Clinical Problem Space Exposition

AGENDA | PANELISTS | REGISTRATION

The Clinical Council is hosting the Problem Space Exposition Event on October 3, 2024, in the Engineering 7 (E7) building for 1 hr 50 min + optional networking time in the afternoon.

The purpose of this event is to share current prominent challenges within the health system in need of solutions, presented by a panel of local health care professionals. The expo will also help prepare researchers to submit targeted engagement session proposals, for an opportunity to appear in front of the Clinical Council for the second round of engagement sessions in November 2024. 

REGISTER HERE

Agenda

Date: October 3, 2024

Time: 1:00 p.m. - 3:40 p.m. EDT

Location: E7 Event Space (second floor)

MC: Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia 

Dr. Doug Dittmer, MD, FRCPC

Chief and Medical Director | Grand River-Freeport Hospital, Kitchener, ON

Dr. Doug Dittmer graduated with a degree in medicine from Queen’s University and completed his fellowship training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at McMaster University. He became chief of PM&R at Victoria Hospital in London with a focus in trauma (orthopedic and burn) and was on faculty at UWO (Western). He has published over a dozen peer reviewed articles, plus book chapters and editorials and an international patent on an orthotic device. He continues to teach residents and fellows both in London and Kitchener-Waterloo. His clinical interests include Prosthetics and Orthotics, sports medicine, musculoskeletal medicine, and EMG (Electromyography). With a life-long interest in sports medicine, he served on the executive of the Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine and was elected President in 2009.  He was a physician on the Canadian medical teams for 3 Paralympic Games (Atlanta, Nagano and Sydney), the Vancouver Olympics, and 2016 Pan Am and Para Pan Am Games.  He has served on the development commission for FIMS (Federation International de Medecine du Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland), and as President of the Ontario Football Conference (of the Canadian Junior Football League).

Since coming to the Waterloo area, Dr. Dittmer has worked as Chief and Medical Director at Grand River-Freeport Hospital and has embraced the engineering community and innovation atmosphere of the region.  He is currently an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at the University of Waterloo. His current research project is the development of a “Smart” socket for amputees to reduce skin problems. He has worked to develop an online AI course for healthcare workers, now available through Queen’s University. He has chaired four med-tech conferences. He has helped foster a collaboration between post secondary institutions and hospitals to work in partnership on common interests, particularly innovation in community and rural hospitals. He is a competitive tennis player and enjoys his five grandchildren.

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Dr. Heather Warren, B.Sc. (Hons), B.Ed., MD, FRCPC

Vice President Medical Programs and Quality Staff Cardiologist | St. Mary's Regional Cardiac Care Centre, Kitchener, ON

Dr. Warren completed her Doctor of Medicine Degree and Internal Medicine Residency from Memorial University, before going on to complete her Fellowship in Adult Cardiology at the University of Western Ontario, followed by a Fellowship in Adult Echocardiography at the University of Toronto. She has also received her Graduate Diploma in Clinical Epidemiology from Memorial University, and her Certificate in Healthcare Management from Yale School of Management.  

A Clinical Cardiologist, with a special interest in Echocardiography, Heart Failure, Valvular Heart Disease and Cardio-Oncology,  Dr. Warren has 12+ years of progressive leadership experience. Dr. Warren joined SMGH as a Clinical Cardiologist in 2011. In 2013, Dr. Warren became the Medical Director of Echocardiography and Clinical Lead for Noninvasive Cardiology.  In 2020, took over as Medical Director for Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, overseeing the opening of the new facility and expanded program. From 2021 to 2023 she served as Joint Chief and Medical Director of Cardiovascular Services for the St. Mary's Regional Cardiac Care Centre, prior to her current role of Vice President of Medical Programs and Quality at St. Mary's General Hospital. Dr. Warren is passionate about patient-centred care and quality improvement and is always looking for ways to collaborate with partner organizations and industry to improve quality and sustainability of our healthcare systems.  Mom to two active boys, spends much of her spare time at local hockey arenas and baseball diamonds, cheering from the sidelines.

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Dr. Mekalai Kumanan, BSc, MHA, MD, CCFP, FCFP

Family Physician | Two Rivers Family Health Team, Cambridge, ON

Dr. Kumanan is a community-based family physician at Two Rivers Family Health Team in Cambridge. She attended Dalhousie University for her undergraduate studies, Master of Health Administration degree and medical school before completing her residency at the University of Western Ontario.

She has held a number of leadership positions across the system, serving as the Chief of Family Medicine at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital until earlier this year, continuing as an active physician leader within the Cambridge North Dumfries Ontario Health Team, and serving on the Board of Directors and as the President of the Ontario College of Family Physicians - having completed her term September 2024.

Dr. Kumanan has a passion for the primary care and the foundational role that family physicians play in the system.  As a tireless advocate for the profession, she has met with government to present important solutions to improve family medicine,  and has been interviewed dozens of times to highlight the challenges millions of Ontarians face without access to a family doctor and the urgent need for primary care transformation in the province

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Dr. Neil Naik, EMBA

Physician Advisor | eHealth Centre for Excellence, Kitchener, ON

Dr Neil Naik grew up in the GTA and studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He completed his residency in both urban Newfoundland and rural Nunavut, and further enhanced his education at OntarioMD with a rotation in Health Informatics and Leadership. He has embarked on his Executive MBA at the Ivey School of Business, where he is looking at how to make an innovative technology forward public healthcare system while continuing to build on our high quality of care. He practices family medicine in Waterloo, Ontario where he teaches family medicine and office management to medical students as an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University and the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Naik is a Physician Advisor with the eHealth Centre for Excellence, medical advisor for multiple startup companies, Regional Primary Care Lead for Ontario Health West, Clinical Lead for Patients before Paperwork for Ontario Health, Regional Primary Care Lead for Prevention and Treatment of Cancer for the Waterloo Wellington Region, and is on the Board of Governors for the Grand River Hospital Foundation.

He sits on a series of advisory boards including the regional renal and endoscopy boards, the Ontario Medical Laboratories Network, the Centre for Community, Clinical, and Applied Research Excellence (University of Waterloo), the Waterloo Medtech Innovation working group, and the Leadership Action Committee for the KW4 OHT.  As a Board Director for the Canada-Africa Community Health Alliance, Dr. Naik is working on bringing innovative medical products to clinics in remote villages in Tanzania while providing medical care. 

In his spare time, his true passion is in backcountry hiking and portaging.  It has led him to attempt to build canoes in his spare time.

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Registration

Registration will close at 9:00 a.m. on October 3, 2024.