Compassionate Minds: Conversations with Healthcare Leaders
AMS CEO Helen Angus speaks with system leaders to learn from their origins, their journeys, and the role of leadership in today's world. She will explore their thinking on how to deliver compassionate care in a technologically advancing health system and look at the challenges facing healthcare in the future.
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Episode #23 - Dr. Dominik Nowak
06/24/2026
Episode #23 - Dr. Dominik Nowak
Dr. Dominik Nowak is a family doctor and health leader. In addition to caring for patients and serving as Department Head in Family and Community Medicine at Women's College Hospital in Toronto, Dr. Nowak’s mission is to build teamwork across the health system. He is a trusted advisor to leading provincial, national, and international organizations toward a health system that is more kind, caring, and careful. As President at the Ontario Medical Association, the voice of 50,000 doctors across Ontario, he advanced substantive health systems change. Dr. Nowak trained at McMaster University, where he specialized in family medicine and served as chief resident. He went on to the University of Toronto to finish a Master of Health Administration at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation as well as the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program at the Rotman School of Management. Dr. Nowak is a faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He is a recipient of the College of Family Physicians of Canada Award of Excellence for his leadership in Canadian healthcare.
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Episode #22 - Dr. Nicola Mercer
05/20/2026
Episode #22 - Dr. Nicola Mercer
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Nicola Mercer. Dr. Nicola Mercer (MD MBA MPH FRCPC C. Dir) is the Medical Officer of Health and CEO of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. Before joining Public Health in 2007, she spent 15 years as an anesthesiologist and critical care physician. She is currently a Board member at Public Health Ontario sitting on the Audit Finance and Risk Standing Committee. She is also a past member of the Royal College of Physician and Surgeons nominating committee, and the University of Guelph Board of Trustees. In 2017, Dr. Mercer was appointed to the Minister of Health’s Expert Panel on Public Health. For her work during the pandemic, she was recognized with a Municipal World Women of Influence in Local Government Award in 2021, and a King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2024.
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Episode #21 - Altaf Stationwala
04/15/2026
Episode #21 - Altaf Stationwala
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Altaf Stationwala. Altaf Stationwala is President and CEO of Unity Health Toronto, one of Ontario’s largest and most comprehensive health care networks. The network includes St. Joseph’s Health Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare, and a constellation of clinics across Toronto’s core. Unity Health delivers the full spectrum of care offered across Ontario’s health system— from primary care, seniors care, rehabilitation, and acute services to specialized regional programs and long-term care— and is a globally recognized, university-affiliated teaching and research institution. It is a learning destination of choice for health professionals, known for its leadership in integrated, compassionate, high quality, and collaborative care. Prior to joining Unity Health Toronto in 2025, Altaf was President and CEO of Mackenzie Health for more than 14 years. Under his leadership, Mackenzie Health received Accreditation with Exemplary Standing consecutively in 2013, 2017 and 2022 – the highest rating a Canadian healthcare provider can achieve – and numerous awards for its commitment to safety and quality patient care, as well as approval to build the organization’s second hospital – Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital which opened in early 2021. Before joining Mackenzie Health, Altaf held the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Mount Sinai Hospital, and previous to that he was Site Executive - Brampton Civic Hospital and Vice President, Patient Services at the William Osler Health Centre. Altaf was presented with the Canadian College of Health Service Executives Canada's Outstanding Young Health Executive of the Year Award in 2007 for his demonstrated leadership in improving the effectiveness and sustainability of the country's health system. He has a diverse educational background with undergraduate degrees in Economics, Geography and Business Administration, as well as a Master’s in Health Administration. Altaf is adjunct faculty at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, and a surveyor with Accreditation Canada. Altaf serves as a member of several Boards of Governors including: GS1 Canada, Mohawk Medbuy Corporation, and The United Way of Greater Toronto. Altaf is the past Chair of the Ontario Hospital Association. Altaf has a particular applied research interest in organizational resilience and transformational change.
