Dr. Eric Letovsky, Chief of Emergency Medicine, Trillium Health Partners
Dr. Eric Letovsky graduated from Yale, and completed his medical studies at McGill before doing postgraduate training at the University of Toronto. He is the Chief and Medical Director of Emergency Medicine at Trillium Health Partners.
He is the former Director of the Division of Emergency Medicine in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, where he is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Letovsky is an Emergency Department Lead for Ontario Health and a Peer Assessor for Emergency Medicine for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
Dr. Letovsky has completed numerous external reviews of emergency departments throughout the province. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious President’s Award from the Canadian Association of Emergency Medicine for distinguished service to the discipline of Emergency Medicine in Canada.
Elder Renee Thomas-Hill, Cayuga Nation, Bear Clan, Educator
Elder Renee Thomas-Hill, Cayuga Nation, Bear Clan, is an educator, elder and grandmother living on Six Nations near Brantford. She is a sessional lecturer and Elder-in-Residence at McMaster University. She is a founder of Grandmother’s Voice on social media and has also held the role of Cultural Co-ordinator at the Native Horizons Healing Lodge, which works with addictions at New Credit First Nation. As a Haudenosaunee woman, she is responsible to carry on the teachings of ‘Our’ Way of Life. “My walk in life, is to share awareness and the uplifting of the spirit through the teachings of Our Mother, the Earth and the Understanding of the Good Mind.”
Pat Mandy, Registered Nurse, Member of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation
Pat Mandy retired as Chief Executive Officer of the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network in 2010. She is a respected healthcare leader with more than 40 years of experience in a variety of leadership roles. Pat is the Past President of the College of Nurses of Ontario, Past Chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth District Health Council, and Chair of De dwa de dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre. She is currently the Chair of the Hamilton Police Services Board.
She also served as Chair of the Board of Directors of De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre and continues as a member of the Capital Development Committee. Pat served on the Board of Urban Native Homes (UNH), and chaired the UNH Long-Term Care Committee and the Seniors Housing Project, which resulted in establishing Koogawdawin Manitou, a home for homeless Indigenous seniors.
She was a founding member and Vice-Chair of the Aboriginal Health Advocacy Committee, facilitating the development and implementation of an Aboriginal Health Advocacy Program across many hospitals.
Pat has been recognized for her contributions and active commitment to the well-being of the Indigenous community, including winning the 2016 Indspire Award in the health category. In June 2017, she was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada.
Carolyn Farquharson, Director Urgent and Critical Care, Sinai Health
Carolyn Farquharson has been a Registered Nurse since 1982 with the majority of her career spent in acute care hospitals. At least 30 of those years were spent as a frontline emergency/triage nurse, nurse educator, clinical nurse specialist and nursing administrator in emergency departments.
More recently, she has been a director overseeing emergency department patient flow and operations. She is also a certified Emergency Nurse. Carolyn has led and participated in many hospital system clinical, cultural and process changes and has always been inspired to improve and enhance this sector of healthcare.
Carolyn’s pronouns are she/her. She’s a mother, wife and grandparent. Her interests outside of work include fitness, reading, cooking and family time. She is inspired to participate with this panel to improve service and care for at-risk and marginalized populations.
Dr. David Price, McMaster University Professor and Family Physician
Dr. David Price is a Professor and Family Physician in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University.
Through a number of leadership roles and his involvement with local, regional, provincial and international governments as a consultant and advisor, Dr. Price has developed expertise in primary care reform and healthcare policy development.
As Chair of the Provincial Expert Advisory Panel on Primary Care (2013-14), he was instrumental in producing “Patient Care Groups: A new model of population based primary health care for Ontario.” He is Chair of the Minister of Health’s Primary Care Advisory Table, and has been on Ontario’s COVID-19 Health Co-ordination Table since April 2020. He is Chair of McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences Finance Committee, President of Regional Medical Associates and Chair of the Centre for Effective Practice.
In July 2021, he became the Co-Lead of the Health Leadership Academy, a partnership between the DeGroote School of Medicine and DeGroote School of Business. Leading the department’s response to the calls for action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a priority. Under his leadership, a number of initiatives have been developed, most notably the Indigenous Teaching Through Art program in partnership with the Indigenous department and community members.
Debra Jonathan, Registered Nurse, Turtle Clan, Cayuga Nation
Debra Jonathan belongs to the Turtle Clan, Cayuga Nation and grew up in her home community of Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.
She graduated from Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology in 1995 as a Registered Nurse and worked in emergency medicine early in her career. She then returned to her home community to work in home care nursing before transitioning to school health nursing.
Debra received a Community Health Certificate from Lakehead University in 1997 and moved to Alberta in 1999 where she worked in community/public health nursing. It was her passion for the last 23 years. She received a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 2021 from Toronto Metropolitan University and continues to work in public health nursing in First Nations communities across Ontario.
Debra lives with her husband in Six Nations and they are proud parents and grandparents to four children and 10 grandchildren. She enjoys camping, fishing, gardening and spending time outdoors with her family.
Extraordinary Caring. Every Person. Every Time.
