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Dr. John Conly - Is a Professor and Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary (U of C) and the Alberta Health Services (AHS), Calgary and Area. In his role as Department Head, he conceived of the idea of developing the ‘Medical Ward of the 21st Century’ (W21C), and his focus on innovation and multidisciplinary networking has contributed significantly to the W21C initiative’s success to date. He is medically trained as a specialist in Infectious Diseases, and was the founding Co-Chair of the Canadian Hospital Epidemiology Committee, past President of the Canadian Infectious Disease Society, past Chairman of the Board for the Canadian Committee on Antibiotic Resistance and a previous Vice Chair for the Canadian Expert Drug Advisory Committee. He is currently a Board member for the Canadian Foundation for Infectious Diseases and the Editor-in-Chief for the Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology. He has published over 150 papers, and has received numerous career honours including the Joe Doupe Young Investigator Award from the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation, an Award of Excellence from the Riverdale Hospital, and the Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Infectious Diseases Society. He will oversee W21C research relating to both structural and clinical process research around infection prevention and control. |
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Dr. William Ghali – Is a Professor of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, U of C. Dr. Ghali is Director of the Calgary Institute for Population & Public Health. He holds a Government of Canada Research Chair in Health Services Research and the Buchanan Chair in General Internal Medicine. He is widely published with over 150 publications in national and international journals, and holds funding from multiple sources, including the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. He has received numerous awards and distinctions since assuming his faculty position at the U of C in 1996, with recent highlights including his receipt of a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Boston University School of Public Health in 2005 and his selection as one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 in 2003. Dr. Ghali is the Co-Director of the W21C’s Research and Innovation Program. His main research focus in W21C is in Data, Information, and Knowledge Flow. He is also involved in other W21C research theme areas given his expertise in outcomes research and his role as principal investigator for the Initiative. |
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Dr. Barry Baylis - Graduated from the U of C Medical School in 1983. He completed a postgraduate fellowship in Internal Medicine and in addition did a two-year fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism. He joined the faculty at the U of C and the Foothills Medical Center (FMC) in December 1989 as a founding member of the Division of General Internal Medicine. From 1989 onward he has contributed to both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, continuing medical education, and is actively contributing to and has participated in clinical trials research at the FMC since 1990. In addition to the above, his areas of interest include cardiovascular disease risk assessment and reduction, diabetes,
diabetes in pregnancy, hypertension, lipid disorders, obesity, thrombophillia and innovation in healthcare. Dr. Baylis has been involved with the W21C from its inception in December 2002, contributing through numerous related committees and fundraising. Presently he is the Co-Director the W21C’s Research and Innovation Program along with Dr. William Ghali.
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Dr. Ward Flemons - Is a Respirologist at the FMC and the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, and a Professor of Medicine at the U of C’s Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Flemons graduated from the University of Alberta (U of A) in 1984, completed his Internal Medicine and Respiratory Medicine training in 1990, and a three year AHFMR (Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research) Clinical Research Fellowship. He joined the medical staff of the Foothills Hospital in 1992. He held the roles of Foothills Sleep Centre Medical Director, Department of Medicine’s QI physician and Site Chief and Chair, Respiratory Medicine undergraduate course until he accepted the position of Medical Director, Quality Improvement and Health Information for the Calgary Health Region in 2002. Dr. Flemons was appointed Vice President, Quality, Safety and Health Information for the Calgary Health Region in 2004. In 2008 he completed the two year CHSRF sponsored EXTRA (Executive Training for Research Application) fellowship; his project focused on developing and implementing a system wide approach to improving Emergency Department patient flow. In 2009 he returned to a full time position with the U of C’s Faculty of Medicine. He serves as a medical advisor to the Health Quality Council of Alberta and is member of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute’s Board of Directors. His academic interests include developing a quality and safety education curriculum, safety culture and designing safer and more effective healthcare delivery. |
