Healthcare Quarterly
New Longwoods Editor
Anton Hart, publisher of the journal Healthcare Policy/Politiques de Santé is pleased to announce that Dr. Jennifer Zelmer has accepted the position of Editor in Chief for the journal. Jennifer is CEO of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) in Copenhagen. Previously, she was vice president for research and analysis at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), where she initiated and oversaw an integrated program of analytical activities, including leading teams responsible for developing CIHI's annual report on health care in Canada. Prior to joining CIHI, she worked with a variety of health, academic, and governmental organizations in Canada, Australia, Denmark, and India, among other countries. Zelmer has also held positions as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto, a research associate with the Research Institute for Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population at McMaster University, and she is currently a member of a number of health-related boards and advisory committees. Healthcare Policy/Politiques de Santé was launched four years ago in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Appointments
New CEO at Canadian Nurses Association
The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) has announced the appointment of Ms. Rachel Bard as chief executive officer (CEO) of CNA effective January 5, 2009. As CEO, Ms. Bard will work to position nurses as leaders in the Canadian health system, while further defining and advancing the nursing discipline in the interest of the public. She will provide leadership and vision to drive policy agendas that focus on health human resources, health system renewal and global health and social justice. Through national advocacy and regulatory policy work, she will continue to build and articulate CNA's vision for the future of healthcare.
Before joining CNA, Ms. Bard held various positions with the government of New Brunswick, namely, deputy minister of the environment; deputy minister of post-secondary education, training and labour; deputy minister of training and employment development; assistant deputy minister of public health and medical services with the Department of Health and Wellness; and assistant deputy minister responsible for post-secondary education with the Department of Education. She has also worked as a nurse in mental health for over 27 years, holding a number of positions in the clinical, administrative and educative fields. Ms. Bard has been very active on the international and national scenes. She is past president of CNA and has represented Canada on the International Council of Nurses and on international working groups on the workforce and on healthcare. She was the Canadian delegate at the International Labour Conference - Youth Employment and was on the Governing Board of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development for the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation.
New Appointments at CIHR
Dr. Alain Beaudet, president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), along with CIHR's Governing Council, has announced the appointment of Dr. Malcolm King as incoming scientific director of CIHR's Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health and Dr. Philip M. Sherman as incoming scientific director of CIHR's Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes.
Dr. King, a member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, is a professor and an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research senior scholar in the Pulmonary Medicine Division of the Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta. He also heads the university's Aboriginal Health Care Careers program and chairs its University Aboriginal Advisory Council. He is the principal investigator of the Alberta Aboriginal Capacity and Development Research Environments (ACADRE) Network for Aboriginal health research training, as well as a researcher in respiratory diseases. He also served as one of the founding members of the CIHR Governing Council from its creation in June 2000 until June 2004.
Dr. King completed a PhD in polymer chemistry at McGill University in Montreal and fellowships at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and the Meakins-Christie Laboratories at McGill University. He has been a guest professor at several prestigious universities, including the universities of Freiburg (Germany), São Paulo (Brazil), Bern (Switzerland) and Auckland (New Zealand). His areas of research interest include respiratory health issues among Aboriginal peoples, health service delivery to vulnerable populations, the interaction of education and health, airborne disease transmission and chronic obstructive lung diseases. He is the author of some 160 scientific papers and has supervised 20 biomedical trainees.
Dr. Sherman is currently a professor of pediatrics, microbiology and dentistry at the Hospital for Sick Children, holds a Canada research chair in gastrointestinal disease and is associate director of the Institute of Medical Science, all at the University of Toronto. He completed his medical degree (MD) at the University of Calgary and is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in paediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. His areas of research interest include disease-causing gastrointestinal bacteria and probiotics. He is the recipient of many awards, including the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology Visiting Professor Award (2008) and the Institute of Medical Science Mel Silverman Mentorship Award (2007).
Dr. Sherman is also the author of some 200 articles in such prestigious journals as the New England Journal of Medicine, Infection and Immunity and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the editor of three textbooks and the author of multiple book chapters.
Key Appointments to Ontario's Agency for Health Protection and Promotion
The Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion has appointed three experienced medical leaders from across Canada and around the world to its leadership team.
