Message from the Chair of the WRH Board of Director's

Welcome

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Windsor Regional Hospital, it’s my privilege to welcome you to our 2025-26 online Annual Report. This report reflects a year in which the dedication, resilience, and compassion of our frontline staff, professional staff volunteers and leadership team continued to shine despite the ongoing challenges facing the health care sector across Ontario.

This past fiscal year brought both challenges and meaningful progress. Through it all, our hospital remained focused on what’s most important: providing safe, compassionate, and high-quality care to every patient and family who entrusts us with their care.

As you will read on the “Year in Review” portion of this annual report, 2025-26 was marked by significant achievements in innovation. These include the introduction of new stroke procedures, the launch of a stem cell transplant program, and the exciting launch of our Hospital to Home (H2H) program which is transforming the way we support patients as they transition safely from the hospital and back into their homes.

Planning for the new hospital continues to advance at a feverish pace. Patient and community representatives, indigenous leaders, our dedicated leadership team and frontline staff have all played an important role in shaping the vision for this state-of-the-art new facility. As I write this prior to our June annual general meeting, I can tell you we are all very excited about further progress to come on this project in the weeks to come that will truly start bringing this generational endeavor to reality.

This report also highlights the many accomplishments and recognitions earned by our staff throughout the year, including provincial recognition for our commitment to organ and tissue donation and transplantation. We are equally grateful for the extraordinary generosity of our donors and supporters whose contributions to the Windsor Regional Hospital Foundation continue to enhance patient care and support our future growth.

During the year, we also announced the retirement of President and CEO Karen Riddell, and the appointment of Kristin Kennedy as her successor effective for the 2026-27 fiscal year. On behalf of the Board, I want to express our deepest appreciation of Karen’s long-standing service to our organization. At the same time, we are excited to welcome Kristin and look forward to supporting her as she leads the organization through its next chapter of growth and transformation.

The Annual Report provides an opportunity to celebrate our achievements and reflect on the challenges we continue to face. The realities of today's health care environment - including rising costs, increasing demand for services, workforce pressures, and growing patient expectations - require ongoing innovation, collaboration, and change. Windsor Regional Hospital has never shied away from these challenges. Under Kristin's leadership, and with the continued dedication of our staff, professional staff, volunteers, and partners, we are confident that our organization will continue to build on its past successes, including back-to-back Exemplary Standing accreditation results, while identifying and implementing opportunities to further improve the care and services we provide.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, thank you to our patients, families, donors, community partners, and the communities we proudly serve for your continued trust and support. Together, we are building a stronger future for health care in our region.