McGill appoints controversial former health board leader as head of its nursing school

Lynne McVey, whose tenure as the head of Montreal's West Island health authority was marked by controversy at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to take on a leadership position at McGill University's nursing school.

She was appointed last week as the associate dean and director of the university's Ingram School of Nursing. An announcement on the university's website highlights McVey's "extensive experience in both nursing practice and healthcare executive leadership." 

McVey is known for her time at the CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal between 2015 and 2022, during which she consecutively held the roles of associate president and president.

At the beginning of the pandemic, CHSLD Herron, a long-term care home in Dorval, Que., was understaffed and being decimated by the spread of COVID-19.

The facility often failed to provide the most basic care to its residents, which led to the West Island authority taking control over the facility on March 29, 2020.

According to a scathing report from coroner Géhane Kamel, the living conditions of residents did not improve after the health authority stepped in. 

By the end of the spring of that year, 47 residents had died. Many of the deaths occurred after the health board took over.

Kamel's report, which was published in May 2022, highlighted CHSLD Herron's conditions during the weekend of April 4 to April 6, 2020.

At the time, many employees were sick or had left out of fear and frustration, and the ones who were working that weekend did not know where to look for leadership. Residents were lying in urine and feces. The bodies of those who died were left in their rooms for more than 24 hours before being taken away to a funeral home.

"That image alone is unworthy of a civilized society," Kamel wrote in her report.

Kamel slammed the health board, stating that it appeared more focused on its image and blaming Herron than getting to the root of the problems at the home, noting it had hired a communications consulting firm.

A day after Kamel published her report, the health authority announced that McVey would not renew her mandate, which was set to expire in July 2022. 

CBC reached out to family members of seniors who were at the long-term care home at the time, but they refused to comment, saying they wanted to turn the page on these events. 

McGill declined CBC's request for an interview with McVey and said its Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences recruited school leaders based on a "robust, open process and specific criteria."

Some of the criteria include leadership experience, academic accomplishments, and the ability to manage complex groups in times of opportunity and adversity.