Otago and Southland communities will be grateful in future for the results Southern District Health Board chief executive Brian Rousseau has achieved, board chairman Joe Butterfield says.
He told yesterday's board meeting, the first since Mr Rousseau's resignation was announced last month, he was sure the changes brought about by the chief executive would stand the test of time.
Some of these changes would not have been achieved by a "person of lesser ability", he said.
Mr Butterfield said that there would be opportunities later to farewell Mr Rousseau properly before he left the board in December, but he felt it was appropriate to acknowledge his service to the region as part of the board's formal acceptance of his resignation.
Mr Rousseau told the meeting there had been a "very good response" to the board's call for proposals from recruitment agencies to undertake the job of finding his replacement.
The board considered the options and who would be awarded the tender in its closed session yesterday.