Dr. Michael Gardam has been appointed director of infectious disease prevention and control. Dr. Gardam is currently the director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network where he has, over the past several years, championed initiatives related to tuberculosis, hand hygiene, infection control program development and medical equipment reprocessing. Dr. Gardam is specialized in infectious diseases and has a background in research and public health policy. His program has frequently been sought out to help hospitals to control outbreaks of Clostridium difficile and other organisms. In his role with the agency, Dr. Gardam will develop and lead a team of infectious disease control specialists to develop and enhance capacity across the province in infection and communicable disease control.
Dr. Natasha Crowcroft has joined the agency as director of surveillance and epidemiology. Dr. Crowcroft is a public health physician, with substantial experience as a UK national expert in vaccine preventable diseases and as a consultant to the World Health Organization. She has a broad background in clinical medicine, microbiology and field epidemiology and an extensive portfolio in research, training, policy and public health service. In her previous role with the UK Health Protection Agency, Dr. Crowcroft's expertise in generating information from research and surveillance of infectious diseases was applied to vaccination policy development and evaluation as well as outbreak detection and response. Dr. Crowcroft will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of an agency-wide surveillance strategy and system, and for preparing epidemiological and surveillance protocols, policies, resources, guidelines and tools for the agency and its stakeholders.
Dr. Heather Manson has been appointed senior medical advisor to the president. Dr. Manson joins the agency from Vancouver Coastal Health, where she was vice-president of population continuums, responsible for leading the organization to achieve its strategic goal of improving health outcomes and enabling a continuum of care focused around the needs of the patient, client, resident or population. She brings clinical, administrative and population health experience to the agency, having also worked as an internist and hematologist and as the senior medical director and medical health officer in Richmond, British Columbia. In her role with the agency, Dr. Manson will apply her knowledge and expertise in linking population health concepts at the local, provincial and national levels to establishing the agency presence within the evolving public health and regional structures in Ontario, and to applying a population health continuum to Ontario health planning and service delivery.
Canadian Named President of World Medical Association
Canadian Medical Association (CMA) past president Dr. Dana Hanson has become the first Canadian in four decades to be elected to the presidency of the World Medical Association (WMA). Dr. Hanson was elected for 2009-2010 at the WMA Annual General Assembly in Seoul, South Korea. He takes office in a year's time.
Dr. Hanson, a dermatologist in Fredericton, New Brunswick, served as CMA president in 2002. A highlight of his presidency was the CMA's 100-Day Challenge, which helped spur government action following the release of the report from the Romanow Commission on the sustainability of Canada's healthcare system.
Dawn Graham Appointed New Chair of Rx&D Board of Directors
Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Dawn Graham, president of Merck Frosst Canada Ltd., as chair of the association's board of directors. Ms. Graham is also a member of Rx&D's Executive Committee. Before becoming board chair, she served on several industry committees and, more recently, as chair of the Provincial Affairs Committee.
Ms. Graham has 25 years of extensive and varied experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Merck Frosst in 1988, she spent five years as a sales representative and, over a span of 18 years, has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility at Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. in the areas of sales, marketing, government relations and public affairs.
Ontario Integrates E-Health Activities under One Agency
Ontario has appointed Dr. Alan Hudson as the chair of e-Health Ontario, a restructured agency responsible for all aspects of e-health in Ontario, including creating an electronic health record (EHR) for all Ontarians. e-Health Ontario will bring together the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's e-Health Program and the province's Smart Systems for Health Agency under one banner.
Three key e-health priorities have been identified for the next few years, including a diabetes registry, an e-health portal to centralize health information on an easily accessible website and e-prescribing, which will eliminate handwritten prescriptions and reduce medication errors.
Dr. Hudson - who is leading the government's efforts to reduce wait times in emergency rooms and for key procedures - will chair e-Health Ontario's Board of Directors, which will include individuals from the broader health, business and information-technology sectors.
Sarah Kramer, a veteran healthcare innovator with a record of results, has been appointed to lead the new e-Health Ontario agency. Ms. Kramer has served as vice-president and chief information officer with Cancer Care Ontario, as well as lead for the Wait Time Information Management Strategy to reduce wait times in Ontario.
