2021

Annual Health
Symposium

February 27th, 2021

thebpao
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & ACCREDITATION

The Black Physicians' Association of Ontario

is pleased to present this academic program for
The 2021 Annual Health Symposium.

Course Director: Dr. Husam Abdel-Qadir

Organizing Committee:
Dr. Husam Abdel-Quadir, Sasha Rodriguez, Dr. Andrew Bernard, Dr. Adwoa
Amamoo, Dr. Onye Nnorom, Dr. Shambe Mutungi, Dr. Paul Galiwango

Special Thanks: BPAO Board of Directors

This program meets the accreditation criteria for:

College of Family Physicians of Canada

Mainpro+ (1 credit/hour) Group Learning: (3.0 credits)
Royal College Maintenance of Certification (Section 1: 3.0 hours)

Certificates of Accreditation or Attendance

Letters of attendance and accreditation will be emailed to attendees who are members
of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and/or the College of
Family Physicians of Canada.

Disclosure
Speakers will be requested to disclose to the audience any real or apparent conflict(s) of
interest that may have a direct bearing on the subject matter of this program.

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 PROGRAM AGENDA

9:00AM Intro & Housekeeping

Keynote Speaker: Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, MD, MHA, FRCPC

9:15 AM COVID-19: Reflections from experiences on the frontlines

9:45 AM Discussion re: Keynote Presentation

Cynthia Damba MBChB, MHS

10:00AM Using Race-Based Data to Improve Health Outcomes

10:20 AM Discussion / Q&A

10:30 AM BREAK

Paul Taylor - Executive Director, FoodShare Toronto

10:45 AM The Intersections of Food Insecurity and Anti-Black Racism

11:05 AM Discussion / Q&A

Boluwaji Ogunyemi BSc, MD, FRCPC, FAAD

11:15 AM Perspectives on Leadership in Today’s Changing World

11:35 AM Discussion / Q&A

Mireille Norris MD, FRCPC, MHSc

11:45 AM Black and Indigenous Resident Application and Mentorship in
the U of T Dept of Medicine

12:00 PM LUNCH

1:00 PM BPAO Annual General Meeting

Dr. Upton Allen MBBS, MSc

2:00 PM COVID-19 Vaccines and the Black Community

2:20 PM Discussion / Q&A

2:30 PM CME Evaluation / Wrap Up

2:45 PM Networking Social

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 SPEAKER BIOS

Keynote Speaker: Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, MD, MHA,

FRCPC

Kwadwo Kyeremanteng is a critical care and palliative care physician at The

Ottawa Hospital. Dr.Kyeremanteng cares for the sickest of the sick patients
in the intensive care unit (ICU).

As a researcher, he is interested in using ICU resources more efficiently and

improving access to palliative care in the ICU. To help do this, he founded the
Resource Optimization Network, a multidisciplinary research group working
to reduce health spending in this area without compromising care.

In September 2019 Dr. Kyeremanteng launched his ever-growing podcast

“Solving Healthcare with Kwadwo Kyeremanteng” these podcasts feature
interviews and discussions on the topic of improving healthcare delivery in
Canada. Underpinned by the values of cost-effectiveness, dignity, and justice,
these podcasts will challenge the status quo, leaving no stone unturned as
we explore gaps, assumptions, and different perspectives in the pursuit of
finding solutions to problems in Canada’s healthcare system.

Cynthia Damba MBChB, MHS

Cynthia Damba is a Manager of the Health Analytics Team at the Toronto

Central LHIN with 15 years of experience in health equity, quality, population
health surveillance and health care system performance measurement and
evaluation. She has overseen the standardized equity data collection project
at the LHIN and has a passion of improving the health of marginalized and
racialized groups. Originally a physician from East Africa, she did her Masters
in Community Health and Epidemiology at the University of Toronto. Previous
positions included Senior Epidemiologist and Senior Research Associate.

