2202 ,62 YRAURBEF - ECNEREFNOC LAUTRIV

1 3th A N N U A L H E A L T H
SYMPOSIUM

ENICIDEM NI YTISREVID

PROGRAM
AGENDA
@thebpao
 The Black Physicians' Association of Ontario
is pleased to present this academic program for
the 13th 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
Acknowledgements & Dr. Paul Galiwango
Accreditation
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.

 Program Agenda

9 AM - 9:15 AM Intro & Housekeeping

9:15 AM - 10 AM 1. Finding My Purpose During a Pandemic - Dr. Sandra Lindsay

10 AM- 10:35 AM 2. Pelvic Health Management of Uterine Fibroid and Endometriosis - Joanne
Ukposidolo & Amoy Jacques
Break ~ 10:35 AM -
10:50 AM

10:50-11:25 3. The Road to Refuge: An introduction to the Health Issues of Refugees to

Canada - Dr. Meb Rashid
11:25 AM -12PM
4. Lessons Learned from A Year of Effective Advocacy - Chantal Phillips
Lunch ~ 12 - 1pm

1PM - 2PM BPAO Annual General Meeting

2 PM - 2:20 PM
5. Opportunities for Improving Chronic Kidney Disease Care in
the Black Population - Dr. Bourne Auguste

2:20 PM - 2:50 PM 6. Inequitable access to living donor kidney transplant - Dr. Istvan Mucsi

2:50 PM - 3:30 PM 7. Anti-racism in Health Research - Dr. Nicole Kaniki

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM Thank you & Evaluation

 Speaker Bios

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dr. Sandra Lindsay - MBA, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, NE-BC - Director, Patient
Care Services, Critical Care Northwell Health--Long Island Jewish Medical
Center

Sandra Lindsay was the first American to be immunized against COVID-19 outside
of a clinical trial. Since then, she has served as a panelist and speaker on numerous
national and international platforms addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, public
health, vaccine hesitancy and the importance of getting vaccinated. She has also
served as keynote speaker at commencement ceremonies and other settings.

In July 2021, President Joseph Biden awarded Dr. Lindsay at the White House with
Outstanding American by Choice recognition for her achievements and
contributions as an immigrant. Dr. Lindsay also served as the Grand Marshal in
New York’s Hometown Heroes Parade in Manhattan, representing the healthcare
workers who served on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Lindsay was a
2021 Caribbean Heritage Organization Robert Nesta Marley Humanitarian Award
Honoree and received her Alma Mater’s (Glenmuir High School) Spirit Award for her
exemplifying the true spirit of excellence and the school’s motto.

Dr. Lindsay has more than 26 years of nursing experience. She joined Northwell
Health's Lenox Hill Hospital in 1994 as an oncology nurse. Three years later, Dr.
Lindsay pursued her dream: becoming a critical care nurse. She worked as a clinical
nurse in various critical care units before serving in entry level and advanced
leadership roles. She served as the nurse manager for the adult medical intensive
care unit at Lenox Hill Hospital for more than seven years; and then assumed the
critical care director role at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in 2016 to present.

Dr. Lindsay's graduated from Borough of Manhattan Community College in 1993 as

the valedictorian of her nursing program. She earned a baccalaureate degree in
nursing from St. Josephs College, a master’s degree in nursing from Herbert
Lehman College, and a master’s in business administration from Hofstra University.
In May 2021, Dr. Lindsay completed a doctorate of health sciences with a
concentration in global health and organizational behavior and leadership from A.
T. Still University.
 Raised in Jamaica by their grandparents, Dr. Lindsay and her siblings moved to the
United States in 1986. When Dr. Lindsay is not pursuing her studies or working, she
enjoys adventurous traveling, visiting Jamaica, reading leadership books and
articles, mentoring, and gardening.

Dr. Bourne - Nephrologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Dr. Bourne Auguste is a Nephrologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and an

Assistant Professor in Department of Medicine with the job description of Clinician
in Quality and Innovation at the University of Toronto. Dr. Auguste obtained a BSc.
(Hon) from Carleton University, an MD from McMaster University and completed
his internal medicine and nephrology residencies at the University of Toronto.

He completed advanced training with a clinical fellowship in home dialysis at the

University Health Network and a Master of Science in System Leadership and
Innovation from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. He also
obtained a Certificate in Quality Improvement Patient Safety (CQuIPS) from the
Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (C-QuIPS). Dr. Auguste's main
areas of interests within the quality improvement domain focus on patient safety
and equity.

He is working on developing innovative tools to meet the needs of a diverse patient

population with CKD, particularly amongst those with an interest in pursuing home-
based dialysis therapies.

Dr. Nicole Kaniki - Director of EDI in Research and Innovation at the

Office of Vice-President, Research and Innovation - University of
Toronto

Dr. Nicole Kaniki is the inaugural Director of EDI in Research and Innovation at the Office
of Vice-President, Research and Innovation where she supports EDI efforts across the
institution in research practices.

Nicole is the former Special Advisor on Anti-racism to the President of Western

University, and has over six years of experience in research administration and EDI roles.
She holds a MSc Kinesiology, and a PhD Health and Rehabilitation Sciences from
Western University.

More recently, she completed a MA Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies at Western
doing research in Black Feminist Narratives in the Academy.
 Dr. Kaniki has a passion for social justice and uses an anti-racism and
decolonization framework in her EDI work.

