Toronto, February 19, 2014 – Patients Canada is proud to announce board leadership changes and new members to the Board. Michael Decter is the new Chairman and three others have joined the board. The new members are Francesca Grosso, healthcare analyst and communicator, Crystal Chin, a patient well-versed on the challenges facing chronic-disease populations, and Michael McCarthy, a healthcare analyst with over 18 years experience as a healthcare provider.

Michael Decter is a leading Canadian expert on health systems, with a wealth of international experience. As a senior manager in the public sector, Michael served as Deputy Minister of Health for Ontario with responsibility for the management of the 18 million Ontario health system serving 11 million residents of the province. As senior Research Scholar at the Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, Michael authored the book Healing Medicare: Managing Health System Change – The Canadian Way, published in 1994. He also published Four Strong Winds – Understanding the Growing Challenges to Health Care, published in 2000, and Navigating Canada’s Health Care, published in 2006 and co-authored by Francesca Grosso. He is outspoken about the need for healthcare transformation and brings new leadership and energy to the position of Chairman.

Francesca Grosso is a principal at the health strategy firm Grosso McCarthy Inc. Francesca has been immersed in healthcare strategy, policy and communications for over 15 years. She has served as Director of Policy to the Ontario Minister of Health and Long Term Care and was Vice President of Health Care at Environics Research Group. Francesca helped establish the Health Council of Canada and was a transition team member establishing the new federal agencies, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and the Mental Health Commission. She co-authored Navigating Canada’s Health Care which is now in its second print and has completed the History of Sunnybrook which will be published by Dundurn Press in 2014.

Crystal Chin was born in Taiwan and was diagnosed with a neuromotor condition at eight months. Upon immigrating to the Greater Toronto Area in her teens, she received treatment at the Hospital for Sick Children and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation hospital. Through her many interactions with academic and medical sectors, she became engaged in her community and now serves various roles in many health-related organizations. She is Co-chair and former Public Relations Representative of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital’s Youth Advisory Council, a member of its Patient Family Advisory Council and a Foundation Ambassador.

Crystal is a member of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Centers, a committee member at the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health, a board member of the Richmond Hill Mobility Access Foundation and a former board member of Marsha Forest Centre. She is also an active member of PANORAMA, an Ontario-wide citizen’s advisory panel that informs and enriches the work of The Change Foundation, Ontario’s independent health policy think tank.

Michael McCarthy is widely recognized across Canada as a stellar healthcare champion. As a principal with Grosso McCarthy, Mike builds on over 14 years of experience with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and a total of 24 years in health policy and delivery. In 2001, he was appointed Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Health, then Mr. Tony Clement, advising him on physician, nursing and primary care, public health, OHIP, organ transplant, HIV and blood issues. Michael has also been on the front lines of healthcare, working for 18 years as a psychiatric nurse. Michael McCarthy is a well-known patient advocate whose efforts culminated in the Royal Commission on the Blood System in Canada headed by Justice Horace Krever which ushered in a safer blood system in Canada. Michael helped obtain Canada’s largest federal government settlement to date on behalf of the victims of tainted blood.

About Patients Canada
Patients Canada is a patient-led organization that fosters collaboration between patients, caregivers and the healthcare community.

Media Contact
Christina Spencer
Manager, Communications
(416) 900-2975 ext. 1
christina.spencer@patientscanada.ca
@PatientsCanada