The London Health Sciences Centre is supporting its Chief Executive Officer after he revealed he has travelled to the United States five times since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The hospital said CEO Dr. Paul Woods' most recent trip was between December 19 and Christmas Day. In a statement released Friday, the LHSC said Woods made the trips to visit immediate family. It added that Woods, who lives alone, is a Canadian citizen with green card status in the U.S and "followed public health guidelines and mitigated risk by driving across the border, staying in one place while in the US, and quarantining upon his return."
“The Board of Directors is aware Dr. Woods continued to travel for personal reasons given the separation from his immediate family and the Board supports his continued leadership of LHSC," Board Chair Amy Walby said in Friday's statement. "At a meeting of the elected Directors of the Board, Dr. Paul Woods received the support of the Board, and we believe it is in the best interest of the system to maintain stability at the CEO level at such tumultuous times.”
Several Canadian politicians have been under fire for travelling outside Canada while governments at both the provincial and federal levels have urged citizens to stay home. For his part, Woods says he will now make sure he stays on this side of the border.
“I will no longer be traveling until federal restrictions limiting non-essential travel are lifted. Hindsight will always be 20/20 and I cannot turn back the clock. What I can do is take accountability for my decision to visit with immediate family out-of-country and fully apologize. Please accept my deepest regret for my actions,” he said.
The news of Woods' travels is unlikely to go over well with LHSC staff. In November, Woods chastised LHSC staff in a memo after 14 employees tested positive for COVID-19. He said at the time that, based on internal contact tracing, many of the infections were the results of direct staff-to-staff transmission. Calling the situation "unacceptable," he warned of potential disciplinary action against employees if they willfully choose not to follow critical safety practices while at work.
The LHSC says it will not provide any further comment on this matter at this time.