Susanne Flett

President

Susanne is a leading contributor to the advancement of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the health sector in Canada. In 1983 this focus and commitment led her to establish Healthtech Consultants. Her vision was to provide healthcare organizations with advice on the use of information and communication technology to enhance healthcare delivery processes for the ultimate benefit of the healthcare consumer.

Expertise

Strategic assessment and planning for regional initiatives, focusing on governance, funding and partnership issues
Project management and evaluation informed by extensive implementation experience and wide-ranging vendor knowledge
Significant DI/PACS planning and implementation expertise both in single organization and regional settings
As an interim Chief Information Officer (CIO) Susanne has served in a number of senior interim positions, providing her the opportunity to step directly into her client’s shoes and gain first hand knowledge of the issues they face on a daily basis

Highlights

Susanne completed a long term engagement as the Interim CIO for a large regional health information system, building a team of applications and technical staff. During her term, she implemented advanced clinical systems at multiple sites, led the region in consolidating data centres and extended shared services for the regional hospital information system, EHR and PACS.

Recently, Susanne led a team of consultants in developing the eReferral Strategy for Ontario.

As a project advisor to a variety of Healthtech teams, Susanne has guided over 50 strategic and tactical ICT planning projects for healthcare organizations, regions and jurisdictions.

Terri LeFort

Vice President

With over 15 years of clinical experience Terri brings in-depth clinical practice knowledge to electronic health record (EHR) initiatives. A critical component of EHR implementation is electronic clinical documentation. Terri has significant experience in the assessment, planning and implementation of electronic documentation and other elements of the EHR such as computerized provider order entry (CPOE) and electronic medication management.

In addition to enterprise EHR initiatives, Terri has provided strategic leadership to initiatives involving emergency room systems, operating room systems and clinical viewing systems. Terri has been involved in these types of systems at both the single organization level and within regional efforts across the country.

Expertise

Industry-leading clinical assessment and planning expertise
National leader in advancing the use of medication management, portal/clinical viewing tools and clinical documentation applications
Recognized for her visionary understanding of the use of advanced clinical functionality including strategies and technologies to engage the physician community

Highlights

Terri provided project management services to River Valley Health in New Brunswick as part of an Emergency Department Management optimization project for the hospital site in Fredericton. The project included the implementation and rollout to a new hospital site within the health region, which amalgamates two current hospitals. Rollout included electronic clinical documentation, emergency room system (including tracking, triage and full nursing and allied health documentation) and a computerized medication administration record.

Quinte Healthcare, an organization with 4 sites located in southern Ontario, engaged Terri to assist them with implementing clinical documentation. Under Terri’s leadership, the organization incorporated the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care Health Outcomes for Better Information and Care (HOBIC) and MDS data within the clinical documentation. Terri also designed and implemented a method for extracting and submitting the data, saving the organization considerable time and effort. At the same time, Terri conducted a detailed evaluation of handheld point of care devices.

Karen Shearing-Wittig

Senior Vice President

Karen Shearing-Wittig is well-recognized as an extremely effective senior project leader. She is known for her broad knowledge of clinical and administrative systems gained over more than 20 years of experience in healthcare. Karen is a team builder who uses a collaborative approach to achieve results. She effectively creates an integrated project structure where Healthtech Consultants and individuals from the client’s team work together towards well defined results. She ensures that knowledge is transferred so that the organization can transition smoothly when the project is complete.

Expertise

Strong understanding of detailed clinical and administrative departmental processes
Significant knowledge of best practices in application optimization
Industry-leading project management skills

Highlights

Karen is leading a multi-year system implementation at the Sault Area Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Healthtech Consultants has been engaged to implement a variety of hospital information system applications. The project will take approximately five years to complete and involves a full suite of applications. Healthtech Consultants is providing the overall Project Management Office leadership and subject matter experts for significant components of the project in a beta software version environment.

In 2006, Karen implemented a complete healthcare information system at Bridgepoint Health, one of Canada’s largest complex continuing care and rehabilitation hospitals, located in Toronto. Karen managed a large project team of both consultants and Bridgepoint staff. Because of the wide range of subject matter experts at Healthtech, Karen is able to bring the appropriate Healthtech resource to the project at the appropriate time. Karen also served as Interim Director of Information Management, building the department and the infrastructure needed to support Bridgepoint’s information needs. Because Karen was overseeing both the Information Management and system implementation, she was able to ensure that the implementation plan satisfied both the functional and information needs of the organization.

Bill Meredith

Director

Bill works with healthcare organizations to design, implement, and optimize their IT environments. He has been involved in numerous regional and shared-services healthcare projects as well as large scale information technology transformations, and therefore has extensive experience in developing and delivering regional shared services architectures and business models. Many of the most complex strategic engagements Bill has undertaken have been in Meditech environments.