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Episode #20 - Will Falk and Dr. Zayna Khayat
03/18/2026
Episode #20 - Will Falk and Dr. Zayna Khayat
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Will Falk and Dr. Zayna Khayat. Will Falk has spent over 25 years as an international strategist, advising top academic centres, governments, and innovative companies in healthcare. He is currently the Board Chair of AMS Healthcare's Board of Directors, an Adjunct Professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and a Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute. Will is interested in the impacts of technological change on health systems and their governance and payment mechanisms. He works with several innovative enterprises in digital health and software development, including as an Innovation Fellow at Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care. He has also served as a Board Director or Advisor for more than a dozen enterprises, including local and national charities, start-ups, health systems, and publicly listed companies. Will’s strong understanding of digital health, along with his commitment to improving healthcare through policy and innovation, makes him an important part of AMS as we focus on a system shaped by advancing technology while remaining rooted in compassion. Zayna Khayat, PhD, is the Chief Program Officer at AMS Healthcare, where she leads the strategic design and delivery of the organization’s flagship programs in Artificial Intelligence & Compassion. She is adjunct faculty in the Health Sector Strategy stream at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Zayna previously held senior roles as Future Strategist at SE Health, Lead of Health System Innovation at MaRS Discovery District, and was seconded to the REshape Innovation Centre at Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Earlier in her career, she was a Principal in the healthcare practice of The Boston Consulting Group. Zayna earned her PhD in diabetes research from the University of Toronto. A recognized voice on health system transformation, she advises health technology companies across Canada and internationally.
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Episode #19 - Dr. Cynthia Whitehead
02/18/2026
Episode #19 - Dr. Cynthia Whitehead
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Cynthia Whitehead. Cynthia Whitehead is an education scientist, educator, and family physician. Her research examines the effects of power relations on various structures, systems, processes, and practices in health professions education, paying attention to who and what is advantaged or disadvantaged as a result. She aims to use her research findings to promote health and education practices that are compassionate, equitable, and effective. Working at the intersection of health and higher education, she sees exciting opportunities to harness the transformative potential of education in service of a healthier world. Cynthia’s program of research is anchored in critical historical analyses of health professions education. Knowing our history is vital for understanding our current contexts, avoiding past mistakes, preserving what works well, and appropriately adapting that which needs change. Aware of the need to deliberately collect multiple perspectives and voices in the history of health professions education—and at times dismayed by the absence and loss of documents—Cynthia is engaged in efforts to preserve relevant archival materials. She is also committed to helping to grow the community of scholars interested in studying the history of the field. Theoretically, Cynthia engages with the work of Michel Foucault, as well as post-colonialism, anticolonialism, and decoloniality. Some of her specific content areas of interest are globalized medical education, primary care education, accreditation, outcomes-based education, and education for collaboration. Underpinning Cynthia’s historical research is the knowledge that the creation of Euro-American models of higher education, health professions education, and healthcare institutions globally were intrinsically intertwined with European colonization of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Australia. She understands that colonization has shaped and continues to perpetuate inequities in health professions education and research practices locally, nationally, and globally. Cynthia’s involvement in the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration (TAAAC) is one key partnership within which she collaboratively interrogates these processes. As a high income country researcher and white settler Canadian, she strives to listen, learn, and collaborate with humility, taking care that her work not inadvertently reproduce colonial academic practices. Cynthia has provided education consultations and worked with educators, scholars, and learners in many countries, as well as with the World Health Organization. She has held many education leadership positions, and is involved in teaching, curricular design, program evaluation, and education administration locally, nationally, and internationally. Cynthia is a Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine; Director and Scientist at the Wilson Centre, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and University Health Network; and an academic family doctor based clinically at Women’s College Hospital. She holds the BMO Financial Group Chair in Health Professions Education Research at University Health Network.
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Episode #18 - Dr. Andy Smith
01/21/2026
Episode #18 - Dr. Andy Smith
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Andy Smith. Since 2017, Dr. Andy Smith has been the President and CEO of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where he leads over 12,000 staff, physicians, researchers and learners and an annual budget of more than $1.4 billion. Prior to his current role, Dr. Smith served as Sunnybrook’s Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Executive. With a long-established career as a surgeon and a recognized leader in the management of colorectal cancer, Dr. Smith is intensely passionate about improving healthcare. He has been involved for many years in quality improvement initiatives in Ontario and is passionately interested in healthcare leadership, innovation and the evolution of the healthcare system in Canada. Dr. Smith is on the Board of Directors for ORNGE, Public Health Ontario (PHO), HealthCareCAN, Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP) and is an active member of Toronto Academic Health Sciences Network (TAHSN).
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Episode #17 - Dr. Tara Kiran
11/19/2025
Episode #17 - Dr. Tara Kiran
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Tara Kiran. Dr. Tara Kiran is a family physician and a health systems researcher with nationally and internationally recognized expertise in primary care policy, quality improvement, and health system evaluation. She holds the Fidani Chair in Improvement and Innovation at the University of Toronto where she also serves as Vice Chair, Quality and Innovation for the Department of Family and Community Medicine. focuses on understanding and addressing gaps in access, equity, and quality in primary care, with recent work examining shifts in the physician workforce, the impact of team-based care, and public priorities for reform. Dr. Kiran is the founder and national lead of, Canada’s largest public engagement initiative on the future of primary care, which has shaped policy direction in multiple provinces and informed Ontario’s Primary Care Act. She also hosts, a podcast that explores innovative primary systems and clinics—in Canada and around the world. She practices family medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto where she is also a Scientist at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions. Throughout her work, she is motivated by a deep commitment to improving access to high-quality, equitable, and patient-centred care. http://amshealthcare.ca/
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Episode 16 - Dr. Laura Desveaux
10/22/2025
Episode 16 - Dr. Laura Desveaux
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Laura Desveaux, PhD, CPCC, ACC , a scientist and Director of the Learning Health System Leadership Center at the Institute for Better Health at Trillium Health Partners. She is a Senior Fellow with AMS Healthcare, an Assistant Professor with IHPME at the University of Toronto, and a 2023-24 Leadership Fellow with the International Women’s Forum. Dr. Desveaux’s program of work focuses on learning health systems, the future of leadership, and how and why things work in healthcare with a focus on identifying how context influences success (and failure). She is also the founder and Executive Director of Women Who Lead, a not-for-profit dedicated to supporting leadership development for women in the health sector.
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Episode #15 - Dr. Gillian Strudwick
09/24/2025
Episode #15 - Dr. Gillian Strudwick
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Gillian Strudwick, a Registered Nurse and an internationally recognized leader in digital health and mental health innovation. She currently serves as the Interim Scientific Director of the Digital Innovation Hub, Chief Clinical Informatics Officer, and Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto. In these roles, she leads research an implementation initiatives aimed at transforming mental health care through the responsible an equitable use of digital technologies. Dr. Strudwick is also an Associate Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, where she teaches and mentors the next generation of health system leaders and digital health scientists. Her program of research sits at the intersection of digital health, implementation science, and mental health services, with a focus on designing, evaluating, and scaling innovations that improve care experiences and outcomes for both patient and providers. Nationally and internationally, Dr. Strudwick is a sought-after expert and advisor. She serves on the boards of AMS Healthcare, the Village Family Health Team, and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. She is the youngest nurse to be named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing and the first woman in Canada to be named a Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association. Her contributions have been recognized with numerous accolades, including the Sigma Emerging Nurse Researcher Award, the CIHR Rising Star Award in Health Services and Policy Research, and the Top 20 Under 40 in Canadian Life Sciences. Dedicated to collaboration and impact, Dr. Strudwick has worked with health system partnersacross Canada and internationally, including Oxford University, Harvard University and the Mental Health Commission of Canada, to ensure digital solutions in health are usable, effective, and equitable. She has provided scientific guidance to policymakers, including as a member of Ontario’s COVID-19 advisory table, and regularly contributes to thought leadership in the areas of AI, usability, and human factors in health care.
