The Board
of Directors of the Provincial Health Ethics Network is composed of twelve
individuals. As stipulated in its bylaws, four of these are elected by
the general PHEN membership, four are appointed by the Council of Chairs
of the Regional Health Authorities and Boards of Alberta, and the remaining
four are appointed by the Board itself.
1. Appointed by the Regional Health Authorities
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Thaine Olsen
was appointed to the PHEN Board in December 2007. Until recently, he has served
as a member of the Chinook Health Board since 1998. As part of his board responsibility,
he chaired the Ethics Committee for Chinook Health, and has been involved extensively
with consultations and conferences with patients, family and staff. His three decades
of teaching and administrating in schools throughout the province has given him many
opportunities to deal with ethical issues and conflicts. Thaine previously served on
the PHEN Board from 2001-2004, and looks forward to the opportunity to be involved once
again.
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Carol Secondiak
was appointed to the PHEN Board in December 2007. She is the former Chair of
the Palliser Health Region Board, and is a co-founder and Director of Nursing
at ECS Safety Services Ltd., an independent occupational health practice with
six offices throughout Alberta. Her extensive background in healthcare includes
working as a Registered Nurse and Independent Nurse Practitioner (from large settings
as the Foothills Hospital, to a small Arctic Nursing Outpost). She was appointed
to the Premier?s Task Force on Crystal Meth, which culminated in October 2006 with
the release of the final report, ?Fighting Back?, which contained 73 recommendations.
Over the years, Carol has been extensively involved in numerous community organizations
and has participated in a number of regional and provincial associations.
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2. Elected by the PHEN Membership
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Joan Cody
was elected to the PHEN Board by the membership in May 2006. She is presently the chair of
the PHEN Board. She is a Registered Nurse with 30 years experience in both Ontario and Alberta.
Her experience includes acute care, medicine, home care and palliative care. An administrator
with Extendicare (Canada) Inc, Joan has managed the Athabasca Continuing Care Centre for the
past 11 years. She is a member of the Aspen Regional Quality Council and the Aspen Regional
Ethics Committee. Joan has her certificate in Palliative Care and recently completed PHEN’s
Introduction to Bioethics course. Her interests in ethics lie particularly with resource allocation,
accountability for service delivery and end of life issues.
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Perry Mill
was elected by the membership to the PHEN Board of Directors in May 2009. He is a bioethics enthusiast
(with interests in the ethics of clinical error, professional conflict of interest, organizational ethics,
and informed consent), and is a graduate of the PHEN Introduction to Bioethics distance education course.
Perry has a B.Sc (Physical Therapy) from McGill University and a Master?s Degree in Public Administration
from the University of Victoria. Prior to his current position as Coordinator, Corporate Policy, Alberta Health Services, Perry practiced physical therapy in
Ontario, B.C. and Alberta hospitals, and worked in policy analysis with the B.C. government. Perry enjoys
life in Red Deer with his wife and two boys. |
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Eleanor Stewart
was elected by the membership to the PHEN Board of Directors in May 2008.
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3. Appointed by the Previous PHEN Board
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Dr. Albert de Villiers was appointed to the PHEN Board for the term beginning May 2007. Dr. de Villiers, a Public Health specialist, is the Medical Officer of Health for Peace Country Health, and as such works extensively with Public Health and Environmental Health to ensure public safety when it comes to communicable disease control and environmental health risks.
He is leading the regional effort around Pandemic Influenza planning and is an active member of the Alberta Pandemic Preparedness Ethics Working Group. He currently chairs Peace Country Health's Regional Ethics Committee and provincially, has served on the Community Research Ethics Board of Alberta (CREBA) since 2004.
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Ed Hall has been a community representative on the Palliser Health Region Ethics Committee for the past twelve years, and currently serves on its Ethics Consultation sub-committee. After obtaining his Master of Social Work degree, he embarked on a rewarding, 23-year career as a therapist, social worker and regional manager with Alberta Mental Health Services. In 2001, he ?retired? and established a successful private practice providing individual, marital and EAP counseling services until 2006. He also taught social work at Medicine Hat College from 2005-2007. Ed decided to fully retire (almost!) but still conducts home assessments for an adoption agency, and was appointed to the PHEN Board for the term beginning May 2007. He and Brenda, his wife of thirty years, live in Medicine Hat. |
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Debbie Leitch
was appointed to the PHEN Board for the term beginning May 2008. Debbie is the Director
of Maternal Child Services for David Thompson Health Region. She played a role in the
establishment of the DTHR Ethics Committee, which she has co-chaired for the last 7 years.
She has a Bachelor of Nursing from University of New Brunswick and a Masters of Nursing from
University of Alberta. Debbie is committed to the creation of an environment in health care
that is considerate of the needs of patients, families and health care providers.
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Margaret Plain
was appointed to the PHEN Board for the term beginning May 2004 and was re-appointed in 2007. She
has been a Capital Health Board member since 1994 and served for 15 years as an Alderman for the
City of St. Albert. Prior to the creation of health regions, she was a member of the Sturgeon Hospital
and the Capital Care Group Boards.
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