The ultimate goal of the e-health strategy is to create an EHR for all Ontarians by 2015. EHRs will provide patients and providers with the ability to access, share and use health information. It will improve healthcare delivery, increase patient safety, reduce ER wait times and create a more effective healthcare system.
Dr. Paula Rochon Appointed Vice-President of Research at Women's College Hospital
Toronto's Women's College Hospital has appointed Dr. Paula Rochon as vice-president of research. Most recently, Dr. Rochon was senior scientist and interim director at the Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit at Baycrest Centre, where she was also a staff geriatrician. She is extensively published in leading scientific journals around the world.
Dr. Rochon also is currently a senior scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and a professor in the Department of Medicine and Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She is the chair of the Faculty of Medicine's Gender Issues Committee, which addresses issues facing female physicians and provides mentorship for young women healthcare professionals.
Consolidated Health Information Services Appoints CEO
Consolidated Health Information Services (CHIS), a regional, not-for-profit IT company, is pleased to announce that Steve Banyai has accepted the position of president and CEO effective December 2008. In addition to this CEO role, Mr. Banyai becomes chief information officer of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance and Windsor Regional Hospital.
Mr. Banyai joins CHIS with 15 years of experience in healthcare technology. Most recently, he was vice-president of information services and chief information and privacy officer at Bridgepoint Health in Toronto. He is a recognized leader in Ontario's e-health strategy and brings prior experience with shared service business models and integrated operating plans. His passion is solving process problems by leveraging talented people, information and technology to optimize quality, efficiency, safety - and, ultimately, patient care.
New Appointment at CIHI
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) recently announced that Kira Leeb has been appointed to the position of director of health system analysis. Since joining CIHI in 2000, Ms. Leeb held the positions of manager of health reports and manager of health services research prior to taking a secondment at the Health Council of Canada (HCC) before returning to CIHI as a senior consultant. At HCC, Ms. Leeb guided the development of various health system reports and gained additional knowledge of health and healthcare-related issues of importance to a national audience.
Ms. Leeb's management experience, knowledge of CIHI and its reporting history and years of research experience in the health services field will be an invaluable asset to the leadership of the Research and Analysis Division.
Awards
UW Graduates First Master of Public Health Class
The University of Waterloo graduated its first class of 19 master of public health students and awarded three honorary doctorates at its fall convocation in October. The university is the first in Canada to offer a master of public health applied professional degree program available online with a practicum degree component. The program aims to prepare a new generation of public health professionals skilled in protecting health, preventing illness and helping people to achieve a healthier life for themselves and their communities. The program, which the 19 students completed over the past two years, builds on the successful master's and doctoral degrees in population health offered by the Health Studies and Gerontology Department in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.
Canadian Health Research Awards Recognize Top Health Researchers
Canada's top health researchers were recognized at the 7th annual Canadian Health Research Awards. The awards are among the Canadian research community's highest honours. The following individuals and organizations were among those to be recognized for their outstanding contributions to improving the health of Canadians: Dr. Michael Hayden, Dr. Peter Tugwell, Dr. Charles Cunningham, Dr. Matthew Tennant, Dr. Mark Greve, Dr. Christopher Rudnisky, Ms. Dawn McKenna, Ms. Rose Geransar, Dr. Etienne Gagnon, Dr. Sarah Flicker and Ms. Crystal Layne.
Dr. Michael Hayden (professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia) was the recipient of the CIHR Michael Smith Prize in Health Research - Canada's Health Researcher of the Year (Biomedical and Clinical Research). This award recognizes innovation, creativity, leadership and dedication to health research. Dr. Hayden is a groundbreaking researcher in the area of Huntington's disease, most notably having developing a predictive genetic test for the disease.
Dr. Peter Tugwell (director, Centre for Global Health; professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa) is the recipient of the CIHR Michael Smith Prize in Health Research - Canada's Health Researcher of the Year (Health Services and Systems and Population Health Research). Dr. Tugwell is a leader in the fight against global health disparities, developing strategies for assessing quality of life, improving teaching methods in medicine and knowledge translation.
Dr. Charles Cunningham (scientist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre) is the recipient of the Peter Lougheed/CIHR New Investigator Award - Canada's Premier Young Researcher. This award is given to Canada's brightest young health researchers at the beginning of their careers. Dr. Cunningham's research has focused on ways to expand the capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging and improve this life-saving technology.
