Windsor Regional Hospital CEO Karen Riddell retires after nearly four decades in health care

The Windsor Regional Hospital said goodbye to President and CEO Karen Riddell as she wraps up 40 years. CTV Windsor’s Travis Fortnum has more.

After nearly four decades in health care — and more than a quarter century at Windsor Regional Hospital — Karen Riddell is stepping away from a career that evolved in ways she never expected.

Friday marks her final day as president and CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital, capping a 37-year career in nursing and leadership.

“I remember when I first started here in 1999 and I signed up for the pension plan, and you get your package and it tells you like your earliest retirement date is 2026,” Riddell said.

“And I’m like, oh… 2026… And yet it seems like it went by in a poof.”

From bedside care to the boardroom

Riddell’s path into health care was not always clear.

She said she considered a range of careers — from marine biology to archaeology — before ultimately choosing nursing, inspired in part by her grandmother.

After graduating from the University of Windsor’s nursing program in 1989, Riddell began her career in Detroit, working at Henry Ford Hospital.

At the time, she had no ambitions of leadership.

“I remember in fourth year nursing they teach you leadership and all that. I’m like, I don’t want to be a leader. I just want to be a nurse. I just want to take care of people.”

But several years into her career, Riddell said she began to see opportunities to make a broader impact.

“I started seeing things that I wanted to change but as a nurse I couldn’t,” she said.

That realization led her into leadership — first as an educator, then manager, director and eventually vice-president.

“I understood that I could still impact patients from a positive perspective in a management and leadership role.”

Leading through a pandemic

By 2018, Riddell had reached the executive level.

Two years later the COVID-19 pandemic began to reshape health care systems around the world.

She recalled the uncertainty in the early days, as hospitals prepared for what was coming.

“Sometimes when you’re waiting for something bad to happen, the waiting is worse than once it actually starts,” she said.

“And then you get into it and you take care of business. And that’s what our teams did.”

Riddell was on site as Windsor Regional Hospital transformed a St. Clair College gymnasium into a 100-bed field hospital — a moment she said made the pandemic feel real.

“I remember when we started bringing in patients and that was a real like, wow. this is really happening right now…”

While she points to the teamwork and resilience of staff as a source of pride, Riddell said the pandemic also intensified challenges that continue today — including rising aggression toward health-care workers.

“The unfortunate reality is that we’re still dealing with that day after day. So that can make a hard job even harder.”

A career defined by people

Despite the challenges, Riddell said the positives of the profession have always outweighed the negatives.

“Luckily in my career, there has been a lot more good than bad,” she said.

“And the people that I’ve worked with have really been there to support me through any of the kind of rough times.”

Throughout her leadership journey, she said staying connected to frontline staff remained a priority.

“They’re the ones doing the work. They know where the challenges are and they know some of the ideas of how we can help fix and make things better.”

Riddell also noted the significance of becoming the hospital’s first nurse to serve as CEO — something she said helped bring a frontline perspective to leadership.

Looking ahead

In retirement, Riddell said she is looking forward to spending more time with family, revisiting hobbies like gardening and reading — and travelling.

“The one that I’m really excited about… I’m going to Antarctica next year.”

She also plans to watch closely as Windsor Regional Hospital continues to evolve, including the long-anticipated new acute care hospital project.

As she steps away, Riddell said she remains grateful for the opportunity to serve the community.

“It’s been an honor serving the community… and I know Kristen is going to do a great job.”

Kristin Kennedy is set to officially take over as president and CEO on Monday.