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 SPEAKER BIOS

Paul Taylor - Executive Director, FoodShare Toronto

Paul Taylor is the Executive Director of FoodShare Toronto, and a lifelong
anti-poverty activist. Growing up materially poor in Toronto, Paul has used
his experience to fuel a career focused not just on helping others, but
dismantling the beliefs and systems that lead to poverty and food insecurity,
includingcolonialism, capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchal structures

Each year, FoodShare provides a quarter million people with fresh produce,
and fights for their right to have access to “good” food on their own terms,
rather than charity on someone else’s. Paul’s experience includes Executive
Director roles at Gordon Neighbourhood House and the Downtown Eastside
Neighbourhood House. He has also chaired the British Columbia Poverty
Reduction Coalition,served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives and as Vice-Chair of FoodSecure Canada.

Boluwaji Ogunyemi BSc, MD, FRCPC, FAAD

Dr Boluwaji Ogunyemi is a Writer, Public Speaker, Assistant Professor of

Medicine, Health & Diversity Advocate, and Double Board-certified
Dermatologist.

He writes, speaks and teaches at the intersection of health, society and

diversity and has authored publications for The New York Times, Huffington
Post, Globe and Mail, CBC, Vancouver Sun, National Post. Sought after for
knowledge and experience at the intersection of medicine, diversity & anti-
racism and health, he has been quoted / featured in Global News, Chatelaine,
Flare, CTV, National Post, Toronto Star & CBC Radio. His public speaking
resume includes a TEDx Talk, speaking at the Atlantic Immigration Summit &
serving as 2018 Royal College of Physicians Convocation Speaker.

Dr. Ogunyemi has served on the Executive Committees of many national

medical organizations and has received over three dozen awards for
leadership, academics, research, writing, advocacy & community service.

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 SPEAKER BIO

Upton Allen MBBS, MSc

Upton D. Allen, is a Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. He

is Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Hospital for Sick Children(SickKids).
Dr. Allen is a Senior Associate Scientist in the Research Institute, Hospital
for Sick Children. His primary appointment is with the Division of Infectious
Diseases, Department of Paediatrics at the Hospital for Sick Children. He is
cross-appointed as a professor in the Institute of Health Policy, Management
and Evaluation, University of Toronto.

Dr. Allen received his medical degree from the University of the West Indies,
Kingston, Jamaica. He received pediatric training at the Hospital for Sick
Children, Toronto. He obtained further research training leading to a degree
in Clinical Epidemiology (MSc) from McMaster University.

Dr. Allen is a past director of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and
Fellow of the Society. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics,
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, UK. He is a past Chair of the
Infectious Diseases Specialty Training Committee, Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Past awards include the Clinical
Science Established Investigator Award from the American Society of
Transplantation. In 2018, he was awarded the Order of Ontario, which is the
highest honor awarded by the province of Ontario, Canada.

In addition to being a general infectious diseases specialist, he is actively

involved in clinical and research activities relating to immunocompromised
patients, notably those who have undergone organ and stem cell
transplantation as well as cancer therapies. He has a major research interest
in EpsteinBarr virus-related post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder as
well as an interest in respiratory syncytial virus infections. Dr. Allen has had
many academic and professional accomplishments. He has had numerous
invited lectures internationally, visiting professorships, scientific
publications, several book chapters, scientific abstracts and several peer
reviewed research grants.

Dr. Allen is a recipient of the African Canadian Achievement Award as well as

the Harry Jarome Award. He leads research studies addressing different
aspects of COVID-19 including but not limited to the seroprevalence of SARS-
CoV-2 among African Canadians. He is co-chair of the Health Committee of
the BlackNorth Initiative that is committed to addressing systemic barriers
adversely affecting the lives of Black Canadians.

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 SPONSOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This event has been made possible through generous

education grant support from the following sponsors:

Platinum Sponsor

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 SPONSOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This event has been made possible through generous

education grant support from the following sponsors:
Gold Sponsor

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Th
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yo
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fo
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jo
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us
!

Presented by the Black Physicians' Association of Ontario

Sharing our voices for our health