OPTIC Team

Our team is committed to building a strong foundation to forge a broader and more robust platform to improve the care of the frail elderly in western Canada. We have assembled team members in who collectively have a wealth of scientific, strategic and operations experience. Our assembled decision-makers have the authority and commitment to implement significant changes to improve this important aspect of the health system. Our assembled researchers and decision-makers are equally committed to meaningful engagement, good science and system change in order to improve the lives of the frail elderly residents for whom these transitions are real. More info...

ALBERTA

Dr. Greta Cummings is Professor, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta (UA) and holds investigator personnel awards from CIHR and AHFMR. She heads the CLEAR Outcomes research unit that focuses on leadership development by individuals and organizations to achieve better outcomes for healthcare providers and patients. She is a co-investigator with Estabrooks and Norton on the five year CIHR Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) grant and their AHFMR Translating Health in Acute Care Hospitals (AKUTE) research grant. Cummings was a senior decision-maker in the Alberta healthcare system prior to moving to the university. She is nominated principal applicant for OPTIC.

Dr. Carole Estabrooks is Professor, Faculty of Nursing at UA, Canada Research Chair, and PI of the $4.7M TREC research program. She is an Advisory Board member of CIHR's Institute of Aging, and brings senior experience in multi-disciplinary health services research in knowledge translation. Estabrooks is a principal applicant for OPTIC.

Dr. Peter Norton is Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Calgary and studies patient safety, quality improvement and research utilization. He brings experience in LTC as a care provider and senior administrator. He is an Advisory Board member of CIHR's IHSPR, is affiliated with Canadian Patient Safety Institute, and co-leads TREC. Norton is a principal applicant for OPTIC.

Dr. Brian Rowe is Professor and Research Director of Emergency Medicine (UA), and Canada Research Chair. He brings experience in national clinical guideline development and implementation, and research in the ED related to improving wait times and quality of care.

Dr. Jacques Lee is Director of Research and Scholarship in Emergency Medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and Scientist with the Sunnybrook Research Institute. He brings substantive knowledge and experience as PI of the Paramedics Assessing Elders at Risk of Independence Loss (PERIL) research program ($455k CIHR), and the EnTICE project to develop a toolkit for front-line clinicians to engage in integrated knowledge transfer ($923k Ontario Ministry of Health).

Dr. Norah Keating is Chair, North American Region, for the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics and in 1999 published Eldercare in Canada: Context, content and consequences, the first national profile of caregiving, used by health and social policy analysts to determine services needs to support caregivers.

Dr. Adrian Wagg is a geriatrician and researcher from the UK. He brings considerable experience in applied health services research and quality improvement. He has an extensive research program in urinary continence management in the elderly, and has had experience with a project in which wait times were reduced and other critical quality indicators improved for elderly patients in emergency departments.

Dr. Garnet Cummings holds academic appointments with the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine at the University of Alberta. He also held long-standing roles as a physician and Site Chief at the Royal Alexandra Hospital's Emergency Department.

Carole Anderson is responsible for regional continuing care, acute and emergency services at UAH. She is a healthcare leader with extensive experience in operations, health-system planning, change management, capital planning, and human resource management.

Glenda Coleman-Miller is Vice-President, University of Alberta Hospital, Stollery Children's Hospital and Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and has extensive knowledge and experience in Senior healthcare administration.

Tracey Buffam is a Client Services Manager for the Good Samaritan Society in Edmonton who leads her Leadership team in strategic planning in areas such as Growth and Innovation, End of life care, Dementia care, dining experience, and admission process.

Dr. Sunil Sookram is an Associate Clinical Professor, Emergency Medicine, UA, and Medical Director of EMS, Fire & Rescue at UAH. He has experience managing and adapting processes within the prehospital environment in the Edmonton region.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Dr. Colin Reid is the lead BC investigator. He is an Assistant Professor in Health Studies at University of British Columbia, Okanagan (UBCO) and Co-Leader of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) BC Network for Aging Research (BCNAR). Dr Reid is a sociologist and demographer in health and aging. He brings experience in evaluating large datasets and statistical modeling in addition to his strong focus in health and aging research with a focus on dementia care in LTC. He is a principal applicant for OPTIC.

Joanne Konnert is Chief Operating Officer for Interior Health and has 30 years of senior decision-making experience in BC acute care and regional settings. She has significant expertise in managing large change initiatives and is ideally suited to co-lead an integrated KT study, facilitate use of evidence in decision-making, and mentor executives, managers and researchers on operations and implementation. Konnert is Principal decision-maker and Co-PI for OPTIC.

Dr. Joan Bottorff is Professor (UBCO) and a senior investigator in end of life and palliative care, as well as, rural access for BC residents. Her work in health promotion has resulted in a strong complement of skills in multi-jurisdiction team research with a clear focus on deliverables.

Dr. Carole Robinson is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing (UBCO), and brings expertise in palliative care, advance care planning, family research, and qualitative methods.

Dr. Meredith Lilly is a Research Associate (UBCO) mandated to increase research collaboration and KT between Interior Health and UBCO. She brings a background in health services research, health economics, gender-based analysis and comparative analysis of healthcare settings. She will build economic evaluation into the research.

Cindy Regier is the Director/Program Lead, Residential Services, Interior Health Authority, and holds Certification in Gerontological Nursing with the Canadian Nurses Association.

Dr. Michael Ertel is presently an active staff member in the Kelowna General Hospital working full time in the Emergency Department and as Chief and Medical Director of the Emergency Medicine Department. He is actively involved in teaching medical residents, nursing students, and ambulance attendants and serves as the Sectional Representative for The Section of Emergency Medicine in the Society of Specialist Physicians and Surgeons of B.C.