The HSPRSN Steering Council consults with BC Health Authorities, the Ministry of Health and BC’s academic community to develop consensus on and provide recommendations to the MSFHR Board of Directors regarding strategic and funding priorities for health services and policy research and capacity building initiatives for BC.

Co-Chairs

Dr. Steven Shechter
Assistant Professor, Sauder School of Business, Operations and Logistics Division, University of British Columbia
Dr. Steven Shechter holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, an MS in Operations Research from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a BS in Mathematics from Loyola University in Chicago. Steven's research interests lie at the intersection of operations research and health care. He has collaborated with clinicians, biostatisticians, health policy researchers, and other colleagues in operations research to consider optimal decision-making for organ allocation, HIV therapy planning, and minimally invasive surgery. Steven, a Faculty Affiliate of the Centre for Health Care Management at UBC, is interested in applying dynamic programming, simulation modeling, and survey-based techniques to investigate important problems in medical decision-making.

BC Ministry of Health Services Representatives

Dr. Kelly Barnard
Medical Consultant, Health Protection, BC Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport
A major focus of Dr. Kelly Barnard’s work is optimizing the use of information to support population-based health system analysis and policy development. Her background includes full service family practice in northern BC, post-graduate training in epidemiology and community medicine, public health practice and administration, and a variety of assignments with the BC Ministry of Health in the areas of primary health care, rural health, physician compensation, and health system planning.

Ms. Victoria Schuckel
Director, Strategic Policy and Research, BC Ministry of Health Services
Victoria Schuckel, MA, has worked in the public service for more than 16 years: nine years in mental health policy and the balance in the corporate research portfolio. While in the mental health area Victoria worked with diverse mental health stakeholders supporting research transfer initiatives related to best practices. During this time Victoria spent more than five years working to develop a policy agenda to address clinical and support needs of women with mental illness, informed through consultations and a variety of initiatives with consumer and family groups, advisory groups, health authorities, key ministries, and academic/research agencies in BC, other provinces, and the U.S. As Director of Research, Victoria supports the Ministry of Health Services’ capacity for evidence-informed policy and planning and works to increase collaboration and coordination with external research bodies. Victoria coordinates activities related to Ministry research priorities and capacity and transfer issues, and manages contracts for research activities and institutes. She also participates in a range of initiatives involving other ministries and stakeholders who have academic and economic development interests in health research.

Health Authorities Representatives

Mr. Geoffrey Crampton
Vice President, People, Organization and Academic Development, Fraser Health
Dr. Geoffrey Crampton is responsible for strategic leadership of Fraser Heath’s people and human resources. His mandate in that role is to enhance Fraser Health’s effectiveness through innovative, sustainable, and results-oriented strategies that engage leaders and team members in organization transformation.Geoffrey was the first chair of the Employment Standards Tribunal, which hears appeals from employers and employees under the Employment Standards Act. He also served a six-year term as Director, Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau when it was first created in 1993. Earlier in his career, he was Senior Consultant at the Health Labour Relations Association of BC.His private sector experience includes management positions with the Overwaitea Food Group and Four Seasons Hotels Ltd. After graduating from UBC with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1982, Geoffrey acted as Human Resources/Labour Relations Advisor for the University and later as Executive Director, UBC Faculty Association. He is an Adjunct Faculty Member in the UBC Sauder School of Business. In addition, Geoffrey serves on the Board and committees of a number of organizations.

Ms. Suzanne Johnston
Vice President, Academic Affairs & Regional Development, Chief Nursing Officer, Northern Health Authority
Suzanne Johnston obtained both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing from the University of New Brunswick and has completed her doctoral studies at the University of Arizona, College of Nursing. Her research interests focus on the use of technology for the delivery of health promotion education, and mothering adolescent children affected with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Suzanne has more than 25 years of leadership experience in healthcare and government services. Prior to becoming Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Regional Development at Northern Health, Suzanne held the position of Chief Operating Officer for the North West Health Services Delivery Area in Northern Health. Suzanne has special interest in leadership development and has experience as a facilitator for education in this area. Specifically, Suzanne has volunteered with United Way agencies to help build leadership capacity for non-profit boards.

Dr. Janet Joy
Director, Innovation in Health Technology, Vancouver Coastal Health
Dr. Janet Joy has worked in research, health policy, and most recently in the health care system at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). She came to VCH in 2004 as Director of the Health Services and Policy Research Collaboratory, an initiative designed to build linkages among researchers and decision-makers that was created with funding from a HSPRSN Health Authority Capacity Building award. In 2005, she was appointed Director of Innovation in Health Technology. Prior to coming to Vancouver, Janet spent 10 years leading health policy studies at the Institute of Medicine in the U.S., where she edited or wrote reports on topics including stem cells, medical marijuana, multiple sclerosis, and intellectual property. She earned her PhD in biological rhythms from the University of Toronto and spent five years as a Senior Staff Fellow at the National Institutes of Health (U.S.).

