Fireside Chat - Ontario Primary Care for the next five years

Beth Cowper-Fung, Clinic Director, Georgina NPLC

Beth Cowper-Fung is the Clinic Director / Lead Nurse Practitioner for the Georgina Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic in Sutton Ontario since 2011. The Clinic provides team based primary health care to over 3600 residents of Georgina.

Beth is a member of the Joint Executive Steering Committee of the Southlake Community Ontario Health Team as well as a member of the Primary Care Council. Beth is a also member of the Ontario Health: Primary Care Quality Advisory Committee and the Ministry of Health: Provincial Primary Care Advisory Table. She is a Past President of the Board of Directors of the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (2018-19) as well as the Nurse Practitioners Association of Ontario (2012-13). Beth led the NPLC-NPAO Leadership Network for 25 clinics across Ontario for 6 years

Zahra Ismail - Vice President, Primary Care and Person Centred Measurement, Ontario Health

Zahra Ismail is a results-driven healthcare leader with a track record of building high-functioning teams and implementing complex programs at the provincial level. She is currently the Vice President, Primary Care and Person Centred Measurement at Ontario Health. In this role, she provides strategic oversight and direction for program areas including primary care, patient reported measurement and health equity, and is responsible for the development and implementation of evidence-based, person-centred guidelines, performance measures and best practices.

Prior to joining Ontario Health, Zahra was the Director of Operations for the Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health Systems Solutions and Virtual Care where she co-led a team of over 60 researchers conducting high impact implementation science and digital health evaluations. Previously, Zahra managed provincial programs at Cancer Care Ontario including psychosocial oncology, patient education and symptom management, and oversaw the development of the first strategic framework for oncology patient reported outcomes and symptom management in the province.

Zahra holds a Masters of Health Administration from the University of British Columbia, where her thesis focused on the Cost-Effectiveness of Cancer Care Funding Decisions in Canada, and a Bachelors of Science and Business from the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Danyaal Raza- Faculty Lead for Social Accountability, Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto; St Michael's Hospital Academic FHT

Danyaal Raza is a family physician with Unity Health Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital. He is the Faculty Lead for Social Accountability at the University of Toronto's Department of Family & Community Medicine, where he is an Assistant Professor. Dr. Raza also serves on the board of the St Michael's Hospital Academic Family Health Team, is past Chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare, and founding physician lead of St Michael's Hospital Sumac Creek Health Centre, in Toronto’s Regent Park.

Danyaal is a recipient of the Western University School of Medicine & Dentistry’s Dean's Distinguished Lecture, and in 2021 was named to The Medical Post’s ‘Power List’ as an influential physician voice in Canadian health policy.