Dr. Istvan Mucsi - Clinician Investigator, Transplant Nephrologist at the

Ajmera Transplant Centre and Division of Nephrology at the University

Health Network

Istvan Mucsi, MD, PhD is a clinician investigator, transplant nephrologist at the

Ajmera Transplant Centre and Division of Nephrology at the University Health
Network. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at University of Toronto.

His research group works in partnership with African, Caribbean and Black, Chinese
and South Asian organizations and communities to understand and reduce barriers
and inequities that patients from these communities face when they need care for
advanced kidney failure, specifically kidney transplantation and live donor kidney
transplant or dialysis. His projects also aim to improve understanding and
managing kidney health in general for patients from diverse communities.

He is also leading research projects to measure physical and emotional symptoms

(pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, sleep problems) that are important
determinants of quality of life of patients with kidney disease. His team is building
an electronic toolkit for the measurement of these symptoms and an online
resource hub for patients and families to support self-management of these
symptoms.

He published more than 160 peer reviewed articles.

Chantal Phillips - Third-year medical student - University of

Toronto

Chantal Phillips is a third-year medical student at the University of Toronto (U of T)

with an interest in equity-based research that generates tangible, community-
focused interventions. She is currently the project manager for the Price of a Dream,
a group of staff and medical trainees focused on reducing financial barriers to
medical school applications; from January to July 2021, she also worked as project
manager of the Black COVID Resilience Health Promotion Project with Black Health
Alliance.

Chantal was co-President of the Black Medical Students Association at U of T during

the 2019-2020 school year and sat on the Partnership and Accountability Circle for
the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit at the City of Toronto from September 2018
to February 2020.
 She completed her bachelor's degree in Psychology and Medical Science at
Western University in 2018.

Dr. Meb Rashid - Medical Director at Crossroads Medical Clinic -

Womens College Hospital

Dr. Rashid has had the privilege of working with newly arrived refugees for nearly twenty
years. He is the medical director of the Crossroads Clinic, a medical clinic that serves
refugees arriving in Toronto. He also co-founded the Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care,
an organization founded to advocate for refugees to access health insurance and was on
the steering committee of the CCIRH, a group that developed evidence-based guidelines
for the assessment of newly arrived immigrants and refugees.

He is a co-founder of the Christie Refugee Health Clinic, a health clinic located in a

refugee shelter. He is on staff at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and is an Assistant
Professor with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of
Toronto.

Joanne Ukposidolo - Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist & Co-Founder of

WombCare

Joanne graduated from McMaster University with a double major in Biology &
Psychology (H.BSc, 2007). Soon after, she completed a two year intensive Masters
program in Physical Therapy from the University of Toronto (M.Sc PT, 2010).

Joanne is a Registered Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist and the Co-Founder and Co-
Owner of WombCare Clinic; a reproductive health organization centering Black,
Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) women with pelvic health issues such as
Uterine Fibroids and Endometriosis. She has a passion for treating symptoms of
these conditions in addition to pregnancy and postpartum care.

One of her goals in life is to create positive, direct, and generational impact by
empowering women to have a healthy relationship with their pelvic and
reproductive health.

As an empathetic healthcare provider, Joanne observed the significant discrepancy

in how healthcare is experienced amongst communities. Intending to make a
change she also Co-Founded Open Dialogue Canada, a non-profit organization for
Healthcare Providers committed to improving the quality of care experienced by
BIPOC communities.
 Joanne values compassion and cultural humility and believes that community is key
in the comprehensive understanding and management of an individual’s health. She
aims to create change and galvanize others to support dignity and equity for all
individuals.

Amoy Jacques- Kinesiologist at Altum Health – University Health Network &

Founder of WombCare

Amoy Jacques successfully completed a Master of Public Health and graduated

Summa Cum Laude at the University of Montana on May 12, 2018. She has a
sincere passion to improve the health, wellness and policies that support and protect
women (particularly those of African descent) during their reproductive years.

She was fortunate to gain exceptional experience at two graduate internships in Los
Angeles, California. She worked as a public health intern with the Association of
Wholistic and Maternal Newborn Health (AWMNH). Together with the executive
director, they planned, implemented and evaluated the 2015 Mother Friendly
Childbirth Initiative (MFCI) conference to improve community-based doula care and
midwifery services for minority group women. As a graduate student at the
Pasadena Public Health department, she worked with the Maternal, Child and
Adolescent Health director to develop evaluation tools for the Black Infant Health
Program to improve its effectiveness for future expectant black mothers.

Additionally, she has been invited as a guest speaker at local Afro-Caribbean events
on various topics such as fibroid management, and restoration of physical, mental
and spiritual well-being.
Amoy currently works as a Registered Kinesiologist for over 13 years with Altum
Health – University Health Network on the planning, implementation and evaluation
of chronic disability management programs for injured workers.

She is also the Founder/CEO of WombCare – a reproductive health and wellness

agency seeking to conduct research with health agencies across Canada and create
equitable programs, and policies for women, particularly those from marginalized
communities.
 Our Sponsors
This event has been made possible through generous education grant support from the following sponsors:

Scotiabank
https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/personal.html

MD Financial

https://mdm.ca/md-financial-management

Bayer
https://www.bayer.com/en/

OMA Insurance
https://www.omainsurance.com/

Canadian Medical Association

https://www.cma.ca/

@thebpao


The Black Physicians' Association of Ontario and the CPD Planning

Committee would like to thank you for joining us.

Sharing our voices for our health

@thebpao