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Episode #14 - Dr. Robert Reid
06/18/2025
Episode #14 - Dr. Robert Reid
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Robert Reid. Dr. Robert Reid is the Chief Scientist Emeritus at Trillium Health Partners, where he previously served as the Hazel McCallion Research Chair in Learning Health Systems at the Institute for Better Health (IBH) and Senior Vice President. He is a global expert and thought leader in population health, learning health systems and primary care. He is best known for his work in developing and evaluating a patient-centred medical home at Group Health Cooperative, now Kaiser Permanente. With IBH colleagues, Dr. Reid is also well known for leading the development of the Learning Health System (LHS) Action Framework that is now being used across Canada to guide system-based learning approaches. Dr. Reid is currently providing expertise in the re-design of Ontario’s health care system through the Ontario Health Teams initiative. Dr. Reid co-leads of the Rapid Improvementand Support Exchange (RISE) which provides technical support for rapid learning and improvement for Ontario Health Teams. At the University of Toronto, Dr. Reid holds an academic appointment as Professor(status) with the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), and the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He is also a Professor with McMaster University’s Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact. Board certified in preventive medicine, Dr. Reid received his medical degree from the University of Alberta and completed a Master’s Degree in Epidemiology and a Ph.D. in Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins University
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Episode #13 - Kimberly Moran
05/21/2025
Episode #13 - Kimberly Moran
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Kimberly Moran. Kimberly Moran has served as OMA’s CEO since December 2023. She is a highly respected health-care leader and accomplished executive with more than 30 years of senior leadership experience in the private and not-for-profit sectors. Kimberly comes to the OMA from her most recent role as the president and CEO of the Ontario College of Family Physicians, where she was able to unite stakeholders around a common purpose and vision of attracting new and sustainable funding in the health-care system. She has held roles as special adviser to the dean of the faculty of medicine at the University of Toronto, where her work included attracting new funding for research and innovative health-care models, CEO of Children’s Mental Health Ontario, and CEO of UNICEF Canada. She has advised health-system stakeholders at all levels of government in Canada and internationally. Kimberly is a recognized health-system transformation contributor and collaborator, with previous roles in the Ontario Children’s Health Coalition, which represents children’s hospitals and children’s community health-care providers, and as co-chair of the Children’s COVID-19 Vaccine Table. She was previously on the Premier’s Council on Improving Health Care and Ending Hallway Medicine, a voluntary expert advisory council reporting to the premier and the minister of health. Kimberly is a chartered professional accountant and chairs the finance committee for the Seneca College Board of Director.
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Episode #12 - Dr. Danielle Martin
04/23/2025
Episode #12 - Dr. Danielle Martin
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Danielle Martin, a Professor and Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM), University of Toronto. DFCM is the largest academic department of family medicine in the world and home to the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine and Primary Care. Dr. Martin is an active family physician whose clinical work has ranged from comprehensive family medicine in rural and remote communities to maternity care. She is a dedicated educator, mentor and role model to learners aspiring to enter medicine and health care leadership. Dr. Martin is a respected leader in Canadian medicine and well-recognized media spokesperson. Dr. Martin spent eight years as a senior hospital executive, most recently as Executive Vice President and Lead Medical Executive at Women’s College Hospital (WCH), where she was also medical lead of the hospital’s COVID-19 pandemic response. There, she led the establishment of Women’s Virtual, Canada’s first virtual hospital. The recipient of many awards and accolades, in 2019 Dr. Martin became the youngest physician ever to receive the F.N.G. Starr Award, the highest honour for Canadian Medical Association members.
