Niagara Hospice President and CEO John Lomeo announced he will retire from the organization on July 31.
Part of his job now, Lemieux said, is planning his “succession” by Carlo Figlimini, the current chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
Figliomeni came to work at Niagara Hospice 19 years ago and has worked closely with Lomeo the entire time. His background is in finance and information technology, but since the early days of his career with Ernst & Young, he has worked in healthcare systems.
Figliomeni said he will work over the next seven months to find his replacement in the CFO's office. He said this could be an opportunity to hire from within the organization, which he welcomes, and by the time Lemieux officially leaves, the nonprofit will be ready to continue providing the level of care the community has reached. Expect.
“There's never a dull moment,” he said.
Lemieux's story goes back to 1978 when he was studying at Canisius College. A professor and friend, Margaret Kermis, asked if he would be interested in enrolling in a new gerontology program. With this degree, in addition to his major in psychology, he was able to get a job at a nursing home in New York City, and later worked at a downtown nursing home on Seventh Street in Buffalo, where he met his wife, Tina, for whom he worked as a nurse's assistant. He credits Kermes with shaping his career and personal life.
After 44 years in health care administration, Lemieux said now is the right time to step down. All companies under the Hospice and Palliative Care Group umbrella, including the insurer and medical transport company, are “thriving” and the organization is in a strong position for the future.
To grow Niagara Hospice, it built a “hotel with health care capabilities” instead of a nursing home with a nursing suite, Lemieux said. At the end of life, patients and their families should be treated with hospitality, he said.
This approach has paid off and Niagara Hospice has ended up as a model for others in the industry. Lemieux himself visited various states and Canada to design similar programs.
As part of his long-term plan, he said the organization is moving toward “chronic care” rather than “terminal care.” Chronic care focuses on long-term diseases such as diabetes and dementia, so the transition to hospice care, when it occurs, is easier on the patient.
When asked about some of his accomplishments, Lemieux cited a series of firsts at Niagara Hospice. It was the first nursing home in the country to have an accredited pharmacy program, and the first nursing home in New York State to have a relationship with a nearby nursing home, in this case, Northgate. It is also the only hospice in Western New York to voluntarily bring in a third party to evaluate its operations, the only hospice in New York to have two service wings in one building, and the first hospice to have its own ambulance.
During the COVID pandemic, Lemieux oversaw the construction of “negative pressure rooms” at Niagara Hospice House in order to admit COVID-positive patients.
“We never stopped visiting during COVID,” he said.
After his retirement, Lemieux plans to stay in the community and see what else he can do. He has been a long-time volunteer at the historic Palace Theater as the building was being renovated and thought he would try something along those lines.
“I'm going to take some time off and see where I can be useful in the community,” he said.