Expertise

An experienced project manager who has led numerous large-scale technology deployments
Highly collaborative consensus building style consistently yields optimal results
Proven architectural ability to integrate multiple disparate components into a single integrated solution

Highlights

Currently leading the development of a large multi-regional shared data centre consolidation feasibility project
Led a large-scale (over $5 million) storage consolidation project with a multi-national enterprise which included team members from 15 states or provinces and successfully eliminated 47 storage arrays without any unplanned downtime
Developed business cases and implementation plans for regional projects such as the regional integrated supply chain management submissions
Project managed shared systems selection and implementations

John Stoneman

Vice President

John is a senior healthcare strategic and operational leader. He has excelled strategically in diagnostic program areas including laboratory, diagnostic imaging, cardiology, and infection control. In an era of increasing focus on regional efforts, he is particularly well known for his work in bringing regional players together to create common solutions. An accomplished senior administrator with a strong practical knowledge of healthcare management, John has over 20 years of experience in both the private and public sector. He brings practical advice to all his engagements – building trust and credibility with stakeholders. He ensures that realistic, achievable solutions are designed to meet his clients’ needs.

Expertise

Strategic leader with a strong skill set in strategy, implementation and operations
Proven project management, organizational development, business planning, and business process transformation skills
Highly successful in the planning and implementation of regional-diagnostic service delivery models

Highlights

John served as the Acting CEO of Consolidated Health Information Services (CHIS) a company that provides IS and IT services to Windsor Regional Hospital and the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, and Bluewater Health, its three owners. In addition to managing and providing strategic leadership for CHIS, John oversaw its expansion to include additional area hospitals.

Hospital Diagnostic Imaging Repository Services (HDIRS) is a large regional diagnostic imaging repository project in Southern Ontario comprised of 23 corporations, 36 sites, spanning four Local Health Integration Networks (LHINS), totaling 2.6 million exams per year. John has carried out a number of significant roles within this project including: the current state analysis for the Greenfield site; project communication functions during the project inception and Phase 0/1 planning phases; development of statements of work, project budgets, and timelines; and by acting as the Project Advisor for the Health Care Network of South East Ontario (HCNSEO) during Phase 2, the implementation phase.

John developed the Health Care Network of South East Ontario (HCNSEO) PACS Strategic Plan and successfully positioned HCNSEO for PACS and DIr funding. He then played a critical role in providing project management and change management services to the HCNSEO (seven hospital organizations with 14 individual hospital sites) and continues to provide project advisory services.

John also continues to provide project advisory services for the Phase 2, implementation, of the regional PACS project for the Government of the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services, a geographically diverse project spanning a large part of the Canadian North, and includes four hospitals, and 18 Community Health Clinics.

Maide Yazar

Chief Strategist

Maide has over 25 years of experience in healthcare both as a senior administrator and as a consultant. From her many engagements, Maide has established strong working relationships with key healthcare stakeholders. Maide has significant planning and evaluation experience. She has led numerous projects in the areas of strategy/implementation, business process outsourcing, business planning, and business process transformation. Additionally, she has facilitated operational and organizational reviews, and major health services restructuring studies, including clinical program and clinical services integration. Her subject matter expertise is far ranging, reflecting her many years’ of experience working with senior government and health services officials, and includes the full range of health care modalities, diagnostic/therapeutic and support areas.

Prior to joining Healthtech, Maide was a Manager in the Health Care and Public Services practice of BearingPoint (formerly KPMG Consulting). She was formerly Vice President, Allied Health Services at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. Maide holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and is a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Service Executives.

Expertise

Proven industry strategist grounded in operations and planning experience
Evaluation expertise across the healthcare sectors using community health survey data and census data in conducting projects involving demographic analysis, population characteristics, disease prevalence rates, mortality and morbidity statistics and self reported health status

Highlights

Maide led the first LHIN-sponsored Directory of Services project in Ontario. The vision was to build a database of all health service providers in Northern Ontario, accessible on the web to all service providers and the public – a database accessible in French, English, Aboriginal languages, to the deaf and hard-of-hearing and to visually-impaired and blind service providers and users. The project completed the environmental scan of similar directories from around the world, and requirements and functionality development phase through focus groups conducted throughout Northern Ontario.

Maide led a unique project involving the two northern LHINs: the Northern Ontario Health Information & Communication Technology Planning Project Phase 2. The project involved 85 community mental and addictions organizations, 65 long term care facilities, seven public health units, 42 independent health facilities, five children’s treatment centres, family health teams, other fee for service medical practitioners, community support agencies, and pharmacies. The project resulted in a sector-wide health ICT Blueprint for the North, describing strategies to integrate information, information technology and information infrastructure across neighboring organizations, network partners and the broader healthcare system.