Dr. Matthew Tennant (assistant clinical professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Alberta), Mark Greve (acting chair and associate clinical professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Alberta) and Christopher Rudnisky (assistant professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Alberta) are the national winners of the CIHR Knowledge Translation Award. This award recognizes an exceptional individual or team currently involved in a collaborative health research or development project that aims to advance and expand the understanding of knowledge translation. Through the Tele-Ophthalmology group based at Alberta Health Services (Edmonton), these doctors are improving eye care for people living in remote and rural regions of Canada. They focus particularly on using computer software to analyze patients' eyes in an effort to make healthcare more accessible and affordable.
Ms. Dawn McKenna (executive director, Down Syndrome Research Foundation [DSRF]) is the recipient of the CIHR Partnership Award. This award recognizes partnerships that bring health research communities together to create innovative approaches to important research questions. DSRF has had a tremendous impact on people with Down syndrome and their families. Due to the vision of its founders and leaders, DSRF has created a variety of resources and serves as an outstanding model of research partnership and collaboration.
Ms. Rose Geransar (PhD candidate, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary) is the recipient of the CIHR Douglas Kinsella Doctoral Award for Research in Bioethics. This award honours the accomplishments of Dr. T. Douglas Kinsella in bioethics and his lifelong promotion of the ethical treatment of humans in research. Ms. Geransar is working to develop recommendations around consent to the use of human blood and tissue in clinical therapy and health research.
Dr. Etienne Gagnon (PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School) is the recipient of the BIOTECanada - Schering Plough Canada - CIHR Fellowship Award. This award honours the leadership CIHR has shown toward the health research community in Canada. Dr. Gagnon is part of a growing research field known as cancer immunology, and his postdoctoral studies could dramatically improve our understanding of how our bodies outwit disease.
Dr. Sarah Flicker (assistant professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University) and Ms. Crystal Layne (research coordinator, Planned Parenthood Toronto) are the recipients of the CIHR Synapse Youth Mentorship Award. This award recognizes the efforts of graduate students or postdoctoral fellows who have made exceptional efforts to promote health research among Canada's high-school students. Dr. Flicker and Ms. Layne aimed to determine what gaps exist in sexual health education among Toronto youth through the Toronto Teen Survey (TTS).
For a complete list of award recipients, please visit the CIHR website at www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca.
College of Family Physicians of Canada Honours 10 of Canada's Best
Ten of Canada's most outstanding family physicians have been announced as Canada's Family Physicians of the Year for 2008 by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. The following 10 award recipients are being honoured for providing exceptional care to their patients, making meaningful contributions to the health and well-being of their communities and dedicating themselves as researchers and educators of future generations of family doctors:
- Dr. Judy Ophel, Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador
- Dr. Doug Meek, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
- Dr. Susan Atkinson, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Dr. Tom Laughlin, Moncton, New Brunswick
- Dr. Jean Grégoire, Saint-Simon-les-Mines, Quebec
- Dr. Frank Martino, Brampton, Ontario
- Dr. Michael Penrose, Dauphin, Manitoba
- Dr. Brenda Hookenson, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
- Dr. Mark Sosnowski, Calgary, Alberta
- Dr. Susan Harris, Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada's Family Physicians of the Year were nominated by their peers, patients, other healthcare colleagues and community leaders. They are as diverse as the profession, include men and women practising in urban and rural settings, and practising in settings that range from small solo offices to large multidisciplinary clinics, hospitals and universities. Their daily routines can include everything from house calls to electronic records, rounds in large teaching hospitals and flights to remote northern villages to deliver care.
Canadian Health Informatics Awards Gala
Michael Green (pictured) collected two awards at this year's fourth annual Canadian Health Informatics Awards Gala at the Sheraton Centre Toronto on Nov. 19, 2008. The awards to Agfa HealthCare Canada included the Corporate Citizenship Awards (Multi-National Company) and the Healthcare Transformation Award. This was industry's way of recognizing the team assembled by Michael Green since coming to Canada in 2001. Michael has now been appointed President & CEO, Agfa HealthCare North America. Not just a recognition for Michael but also Canada's excellence in enabling business. Dave Wilson takes over as Vice President of Agfa HealthCare Canada.
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