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Episode #11 - Dr. Andrew Bond
03/19/2025
Episode #11 - Dr. Andrew Bond
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Andrew Bond. He is the Senior Vice President and Medical Director at GreenShield, Canada’s only national non profit health and benefits provider, where he leads the Enterprise Clinical Office providing clinical governance for quality, innovation and health policy and partnerships for GreenShield’s mental health, pharmacy, chronic disease and telemedicine services. Prior to his work at GreenShield, he was the Executive Medical Officer at Inner City Health Associates in Toronto, one of the largest community medical organizations in Canada. He is a Board Member of AMS Healthcare, focused on AI and technology adoption in the healthcare sector, a member of the Innovation Advisory Committee of HealthcareCAN, and was an inaugural National Health Fellow at McMaster University. Dr. Bond continues to practice as a primary care physician and is a faculty member of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Originally from Winnipeg, Dr. Bond completed his undergraduate training at Queen’s University, his MD from the University of Ottawa, postgraduate specialty training in Family Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Master of Health Administration from the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the Universities of Saskatchewan and Regina. He is currently completing a Master of Business Administration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Episode #10 - Dr. Andrew Boozary
02/19/2025
Episode #10 - Dr. Andrew Boozary
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Andrew Boozary, a primary care physician, policy practitioner, researcher, and founding executive director of the Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine at the University Health Network. He completed his medical training at the University of Toronto and health policy training at Princeton University and Harvard University. His work at the intersection of health policy, social justice and equitable health care delivery aims to improve health outcomes for marginalized populations. During the pandemic, Dr. Boozary served as co-lead of the Ontario Health Toronto Region COVID-19 Homelessness Response and holds the Dalla Lana Professorship in Policy Innovation at the University of Toronto. He is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Public Health Review and served in senior advisory roles for policymakers at various levels of government both nationally and abroad on public policy issues ranging from primary care reform to the implementation of pharmacare. Dr. Boozary has published in high-impact academic journals, and his writing and analysis appear in print and broadcast media. He has been the recipient of a number of national and international awards and is the youngest physician recipient of the Louise Lemieux-Charles Health System Leadership Award and the youngest Convocation speaker for the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine.
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Episode #9 - Dr. Chandi Chandrasena
01/29/2025
Episode #9 - Dr. Chandi Chandrasena
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Chandi Chandrasena, OntarioMD’s Chief Medical Officer, providing the clinical perspective to inform digital health products and services for physicians. She plays a key role with digital health technology, clinician engagement, change management and education, and is actively involved in provincial and national discussions on EHR integration and data interoperability. With over 20 years of specialization in comprehensive family medicine, Dr. Chandrasena deeply understands the challenges of community practice. She has a special interest in physician leadership and professional accountability, advocating for a robust primary care and focusing on end-users to alleviate inadvertent technological burdens. Dr. Chandrasena has contributed to numerous national and provincial conferences, webinars, and discussions on digital technology, burnout, and administrative burden.
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Episode #8 - Anna Greenberg
11/13/2024
Episode #8 - Anna Greenberg
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Anna Greenberg. Anna is a highly regarded member of Ontario Health’s senior leadership team, serving in a number of roles since the organization’s beginning. She served as the inaugural Chief of Strategy and Planning and as Chief Regional Officer, Toronto and East, for over two years. Now, as Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Anna serves as a strategic partner with the CEO, the Board and senior leadership counterparts, providing additional leadership support to our corporate services. She works closely with senior government officials and health system leaders to continue to shape and drive Ontario Health’s vision, mission and values. Anna is also the Executive Lead, Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Anti-Racism. She has a track record of success, excelling in each role. Anna led a number of strategic and corporate initiatives and was instrumental in support of Ontario’s Health’s system response to the COVID 19 pandemic. Her commitment to actively listening, engaging and educating has helped Ontario Health better recognize and address barriers to equity. A former president of Health Quality Ontario, Anna championed improved performance monitoring, public reporting and clinical standards. Prior to that Anna served in policy and strategic roles in the cancer system and at the Ministry of Health.
