OMA chooses board members and president-elect in next step in governance transformation

TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2022 /CNW/ - The Ontario Medical Association has elected four board members and a president-elect, the latest step in its plan to modernize the organization representing the province's 43,000 physicians.

The three physician members of the OMA Board of Directors elected in voting that ended Monday are Dr. Sanjay Acharya, an addictions physician and anesthesiologist in Ottawa, Dr. Sharon Bal, a primary care physician in Cambridge, Ont., and Dr. Audrey Karlinsky, a family physician in Toronto. The non-physician member elected is Carmen Rossiter, a corporate director and finance executive in Toronto. All will serve two-year terms beginning at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting in May.

Dr. Andrew Park, an emergency physician in London, Ont., was chosen as the next president-elect. Dr. Rose Zacharias, the current president-elect, will begin her one-year term as OMA president on May 5, succeeding Dr. Adam Kassam. Dr. Zacharias is a family physician based at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. Dr. Park will succeed her in the spring of 2023.

The elections are part of sweeping governance changes the OMA adopted last year, which included allowing the entire membership to vote for the president-elect and board members and moving to a smaller, skills-based board of directors.

This was the first election held under no-campaigning principles. Members said they were dissatisfied with traditional election campaigns, which focused on personalities rather than skills and resulted in many unwanted emails and other communications. In response, every candidate signed an acknowledgement and agreed to the principles of no campaigning.

The OMA also enlisted a third-party expert, LHH Knightsbridge Executive Search, to help refine the candidate recruitment and election process. Candidates were asked to identify the top three skills they possessed from the following desired competencies: board governance, strategic thinking, knowledge, leadership, transformative change, risk management, communication, financial/business, human resources, innovation and information technology.

"I want to congratulate all those elected to offices across the Ontario Medical Association and thank everyone who put their name forward," said OMA CEO Allan O'Dette. "The modernization of the OMA, including the new smaller, skills-based board is helping to make the association more effective, efficient and more focused on members."

About the OMA

The Ontario Medical Association represents Ontario's 43,000-plus physicians, medical students and retired physicians, advocating for and supporting doctors while strengthening the leadership role of doctors in caring for patients. Our vision is to be the trusted voice in transforming Ontario's health-care system.

SOURCE Ontario Medical Association

Leslie Shepherd, OMA Director of Earned and Social Media, [email protected]