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Dr. Peter Sargious - Is the Medical Director, Chronic Disease Management, AHS. Dr. Sargious received his MD from the U of C in 1991, his Royal College Fellowship in Internal Medicine in 1995 and his MPH from Boston University in 1997. In 1997, Dr. Sargious joined the Faculty of Medicine at the U of C and also became the Manager for Alberta Research Council’s newly created Health Informatics Unit. During his 5 years with this not for profit research and development organization, Dr. Sargious led the development of internationally recognized interoperability standards for telehealth applications and the commercialization of two web based electronic medical record products. In 2001, Dr. Sargious became the Founding Medical Director of Calgary’s Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Portfolio and in 2006, received the Department of Medicine’s inaugural Innovation Award for his work in this field. He is the Medical Director for Chronic Disease Management, AHS and Co-Chair of Canada’s Chronic Care Network. |
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Dr. Jeff Caird - Is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and the Department of Anesthesia at the U of C. In 1994, he received his Ph.D. in human factors from the University of Minnesota, where he is still an Affiliated Faculty Member of the Center for Cognitive Science. He is the Director of the Cognitive Ergonomics Research Laboratory, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) funded, U of C Driving Simulator (UCDS) and the Healthcare Human Factors and Simulation Laboratory in the W21C’s Research and Innovation Centre. Dr. Caird has worked with over 50 companies and governments on human factors research, development, intellectual property and patent infringement including IBM, Apple, Transport Canada, the Insurance Bureau of Canada and Motorola.
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Dr. Irene Ma - Moved from the University of British Columbia (UBC) to join the Division of General Internal Medicine at the U of C as an Assistant Professor in August 2009. Dr. Ma received her Medical Degree from UBC where she also completed her Internal Medicine and Nephrology training. This was followed by her MSc in Epidemiology at Stanford University. She joined the UBC in 2004 as a Clinical Assistant Professor and was the Associate Program Director for Internal Medicine from 2007-2009. Her scholarly interests are in Medical Education and Simulation. |
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Dr. Maeve O’Beirne - Is a Family Physician and Associate Professor at the U of C, Departments of Family Medicine and Community Health Sciences. She practices at the Low Risk Maternity Clinic in Calgary and at an Academic Teaching Clinic. Her research interests are in the areas of complementary therapies and patient safety. Dr O’Beirne is the principal investigator working on the Medical Safety in Community Practice (MSCP) program. The purpose of the MSCP Program is to identify strategies to improve patient safety and reduce incidents in community based primary care practice. Utilizing a voluntary safety learning system, the MSCP program collects incident information from community practices located within the Calgary Health Region and collaborates with them to develop, implement and evaluate risk management strategies to increase patient safety. |
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Shandra Kimpton, Administrative Director – Is responsible for directing and facilitating the progression of the W21C with respect to its vision, concept, implementation and evaluation. The Administrative Director has a background in Clinical Engineering, conducting and coordinating research and four years of history with and dedication to the W21C Initiative. Collectively, this experience provides strength in strategic planning and successful program development. Since 2006, the Administrative Director has developed extensive relationships within the AHS, U of C and industry partners. These relationships are essential to maintain the W21C’s momentum. Professional development is a high priority to ensure team skill sets evolve. In particular, the Administrative Director is dedicated to ongoing training in leadership development, project and program management, gaining knowledge through medical conferences and literature and active involvement in projects. |
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Susan Mide Kiss, Communications Lead - Responsible for leading the communication strategy and providing advice and leadership including project and event coordination, media relations, internal communications, issues/risk management, change management and fund development. The role supports and enhances the complex collaboration among the dynamic W21C Initiative. The Communications Lead has been a key contributor to the W21C Team since 2007 and brings a high level of maturity and experience to the role. With previous experience in communications, health promotion and government relations, the W21C’s relationship development, marketing and fund development activities have been elevated to a higher professional level. The Communications Lead received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria (UVic), a Graduate Certificate in Journalism from the American University, Washington, DC and completed her Masters of Arts in Leadership (Health) from Royal Roads University in 2008.
