What colleagues are saying about Chris

“Dr. Simpson has my respect and admiration as a leader of the medical community who is not afraid to stir things up and fight for change. If trainees want a strong advocate who is in tune with issues of health human resources and training facing us all, then join me in supporting Chris Simpson for CMA president.”

– Maral Ouzounian, MD PhD FRCSC; Aortic Surgery Fellow, Texas Heart Institute

“I am delighted that Chris Simpson is running for the CMA presidency. Chris has demonstrated his collaborative leadership style in his numerous roles including Chief of Cardiology at Queen’s University as well as Chair of the Canadian Wait Time Alliance. I strongly endorse his vision of physician leadership in improving our health care system collaboratively though promotion of better integration and partnership between primary care physicians and specialists and developing a rational strategy of Health Human Resource Planning. This is what Canadians need and expect from their physicians.”

– Dr. Kevin Imrie, MD FRCPC. Physician-in-Chief, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Vice-Chair, Education, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto

I am very pleased to support Dr. Chris Simpson in his candidacy to be the next President of the CMA.   Dr. Simpson exemplifies key attributes of leadership and is well recognized for his clinical and system knowledge as well as his ability to engage others with a focus on the quality and sustainability of our health care system.

– Kori Kingsbury, Chief Executive Officer, Cardiac Care Network of Ontario

“Having worked with Dr. Simpson on the development of regional primary care CHF clinics, I have been impressed by his leadership ability, communication skills, and knowledge of the Canadian health care system.”

– Dr. Jonathan Kerr, MD CCFP
Primary Care Lead, South East Local Health Integration Network
Family Physician

“Chris is an outstanding, patient-centred physician leader who has an exceptional ability to bring disparate groups together to achieve common goals. He has a way of seeing through problems; he builds bridges and gets things done.”

– Leslee Thompson, CEO, Kingston General Hospital

“I endorse Chris Simpson’s candidacy for the role of President of the CMA with unreserved enthusiasm. I have known Chris since early in his residency and have admired the evolution of his career since. I deeply respect his character, his integrity and his energy and believe his goals for the Presidency to be well thought out, persuasive and important – for Canada, for the public and for health providers. He will make a most significant difference.”

– Dr. David Walker, MD FRCPC
Professor, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine and Policy Studies
Former Dean and Director of the Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen’s University

“Dr. Simpson is always committed to patient care and never shies away from the complexities that inevitably arise in achieving patient care goals.  As a Family Physician, I know Dr. Simpson as a partner.  He understands the importance of taking an integrated approach to patient care – in the community, in family medicine offices, specialty programs, and tertiary care hospitals in achieving good outcomes for our patients.  He is a leader who can move the Canadian Medical Association forward in a beneficial way for our members and our patients.”

– Dr. Glenn Brown, MD CCFP; Chair, Department of Family Medicine, Queen’s University

 

“I’ve worked with Chris since we were both residents in the early 1990s. Chris is an excellent clinician, and has a common sense approach to patient care. He listens to patients, and to referring physicians, to give each patient an appropriate plan of action. Like many of us on the front lines of patient care, Chris can identify the systemic issues that patients and health care providers face as we struggle to provide good care. Unlike many of us, though, Chris has an innate ability to provide solutions to these issues, and work with both clinicians and non-clinical administrators and politicians to have those solutions brought to fruition. Chris is well-respected in our community, because of both his clinical and his administrative skills. I’ve rejoined the Canadian Medical Association so that I can vote for Chris, as I believe he can help bring much needed change to our medical system.”

– Dr. Catherine Link, MD FRCPC, Internal Medicine, Belleville, Ontario

“As the CEO of the SE LHIN and faculty member of the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Queen’s, I have had the pleasure of working closely with Dr. Chris Simpson on many occasions and many projects and initiatives. I, in fact, asked Dr. Simpson to lead the SE LHIN region clinical working group on Cardiovascular Services and found his leadership, expertise and commitment to engage colleagues from within and outside his discipline, to be fundamental in achieving broad base support to transformational change to services across our services area. Chris has the admiration of many physicians and care providers in the South East and across the Province and Country and it is an honour to work with him.”