The Children’s Treatment Network of Simcoe York – (CTN SY) received its start-up funding from the Ministry of Children’s and Youth Services, and started operations in late 2005. Maide assisted the organization in the development of its unique model of service delivery, working with the network of organizations who serve these children. The CTN SY brings new services into the communities and these services will be complementary to the current network of services. Maide developed the information management/information technology and financial services business and operational plans for the organization, including identification of potential service partners or outsourcing arrangements.

Hy Eliasoph

Vice President

Hy Eliasoph, MA, is well known and respected in the healthcare field and brings with him a wealth of experience and a passion for eHealth. Hy has led and facilitated the review and development of strategic plans for individual, regional, and national organizations. Hy works with stakeholders to develop an effective understanding of an organization’s current strategic state. Hy then leverages this understanding to create a strategic plan which advantageously positions an organization for both its short term and long term future.

Most recently, Hy served as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), and acted as the eHealth Lead for the 14 LHIN CEOs. Hy has published extensively, presented at innumerable conferences, workshops, and educational programs, and serves on two National healthcare journal Editorial Boards.

Expertise

Multi-faceted strategic planning, implementation, and operational mindset
Effective stakeholder engagement skills which supports current state and future state development
Strategic and tactical plan development for individual, regional, provincial, and national organizations

Highlights

Prior to joining Healthtech Consultants, Hy served as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), in the Greater Toronto Area. The Central LHIN has a mandate for planning, coordinating and funding health services across more than 130 healthcare organizations with an annual budget in excess of $1.5 billion.
Before becoming the Central LHIN CEO, Hy was a National Firm Director with the Health Services Consulting Practice of Deloitte Inc., working across the country with acute hospitals, Regional Health Authorities, Ministries/Departments of Health, Community Care Access Centres, Provincial and National Associations and Organizations and numerous healthcare organizations in both the public and private sector.
Prior to joining Deloitte, Hy was the Senior Director of Strategic Health Policy at the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA). He was instrumental in leading the groundbreaking work at the OHA in developing the first-ever hospital report card/balanced scorecard in Canada. He also served as the first Executive Director of the Ontario Joint Policy and Planning Committee (JPPC), and has consulted to, and worked with, various Ministries of Health and in several diverse portfolios at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary.
Hy lead the engagement that produced an Information Systems/Information Technology Strategic and Tactical Plan for Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
Hy was the Lead for the development of an Information Communications Technology Strategic and Tactical Plan for Niagara Health System.
Hy was a Project Advisor for the Regional of Peel Information Management Strategic Plan Healthtech developed.
Hy was the Project Advisor for the development of an eHealth Strategic Plan for the South West LHIN.
Hy acted as the Interim CIO eHealth Lead for the South West LHIN for a 6 month period in 2010.

Joseph Mendez

Executive Regional Director - Western Canada

Joseph Mendez has been an innovator in health information management for over 15 years. As a leading figure in British Columbia's IT healthcare management space, Joseph has led and launched a number of key eHealth IM/IT initiatives.

Before joining Healthtech, Joseph was the Associate Vice President/CIO for the Norhtern Health Authority in British Columbia and the provincial IM/IT lead for the BC Health Authority Shared Services Organization. Over his career in health services he has successfully implemented over $100 million worth of IM/IT initatives.

Expertise

Extensive experience in the strategic planning and implementation of IM/IT initiatives in a senior management role
Considerable expertise in handling eHealth strategic initiatives, including Telehealth, BC Viewer Strategy, eHealth Project Management Services, eDrug, Clinician engagements and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) projects
Shared services business case development and implementation
Implementation of physician clinical information systems as part of BC's eHealth strategic plan
Experience with strategic and health planning for large technolgoy vendors

Highlights

Joseph developed the BC Health Authority IM/IT Shared Services vision, business case and helped initiate the consolidation of BC Health Authority IM/IT Shared Services. This is a key provincial initiative providing non-clinical shared services across the province's health authorities.
In Joseph's role as Associate Vice President/CIO for the Northern Health Authority, he introduced new technologies and mandates to help physician offices and primary care coordinators better manage chronic illnesses using innovative change management strategies and pragmatic use of technologies. This project has the highest physician uptake and participation in BC - over 70 percent.
Under Joseph's leadership, Physician Connect has helped link hundreds of physicians - nearly all physicians (98%) in private practice across Northern BC - into Northern Health's information systems using secure wireless technology.
Joseph has held a number of key provincial roles with the eHealth Strategy Council, eHealth Deployment Committee, Standards Council and the Health CIO Council, helping to author and implement the BC eHealth strategic plan.
Joseph led the Health Link North initiative which is replacing dozens of outdated, unsupported information systems in Northern BC health facilities with a single, networked clinical information system. This $45 million foundational eHealth initiative will improve clinical decision-making by providing health professionals with a more complete picture of a patient's unique health needs.