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Episode #7 - Donna Duncan
10/15/2024
Episode #7 - Donna Duncan
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Donna Duncan. Donna Duncan is a passionate seniors’ care, mental health advocate, and broader public sector leader, bringing more than 20 years of experience in advancing transformative change at organization and system levels. As CEO of the Ontario Long Term Care Association, Donna leads the largest provincial association representing long-term care providers in Canada. She also is involved in global forums as a member of the board of directors of the Global Ageing Network and serves on the board of the Canadian Association of Long-Term Care. In addition, Donna hosts the highly-rated podcast, Coming of Age, which is changing the conversation about seniors’ care, challenging ageism, and exploring innovations in care and public policy for all of us as we age. She is also a sought-after speaker, guest-lecturer and media commentator on seniors’ care, health human resources and public policy. Donna previously served as the Interim Chief Executive Officer of The Ontario Caregiver Organization where she led the organization’s start-up operations, building a foundation for new leadership and a provincial board to lead the development of services and supports for family caregivers in Canada’s largest province. In addition, she served as President and CEO of one of Ontario’s largest children’s mental health treatment, research and teaching centres and also a community affiliate of the University of Toronto. Donna led the organization through transformational change and extensive programmatic and quality improvements, culminating in its integration with The Hospital for Sick Children in 2017 as the SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health. Donna has a deep understanding of healthcare systems and works in partnership with leaders across the health and community care sectors provincially, nationally and internationally. She also has extensive experience within government, having worked with federal and provincial ministers and with a United Nations agency. Donna currently sits on advisory committees for the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care, and on the board of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She has also served on the boards of The Ontario Caregiver Organization, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, the national Kids Brain Health Network, and chaired the Board of Governors of Seneca College and the provincial College Employer Council. http://amshealthcare.ca/
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Episode #6 - Sophia Ikura
09/18/2024
Episode #6 - Sophia Ikura
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Sophia Ikura. Sophia is the founder and Executive Director of Health Commons, a pioneering organization dedicated to addressing health disparities by combining the tools of a diverse set of disciplines from epidemiology to service design and political science to bring community-driven solutions into the health policy space. With a robust background in senior executive roles within government, Crown Agencies, and politics, Sophia brings a wealth of experience to her leadership. As the Senior Director of Strategy and Community Engagement for the Toronto Regional Health Authority (formerly the Local Health Integration Network), Sophia was instrumental in engaging health system leaders and diverse communities across a population of 1.2 million and a budget of $4.4B in healthcare investments. Her efforts informed strategic health system planning, bringing population health management approaches to help address equity gaps across the diverse communities of Toronto. Sophia's experience includes serving as a senior advisor to the Premier of Ontario and three Health Ministers over a five-year period. In these roles, she advised on critical matters such as health system funding reform, the provincial quality agenda, health human resources, public health, wait times management, home and community care, and hospital administration. Prior to these roles, Sophia was the Director of the Nursing Secretariat, where she developed and implemented a four-year nursing human resource plan. This initiative guided $180 million in recruitment and retention activities, resulting in the creation of over 12,000 nursing positions across the health sector. Sophia holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Queen's University. Her academic background, combined with her extensive professional experience, equips her with a unique perspective on health system challenges and solutions. Through Health Commons, Sophia is committed to amplifying community expertise and the wisdom that comes from lived experiences to develop practical, hyper-local solutions for equitable health outcomes. The lab integrates service design, community engagement, co-design, and policy expertise to create impactful health interventions. amshealthcare.ca/
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Episode #5 - Brian Hodges
06/19/2024
Episode #5 - Brian Hodges
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Brian Hodges. Brian Hodges is Executive-Vice President Education and Chief Medical Officer at University Health Network, and Professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Brian is a practicing psychiatrist, teacher, and healthcare leader. His research and writing focus on assessment, competence, compassion and the future of the health professions.
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Episode #4 - Dr. Keith Thompson
05/22/2024
Episode #4 - Dr. Keith Thompson
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Keith Thompson. Dr. Thompson is a family physician, a graduate of the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, and an Adjunct Faculty Professor with both the departments of Family Medicine and the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration at Western University. He also serves at Western as a co-investigator on two virtual care studies and is a Medical Mentor for the Medical Innovation Fellowship program at WORLDiscoveries. He is an early-career researcher with a special interest in reconciling digital health technologies and the foundational principles of family medicine as defined by Dr. Ian McWhinney. He was one of the initial Canadian physicians hired to consult with the Teladoc/BestDoctors Canada start-up team in February of 2018 and worked as Chief Medical Officer for iTelemed—a telemedicine startup in London, Ontario. He is currently the Chief Medical Officer for the Toronto-based company NuraLogix, an advanced AI machine-learning software company capturing patient parameters by analyzing facial blood flow using smart device cameras. He is a current working group member for IEEE SA Telehealth Industry Connections, IEEE New Jersey Coast SIGHT (Special Interest Group for Humanitarian Technology) program member, and 1708 Standards for cuffless BP devices. He is an e-health working group executive member of the World Congress of Family Doctors (WONCA). He is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute, a non-profit for research in governmental policy.
