Broadening Horizons: Expanding Healthcare Practice for Better Outcomes
Webcast with Dr. Michelle Acorn, Justin Bates and John Richards
Sponsored by:
C.D. Howe Institute events and webinars are open to members and their guests.
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Dr. Michelle Acorn, Chief Executive Officer, Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario
Dr. Acorn has over 35 years of nursing, health systems and leadership expertise. NP Acorn transitioned to her NPAO CEO role in January 2024. She previously was the inaugural Chief Nurse with the International Council of Nurses, a former Provincial Chief Nursing Officer in Ontario, and has served as a NPAO President.
Dr. Acorn was inducted as an inaugural Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing (FCAN), Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), Fellow of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (FFNMRCSI, Ad Eundem), and Fellow of the Queens Institute in the United Kingdom. NP Acorn has received prestigious recognitions including the Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada Award of Excellence and Premier’s Award Nominee for Outstanding Scholars and Leaders.
NP Acorn upholds all the NP advanced practice role domains. She is diploma to post-doctoral educationally prepared as a Doctor of Nurse Practitioner/ Nursing Practice, dually registered as both a Primary Health Care and Adult Nurse Practitioner, and a certified Global Nurse Consultant. Dr. Acorn’s diverse clinical expertise includes practicing in the Emergency, as a Hospitalist, innovating GAIN (Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Networks), and pioneering the most responsible provider (MRP) impacts of a NP–led model of inpatient hospital care as well as NP primary care models in corrections. NP Michelle continues to practice in the community enhancing access to care for health equity seeking populations. Michelle is recognized as a credible clinician, thought leader, mentor, teacher and scholar locally to globally.
Justin Bates, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Pharmacists Association
Justin Bates is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Pharmacists Association (OPA). Justin was appointed CEO of OPA in September of 2019, having previously served as the CEO of the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada.
Justin is an inspirational executive with over 23 years of experience in the financial services and pharmacy industries. Exceptional record of relationship management and producing value-driven sustainable solutions for clients.
Justin is a strategic and transformational leader fostering a team-based collaborative approach in executive management and stakeholder relations.
A persuasive influencer with focus, vision and an effective communication style in support of organizational growth. Justin began his career in the advertising and marketing space before transitioning into the health insurance industry. Justin worked in a variety of capacities in the health insurance sector including as a consultant for a pharmacy benefit manager and as a principal in a health benefits third party administrator and insurance brokerage.
Justin’s introduction to working in the pharmacy advocacy field occurred in 2005 while engaging in cross industry initiatives with pharmacy associations and it was here that brought together his passion for healthcare with a platform to advocate for sustainable solutions. In 2006, he joined the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (as Neighbourhood Pharmacies was known).
He has spent the last 19 years advocating on behalf of the pharmacy industry by executing strategic initiatives and achieving economic sustainability while developing strong pharmacy sector relationships with all stakeholders.
In addition to a bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology, Justin holds a negotiation certificate from the Harvard Negotiation Institute and completed his Institute of Corporate Directors Designation. He was selected as one of the 2019 Leaders in Pharmacy and serves as Chair on the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy Board.
John Richards, Professor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University
John Richards is an emeritus economics professor in the SFU public policy school and a C.D. Howe fellow-in-residence. Recently, he published an E-brief analyzing the multiple causes of the present primary care crisis. Relevant to this panel, he has three decades of experience as a director of the non-profit Mid-Main Community Clinic in East Vancouver.
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