– Paul Huras, CEO, Southeast Local Health Integration Network (SE LHIN)

“Dr. Simpson’s superlative leadership skills stem from his ability to instantly and effortlessly build connections with people from disparate backgrounds and levels of training. He understands the importance of a nurturing, supportive educational environment for medical students and residents, and will represent our interests on a national level. With Dr. Simpson as CMA president, we can be sure of a strong advocate for ensuring both rigorous quality and work-life balance in medical training.”

– Susie Chisholm, Medical Student, Queen’s University

“I have had the pleasure of knowing Chris Simpson for more than a decade. He is a respected cardiovascular clinician scientist who has a particular interest in quality patient care and has made significant contributions to enhancing the patient journey through his work with the Wait Times initiative. I had the privilege to work directly with Chris during the development of the Canadian Heart Health Strategy where he demonstrated his passion for improving the delivery and the integration of primary and specialty care with particular attention to the patient experience in the health system. He is bright, thoughtful and articulate and has excellent leadership skills.”

– Dr. Eldon R. Smith OC, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS, FAHA
Emeritus Professor & Former Dean of Medicine, University of Calgary

“As a resident leader, I admire what Dr. Simpson did for student and resident wellness issues when he was a PAIRO rep in the 1990’s. He respects and values residents as colleagues. He represents the new generation of medical leadership: patient, skilled, inclusive, patient-centered, focused and progressive.”

-Dr. Pearl Behl, PGY-3 (Internal Medicine), Queen’s University

“Chris is a rare breed. He is able to clearly see the future and articulate a vision. But unlike others who simply have a vision, Chris also is able to roll up his sleeves, get in the trenches, and execute on operational details. Under his leadership, I think the CMA would rise to unseen levels.” 

– Dr. Sanjay Sharma, BSc, MD, MSc (Epid), FRCS, MBA
Editor-in-Chief, Optocase www.optocase.com
Editor-in-Chief, Insidermedicine www.insidermedicine.com
Professor of Ophthalmology & Epidemiology, Queen’s University

“As a former CEO of the OMA, I observed the complex talent that is necessary for leadership within the medical/political context. I observed that education alone is insufficient; effective leadership requires an ability to understand and communicate within a broad community of health care providers and political interests, including everything from hospital environments to government ministries. CMA leadership requires a national scope as well as the more familiar provincial context. It demands an ability to rise above the specific issues of any particular regional, sectional, or professional interest to a more global level which embraces the best comprehensive interests of the patient – the ultimate focus of medical politics. Through my involvement at Queen’s University, I have come to know that Dr. Chris Simpson has all of these prerequisite talents in abundance. While being involved in state of the art research and current clinical applications of that research, he is always looking into the future and striving to anticipate and plan for tomorrow and the advances and changes it will bring to health care. Chris is truly a leader with his mind on the future – the ideal person to lead the CMA in that direction.”

– David Pattenden, former CEO, Ontario Medical Association

“I have known Dr. Simpson for 20 years and have always found him to be uncommonly skilled at truly listening to the concerns of patients and physicians and committed to working with them to find solutions to their concerns. In my interactions with him in the context of the development of the CMA Fitness-to-drive guidelines and the Wait Time Alliance I have found him to be keenly interested in learning more about and fully understanding the perspectives of all the other physician groups around those tables. He consistently raises the need to place patient priorities first and is devoted to the physician-led patient-centered transformative change that our health care system desperately needs. Chris is a leader who is truly worthy of your vote.”

– Dr. Frank Molnar, MD FRCPC
Medical Director, Regional Geriatric Program of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa
Acting Secretary-Treasurer, the Canadian Geriatrics Society

Letter to all Queen’s University Medical Alumni, Medical Faculty, Residents and Medical Students:

“Dear colleagues,