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Alecia Greenough, Research Associate - Has been involved with the W21C for almost four years in various capacities. Alecia worked under Dr. Patrick Feng as a research assistant, recording and attending focus groups. Alecia graduated in 2008 from the U of C with a BA Honours in Science, Technology and Society, focusing her Honours Thesis on privacy and ethical issues surrounding the use of an electronic health record. Upon graduating she joined the W21C as a summer student and continued her role as Research Associate within the W21C. Alecia is involved in a number of W21C activities including projects such as Real Time Location Tracking System (RTLS), Vocera, and the Smart Camera System (SCS) as well as serving a role in supporting W21C communication activities. Alecia moved to a Research Coordinator position on Unit 36, focusing her efforts on fostering relationships among clinicians and researchers. Alecia is currently enrolled in the Public Relations Certificate program at Mount Royal College. |
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Julie Stromer, Research Associate - The W21C was recently successful in a collaborative Industry/academia application to Alberta Innovates Technology Futures Industry r&D Associates. This allows for the addition of a Computer Science Graduate to the W21C and enhances the relationship with Clarity Inc., a key W21C industry partner. This position will facilitate Clarity’s R&D commercialization, bringing the product to market while providing the new graduate with unique experiences within the W21C environment, building long term skill sets in Industry/Health Sector collaborations. |
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Jill de Grood, Research Associate - Completed her Masters degree in April 2009 through the Department of Sociology at the U of C. Her thesis project examined factors impacting lawyer’s physical and mental health. She was first exposed to research at the Foothills hospital while working with Dr. Lemaire and Dr. Wallace last spring on their ‘Well Doc’ project examining the use of a biofeedback tool to manage physicians’ stress. |
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Elise Teteris, Human Factors and Simulation Research Associate – Is a Human Factors and Simulation Research Associate at the W21C. She has recently completed her Master’s of Science at the U of C, in the department of Psychology with a focus on Human Factors. Her master’s research investigated the perceptual characteristics of medication containers, and the role they play in medication selection errors. Elise's interests include medication errors, the incorporation of usability and workflow into the design of hospital rooms, and inter-professional communication. In addition, Elise is also interested in working with industry in the design and commercialization of new technology through the use of Heuristic Evaluations and Usability Testing. |
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Nicole Percival, Masters Student - Currently completing her Master’s of Science in Human Factors (Psychology) in the Healthcare Human Factors and Simulation Laboratory (HHFSL) at the U of C. Nicole’s research involves designing healthcare technologies to promote the performance of targeted audiences, such as the design of automated external defibrillators for use by laypersons. Her research interests include designing systems to support the performance of healthcare professionals during extended duty shifts, fatigue related performance decrements, physician work hours, physician well-being and patient safety. Nicole is interested in working with industry to develop technologies for healthcare applications using heuristic evaluations and usability testing. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Science degree and has worked in the aviation industry for a number of years. |
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Andrew Mayer, PhD Candidate - Is a Psychology PhD student at the U of C specializing in Healthcare Human Factors. He received a Master’s of Science in Engineering Psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology where his research focused on Older and Younger adults’ interactions with automated technologies. His current research investigates the effects of task interruptions on health related task performance. Andrew also has experience applying various Human Factors principles and methodologies to the design and evaluation of technologies in diverse domains, from commercial farming to healthcare.
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Sonja Morrison, RN - Has worked with the (former) Calgary Health Region/AHS for thirty-one years, and has been the Patient Care Manager of Unit 36, W21C for nine years. Sonja completed her Master's degree in nursing from the University of Calgary in 1999. Sonja leads and belongs to a number of groups. At the moment, she currently participants in SEARCH Canada - a research course sponsored by the Region, is the Co-leader of the Planning and Design Team of W21C, and Co-Leader of the Vocera Project Planning Team. Her interests have focused on technology such as Vocera, the design of the new unit, and the need to be innovative to ensure safety and timeliness in communication with patients and other health care providers. |