Ms. Linda Sawchenko
Regional Practice Leader, Advanced & Interprofessional Practice,
Interior Health Authority
Ms. Linda Sawchenko is a Regional Practice Leader focusing on Advanced and Inter-professional Practice initiatives within Interior Health.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Victoria and a Master of Science in Health Administration from the University of Colorado. Linda also completed the 2 year Executive Training for Research Application (EXTRA) fellowship focusing on an evidence informed approach to the introduction of Nurse Practitioners (NPs).  Linda has worked in health care in British Columbia in positions ranging from hospital administration to teaching. She also has an Adjunct Professor appointment at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan campus.  Linda served previously on the HSPRSN Steering Council for a year from April 2009.

 Dr. Con Rusnak
Executive Medical Director for Academic Development & Physician Engagement, Vancouver Island Health Authority
Dr. Con Rusnak is Executive Medical Director, Academics and Clinical Engagement, Vancouver Island Health Authority.  This new portfolio, under his direction, is responsible for minimizing barriers for clinicians integrating the University of BC/University of Victoria undergraduate and post-graduate students within the VIHA system.  Prior to this, Dr. Rusnak was a senior surgeon practicing in Victoria with special interests in oncology, education and system design.  Dr. Con Rusnak, has held many senior positions including Chief of Surgery; Medical Director for Surgical Services and Executive Medical Director for Vancouver Island in Pharmacy, Lab, Radiology and Surgical Services. He has held positions on many boards including the cancer program as well as being the Co-Founder of the Surgical Oncology Program for BC.  While practicing in Saskatchewan at the University, Dr. Rusnak was a Professor of Surgery who received numerous honours for teaching excellence. He has published many peer reviewed papers and has an ongoing interest in education and research.

Universities Representatives

Dr. Elizabeth Borycki, RN, HBScN, MN, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Health Information Science
Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, University of Victoria
Dr. Elizabeth Borycki holds a PhD in Health Policy, Management and Evaluation from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Nursing from the University of Manitoba. Elizabeth is an Assistant Professor at the School of Health Information Science and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. Dr. Borycki is both a clinician and a health informatician. Elizabeth’s research interests include: clinical informatics, patient safety, human factors, educating health professionals about electronic health records and health services research. Elizabeth has authored and co-authored numerous articles and book chapters examining the effects of health and clinical information systems upon health professional work processes and patient care outcomes. She currently sits on the editorial board of Computers in Biology and Medicine. Elizabeth has also edited a number of books in health informatics. She is currently Canada’s Health Informatics Association (COACH) academic representative to the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) and represents North America as a Vice President on the Board of Directors of IMIA.

Dr. Stirling Bryan
Director, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology & Evaluation, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute
Professor, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Dr Stirling Bryan is Director of the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology & Evaluation at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and full professor in the Department of Medicine at UBC. He is also honorary professor at the University of Birmingham (UK), an Associate of the UBC Centre for Health Services & Policy Research and an Adjunct Associate at the Center for Health Policy at Stanford University. In 2005/06 Stirling was a Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy, based at Stanford. He sits on the UK Medical Research Council's College of Experts, the Scientific Committee of the International Health Economics Association and the Editorial Board of Health Economics, a journal for which he is also an Associate Editor. Dr Bryan's research interests span the areas of economic evaluation and health technology assessment from applied and methodological perspectives, including preference elicitation and outcome measurement, and the use of economic analyses in decision-making.

Dr. Laurie J. Goldsmith
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Dr. Laurie Goldsmith has a PhD in Health Policy from the University of North Carolina and a MSc in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University. Her research interests include access to health care, medical underservice, rural health, comparative health care systems, the politics of health care delivery, and the use of qualitative methods in health services and policy research. She has conducted health services and policy research in Canada and the United States for more than 15 years, working with health system decision makers at the federal, provincial, state, and local levels. She currently leads a project examining organization and delivery features of Community Health Centres in BC. Laurie is also a member of the Steering Committee for a Feasibility Assessment for a Centre for Excellence in Primary Care Research in BC and a Research Associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Dr. Neil Hanlon, PhD, MA, BAA
Associate Professor and Chair, Geography Program, University of Northern British Columbia
Dr. Hanlon’s research focuses on the interrelationships between systems of health and social care and the geographic communities these systems of care are meant to serve. Recent work include regional and community-level responses to population aging in places of natural resource-dependence; the role of social capital in health care innovation and change and the use of voluntarism, networking and social entrepreneurship in coping with resource constraints and rising demands in rural, remote and smaller urban centres. He held a CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship at the School of Health Services Administration at Dalhousie University (2000-2001), and holds Adjunct Faculty appointments in the School of Health Sciences and the Northern Medical Program at UNBC.

MSFHR Representative

Nancy Mathias
Vice-President, Programs & Business Planning

Last updated February 3, 2012