Jacques Turgeon, head of CHUM, resigns from position for second time

Jacques Turgeon, CEO of the University of Montreal Health Centre, known by its French acronym, CHUM, has announced he's leaving his job to go work for a U.S. company.

A news release issued by CHUM said Turgeon told Quebec's health minister he was leaving yesterday.

Turgeon has accepted an offer from a company working in the field of health, doing research and development.

This is the second time he's resigned from his position. In March, he quit citing disagreements with Health Minister Gaétan Barrette.

Turgeon felt that Barrette was trying to influence who was appointed to positions at the CHUM. However, he returned to his job less than a week later, with an appointment for a three-year term beginning April 1 and ending March 31.

Paul Brunet, chair of the Council for the Protection of Patients, said Turgeon's resignation came a surprise. 

"He was one of the greatest examples of how you can drive a [public-private-partnership] in the public domain, realize it and make it work according  to the budget and time frame," he said.

"He is one of the very few to get a consensus among personnel, doctors, and certainly users' committees with whom we had different conversations"

Turgeon's resignation takes effect on Sept. 4, 2015.