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Episode #3 - Dr. Lisa Richardson
04/17/2024
Episode #3 - Dr. Lisa Richardson
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Dr. Lisa Richardson. Dr. Lisa Richardson practises General Internal Medicine at the Toronto General Hospital and is the Associate Dean, Inclusion and Diversity; as well as Acting Vice Dean, Strategy, at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine. She is an education researcher at the Wilson Centre with a scholarly focus on how to integrate Indigenous and critical perspectives from the social sciences into medical education. Dr Richardson is the Strategic Lead in Indigenous Health for Women's College Hospital where she founded Ganawishkadawe – . She is on Council of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and co-chairs the Royal College’s Indigenous Health Committee. Lisa is also a founding executive member of and belongs to the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada.
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Episode #2 - Nicole Woods
03/20/2024
Episode #2 - Nicole Woods
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Nicole Woods. Nicole (Nikki) Woods, PhD is the Richard and Elizabeth Currie Chair for Research in Health Professions Education. She is also Director of The Institute for Education Research (TIER) at University Health Network and Senior Scientist at The Wilson Centre, University of Toronto. Dr. Woods leads an internationally recognized research program that uses methods and principles from cognitive psychology to advance medical education theory and practice. Her research has significant implications for education across the developmental continuum and various health disciplines. A Fellow of the Karolinska Institute Prize for Medical Education Research since 2019, Dr. Woods is currently a Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. In 2021, Dr. Woods was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by WXN. UHN Communications: UHN Research Communications:
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Episode #1 - Adil Khalfan
02/21/2024
Episode #1 - Adil Khalfan
In this episode, host Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare, speaks with Adil Khalfan. Adil Khalfan is President and CEO of Kensington Health, a not-for-profit health service organization located in Toronto, Ontario. Adil has a vast background in nursing, public health, international development, and health system strategy in Canada and internationally. His career has crossed many sectors with diverse populations, including community care, public health, acute care, home care, regional care, and specialty health. He has worked extensively in Ontario and the Middle East, and understands the relationship between accountability and strategy, planning, quality, performance measurement, best-practice implementation and change management. Adil was the founding CEO of Royale Home Health (of Royale Hayat Hospital in Kuwait). Before that, he served as Middle East Executive Regional Director and Operational Lead for University Health Network (UHN) where he led an international cancer centre transformation in the region. He is a Registered Nurse and holds a BSc Nursing from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Health Administration from the University of Ottawa. Prior to joining Kensington Health, Adil served as Ontario Health’s Senior Vice President, Health System Performance and Support, where his position has required him to oversee Ontario Health’s work to advance provincial strategies, funding, accountability agreements, standards and initiatives through information, evidence, and other supports to assess, inform and improve overall health system performance and effectiveness.
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Compassionate Minds: Conversations with Healthcare Leaders
02/14/2024
Compassionate Minds: Conversations with Healthcare Leaders
Are you ready to engage with Canada's most inspiring healthcare leaders? AMS proudly presents 'Compassionate Minds: Conversations with Healthcare Leaders.' Helen Angus, the CEO of AMS Healthcare, is excited to host this stimulating new podcast. In each episode, she engages in dialogue with some of the most dynamic healthcare system leaders, delving into their origins, remarkable journeys, and ever-evolving roles in today's complex healthcare landscape. These conversations explore the essence of compassionate healthcare leadership. In a world of ever-advancing technology, the podcast unravels the secrets to maintaining the human touch in a digital age while examining the impact of new technologies on healthcare. 'Compassionate Minds' also takes a visionary look into the future of healthcare. Helen's guests share invaluable insights on the challenges that lie ahead, offering a glimpse into the innovative solutions shaping the future of healthcare. Get ready to be inspired, enlightened, and motivated. These conversations are not just for healthcare professionals; they're for anyone who believes in the power of compassionate minds to transform healthcare. Join this remarkable journey as Helen unlocks the minds of healthcare leaders and discovers the keys to compassionate healthcare leadership. 'Compassionate Minds' is available wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe now, and let these compelling and inspiring conversations enrich your understanding of what it means to be a healthcare leader today. AMS Healthcare invites you to be part of a conversation that matters. Subscribe today.
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