NEWS & CELEBRATIONS
CANADIAN CRITICAL CARE SOCIETY (CCCS) LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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| Dr. Murdoch Leeies - EDDI Committee Chair Dr. Murdoch Leeies (he/him) works clinically in Manitoba as an emergency medicine, critical care medicine and organ donation specialist physician. Dr. Leeies is trained in clinical epidemiology and is the Research Director for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Leeies is leading a collaborative program of research with a focus on the promotion of equity, diversity, decolonization and inclusion (EDDI) in emergency medicine, critical care medicine and organ and tissue donation and transplantation in Canada. In addition to research Dr. Leeies is an advocate for health equity in his clinical and academic spheres. He chairs interdisciplinary committees on EDDI for the Department of Emergency Medicine and the Section of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Manitoba, Chairs the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee for the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians and is the Director of EDDI for the Canadian Critical Care Society. Current areas of active research include the promotion of equity for sexual orientation and gender identity diverse patients in organ and tissue donation and transplantation and equity in access and outcomes in critical care medicine for equity-deserving populations. |
| Dr. Karen Burns - CCCS President I am an Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist in Respirology and Critical Care Medicine within the Department of Medicine (DOM) at U of T. Additionally, I am a Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and I hold a Part-time Faculty Appointment with the Department of Research Methods, Impact, and Evaluation at McMaster University. With this appointment, I teach graduate courses in epidemiology and supervise graduate students. As an independent scientist, I have developed and led 2 parallel research programs, secured 7 career awards, successfully applied as Principal Investigator for 31 grants, authored over 264 manuscripts (H-index 50), 10 chapters, and delivered over 110 presentations at national and international meetings. I am the current Chair of the Canadian Critical Care Society, past Chair of Women in Critical Care (WICC) of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), and the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (CCCTG) Board of Directors. As Scientific Chair, I spearheaded development of novel ‘Diversity’ and ‘Code of Conduct’ policies for the CCCS and CCCTG (http://www.ccctg.ca) to ensure equity, diversity, and the highest standards of professionalism in our national critical care organizations. Since their publication (June 2018), these Diversity Policies have been adopted by the ATS, the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, the Australia/New Zealand Intensive Care Society, and the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine. |
| Dr. Sabira Valiani - EDDI Committee Member Dr. Sabira Valiani is an Intensivist in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She completed her MD at the University of Alberta in 2011, her Internal Medicine residency and ICU fellowship at the University of Ottawa in 2016, and her Master of Science in Bioethics from Columbia University in 2022. Her clinical practice in Saskatoon serves a diverse patient population including First Nations and Métis, rural, and immigrant patient populations. Her research interests include patient and family-centered care, as well as communication, decision-making, and end-of-life care. In her clinical work, Sabira seeks to include a reflective practice of cultural humility, as well as an EDDI lens to her research work. |
| Dr. Carmen Hrymak - EDDI Committee Member Carmen Hrymak (she/her) works as an Emergency, Critical Care, and Organ Donation Physician. Her interest in EDI spans these roles and overlaps with her area of expertise in Quality Improvement. Carmen is a Co-Chair of the EDI Special Interest Group for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Manitoba. |
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Dr Ruth MacRedmond is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Critical Care Medicine, UBC. She received her medical degree from Trinity College Dublin and certification in General Internal Medicine and Respirology from the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland. Following completion of Critical Care Fellowship at UBC she has remained on staff in the ICU at St Paul’s Hospital where she has leadership roles in QI, Critical Care Outreach and Organ Donation. Her clinical and research interests include Advance Care Planning and Organ Donation. |
| Dr. Gloria Vazquez Grande - EDDI Committee Member Dr. Gloria Vazquez-Grande is an Intensivist in Manitoba. She completed her MD and Intensive Care residency in Spain and her ICU fellowship and PhD in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at University of Manitoba. Her clinical practice in Manitoba serves a diverse population, including First Nations and Métis, rural, and immigrant patient populations. She was a member of the Life Flight crew during 2014-2020, helping rural and Northern communities in Manitoba access ICU level of care. Her research focus is sepsis, antibiotic optimization and access to care. Gloria is currently developing a research program with a focus of equity in access to sepsis care in Manitoba. She is a member of the EDDI committees for the section of Critical Care at University of Manitoba, as well as for the Canadian Critical Care Society, she is a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Community ICU Research network and the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group. |
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Ravi (he/him) completed his medical school training in the Armed Forces Medical College in India and followed that up with Anesthesia residency (India/United Kingdom), Critical Care fellowship (Toronto) and a cardiac anesthesia fellowship (Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio) He is currently the Medical Director at the Medical-Surgical ICU at the London Health Sciences Centre (University Hospital) and leads the Advance Care Planning Program there with an emphasis on improving resuscitation preference elicitation. He is also interested in heparin-protamine interactions in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Other interests include tennis, sailing and wake surfing. |
| Dr. Kathryn Whittemore - EDDI Committee Member Dr. Kathryn Whittemore (she/her) works clinically in Saskatchewan as an critical care and internal medicine specialist. Kathryn has a graduate diploma in medical education with a special interest in simulation. She is the staff wellness/resiliency liaison for the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the University of Saskatchewan, working with residents to decrease the rates of burnout and provide safe spaces for the residents to come forward with issues surrounding EDDI. |
 | Dr. Wael Haddara - EDDI Committee Member & Ethical Affairs Committee Chair Dr Wael Haddara is an Associate Professor of Medicine, the Chair of the Division of Critical Care Medicine, Western University and the Critical Care Department Head at London Health Sciences Center. His research interests draw on critical methodologies to examines ideas held to be timeless or enduring in Medicine and Medical Education. As a white passing male who is nevertheless a member of a religious and cultural minority, he has experienced the “insider-outsider” effect and most closely associates with the identity of a tempered radical. |
 | Dr. Varuna Prakash - EDDI Resident Physician Committee Member Varuna is a PGY6 and current Chief Resident in Critical Care Medicine at the University of Toronto. As a former Human Factors and Clinical Engineer, her former career in patient safety and quality improvement led to a keen interest in embedding Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion principles into healthcare improvement work. She is also interested in furthering EDI interests in the Critical Care education domain, particularly as relates to residency and fellowship training programmes. |
 | Dr. Josh Butcher - EDDI Fellow Committee Member Dr. Butcher (he/him) is a PGY6 resident in Adult Critical Care Medicine at the University of Alberta. He completed his MD in 2018 followed by 1 year of Orthopedic Surgery residency before transferring to Emergency Medicine, all at the University of Saskatchewan. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Josh grew up with mixed heritage as the son of a first-generation immigrant mother from Portugal and a Métis father. Dr. Butcher’s research interests include the comparisons of quantitative and qualitative outcomes between Indigenous and non-indigenous patient populations in Canadian Intensive Care Units. |
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About the AssociationThe Canadian Critical Care Society (CCCS) is the National Specialty Society, representing Adult and Paediatric Critical Care Medicine physicians in Canada. The practice of Critical Care Medicine in Canada is multidisciplinary and CCCS members hold base specialty certification in anaesthesia, medicine, paediatrics, emergency medicine or surgery and some surgical subspecialties such as cardiac surgery and neurosurgery. | Contact UsEmail: cccs@secretariatcentral.com Phone: 1-905-604-0166 Ext. 233 & 235 Address: 20 Crown Steel Dr. Unit #6, Markham, ON L3R 9X9 For media inquiries, please contact Kathryn Hendrick at (416) 277-6281. |
| The Canadian Critical Care Society thanks our organizational sponsors, MD Financial Management and Scotiabank for their generous support! |
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