On behalf of the AFHTO board of directors, I’m pleased to announce that Ms. Kavita Mehta has accepted the offer to become AFHTO’s next CEO, effective November 30, 2016.
As a past president of AFHTO, current Executive Director of the South East Toronto Family Health Team, and Executive Sponsor for the East Toronto Health Link, Kavita has been a passionate advocate for high-quality comprehensive interprofessional primary care. She has deep, first-hand knowledge of the issues and opportunities facing interprofessional primary care. She’s a leader in bringing patients into the planning, design and governance processes of her FHT, and fosters that perspective as board member of the Change Foundation. Her previous roles as a primary care program consultant in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and as a public health nurse bring perspectives that are highly valuable to AFHTO’s role as the advocate, champion, network and resource for interprofessional primary care.
Kavita’s appointment comes after an extensive search launched last June when AFHTO’s first CEO, Angie Heydon, announced her intention to retire by the end of the year. The high calibre of candidates that came forward – from inside and outside our sector – is a testament to AFHTO’s role and reputation as a leader in our health system. We thank all of the candidates who came forward, and thank Angie for her leadership in building AFHTO to this point over the past six years.
AFHTO members and others interested in interprofessional primary care will have the opportunity to welcome Kavita to her upcoming role and bid Angie a fond farewell at the 2016 AFHTO Conference, October 17-18. We hope to see you there.
Sean Blaine MD
Family Physician, Stratford, Ontario
Clinical Lead, STAR Family Health Team
President, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO)