Dr. Penny Ballem has been confirmed as this year's SCHI Symposium keynote speaker!! She is tentatively scheduled to present at 13:00 PST on May 4th.
Bio:
Penny Ballem is a consultant and a physician with nearly 30 years experience in the health sector as both a senior administrator and academic physician in internal medicine and hematology. In 2001 she was appointed the Deputy Minster of Health in BC and over the next 5 years undertook an ambitious reform of many parts of the health system in BC. Dr Ballem has a broad base of public sector experience with reform, change management, working with stakeholders from both the private and public sector, and through her experience as a deputy minister, has a strong understanding of the strategic challenges associated with implementation of government’s agenda. As a Deputy Minister, Dr. Ballem served as a Board Member of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, as a member of Canada Health Infoway, as the national co-chair of the Pan Canadian Public Health Surveillance Information System Project, a major health information initiative and as the liaison deputy minister for Canadian Blood Services and the Canadian Council for Donation and Transplantation. She served for 5 years as a Board Member of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. Dr. Ballem has been the recipient of numerous awards for her academic achievements her work in health care and health policy as well as mentorship. Among these, she was the gold medallist in her graduating class in medicine at UBC; her work in women’s health has been recognized by the prestigious Marion Powell award, as well as other awards from both the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Federation of Medical Women. Her public service was recognized by the awarding of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2003 and on her departure from government in 2006 the Provincial Health Officers Award for her work in public health. In 2007 she was honoured with her election as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
