Directors.