OLTCC Board
President - Rhonda Collins, MD, CCFP (COE), FCFP
Dr. Rhonda Collins is the President of OLTCC, where she also serves as Chair of the Community of Practice Committee and Past Chair of the Medical Director Course Committee.
Dr. Collins is an Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University having served as both the founding Regional Geriatric Preceptor in Family Medicine and the Niagara campus, as well as the Care of the Elderly, Family Medicine Postgraduate Development Leader.
She sits on the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Geriatric Psychiatry Online Course and is a member of the Ministry of Long Term Care Technical Advisory Table.
After 6 years as Chief Medical Officer of Revera Canada, she is beginning a new role as Chief Medical Officer for Schlegel Villages.
Vice-President – Sandy Shamon, MD, CCFP (PC)
Dr. Sandy Shamon has been a Board Director with OLTCC (Ontario Long Term Care Clinicians) since 2018. She obtained her MD at UBC and trained in Family Medicine at Western University. After practicing as a comprehensive Family Physician for 6 years, Dr. Shamon focused her clinical practice in LTC and Palliative Care. She is a Medical Director at Harmony Hills Care Community and an Attending Physician at Lakeshore Lodge in Toronto. In 2021, she joined the Temmy Latner Center for Palliative Care with Sinai Health. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Shamon is involved in academic research and teaching medical students and residents. In these roles, she hopes to put into practice her passion for providing high quality end-of-life care in the community and LTC, as well as champion system reform and education to enhance quality of healthcare in these settings.
Past President - Benoît Robert, MD, MBA
Ben completed his family medicine residency in 1988 from the University of Ottawa.
He has been involved with the Faculty of Medicine and holds a faculty appointment with the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine.
He has been active with acute hospital care and long term care since, along with his general family practice.
He earned his Care of the Elderly and Palliative Care through the Leadership route.
Treasurer - Janice Legere, MD, CCFP (PC)
Dr. Janice Legere, CCFP (PC), has been the Attending Physician and Medical Director at the John Noble Home (Brantford) since 2009. Working as an ICU Clinical Assistant turned into a Hospitalist/Medical Director career from 2002 to 2015. However, Dr. Legere now focuses on
Outreach/Hospital Palliative Care and the JNH.
Dr. Legere completed Medical School and a Family Medicine Residency at McMaster University. She continues as an Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct), Department of Family Medicine in Care of the Elderly and Palliative Care. Her other interests include the integration of a Palliative Care Approach in LTC, Physician Leadership and Health Care System change.
A fully bilingual Acadian, she is dedicated to lifelong learning and completed the OLTCC Medical Director course in 2018. In 2019, she joined the OLTCC Board and is a member of the OLTCC Medical Director Course committee. She also continues studies in classical piano and Celtic harp but is is most proud of her Private Pilot License!
Secretary - Katarina Lakovic, HBSc, MSc, MD, CCFP (COE)
Dr. Katarina Lakovic is an attending physician at Malton Village LTC in Mississauga and the Medical Director at Humber Valley Terrace LTC in Etobicoke. She also practices as an acute care hospitalist at Etobicoke General Hospital.
Dr. Lakovic received her medical degree from the University of Calgary in 2015, and went on to complete her family medicine residency at the University of Western Ontario in 2017. She subsequently pursued a Certificate of Added Competency through additional training in Care of the Elderly at the University of Toronto, which she completed in 2018.
Dr. Lakovic is passionate about improving the care of older adults in our healthcare system. At Etobicoke General Hospital, she has been involved in multiple projects focused on elder care and continues to advocate for a much needed increase in resources for this medically complex and frail population in the acute care setting. In her role as Medical Director she is working closely with the home’s leadership on improving the processes and practices to elevate the standard of medical care, communication, and teamwork within the facility.
In 2019, she joined the OLTCC and became a member of the Conference Planning Committee. Within the Committee she has advocated for and is helping create ways to make the conference and the organization more known and accessible to trainees, in order to attract interest in this important field within the new generation of physicians. In her role as a Board Member of the OLTCC, she hopes to contribute to the important work the organization is doing particularly as the devastating Covid-19 pandemic has shed light on the many opportunities to improve care in the LTC sector.
Board Member - Carola Collins, MD, CCFP, FCFP
Dr. Carola Collins graduated from Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2008 and completed family medicine residency at Northern Ontario School of Medicine in 2010. She began working in LTC as a nurse's aide at age 16 and returned to the work as medical director of Hardy Terrace LTC in Mt Pleasant ON in 2012. She moved to Caressant Care LTC in Woodstock in 2016 and continues to work as medical director and main attending physician there at present. She has worked hard to improve care and staff morale at the home. She has completed the OLTCC Medical Director program. Dr Collins spent five years actively involved in community palliative care before returning to family practice very recently.
Board Member - Carrie Heer, NP-PHC, RN(EC), BScN, MN
Carrie obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of Windsor & Master of Nursing & Advanced Graduate Diploma: Advanced Nursing Practice from Athabasca University. Carrie currently holds the position of Nurse Practitioner, Brant Community Healthcare Systems, Emergency Department/Nurse Led Outreach Team (NLOT) where she works collaboratively with LTC homes to reduce unnecessary ED transfers.
Carrie has held roles that included acute care, education, public health and advanced nursing practice. As a Nurse Practitioner, her roles have included primary care, public health, acute care, palliative and most recently, long-term care. These roles have allowed the opportunity to provide care while demonstrating nursing expertise that included both clinical and leadership roles. Carrie currently holds the position of Nurse Practitioner with a Nurse Led Outreach Team where she provides leadership, education and clinical consultation supporting resident-centred care through implementing best practices and optimizing ED avoidance strategies.
Board Member - Amit Kumar, MD
Dr Amit Kumar has qualified from India as a medical graduate in 2022. He has been trained in Anaesthesiology and practiced for five years in the UK. It was followed by him training as a Family physician. He carried out the role of a GP in the UK for seven years. During this time period, he has been trained as a GP trainer, worked in Palliative care and local area cancer lead in the UK.
He moved to Ontario in September 2018, and has been working as a Family Physician in Oshawa. He also provides cover as a Medical Director in Chartwell Ballycliffe LTCH in Ajax and as a attending physician in Wexford Residence Inc in Scarborough. He is passionate about improving efficiency and good medical care. His particular area of interest is palliative care and education.
Board Member - Andrea Moser, MD, MSc, CCFP(COE), FCFP, CMD
Dr Moser is a family physician with a focus practice in Care of the Elderly and Long Term Care and a Certified Medical Director with the American Board of Post Acute and Long Term Care Medicine. She has worked in urban and rural LTC homes throughout her career and is currently the Corporate Medical Director with the City of Toronto Seniors Services and LTC Division. She is an Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, VP of the Canadian Society for Long Term Care Medicine (CSLTCM), board member of American Board of Post Acute and LTC (ABPLM). Throughout her career she has demonstrated a commitment to Long Term Care, person centered care, clinician engagement, developing partnerships and collaborations, continuing professional development and quality improvement.
She is former president of Ontario Long Term Care Physicians (OLTCP) and past chair of the OMA Section of LTC and Care of the Elderly during which time she co-developed the Ontario LTC Medical Director Curriculum.
Board Member - Abhishek Narayan, MD, CCFP (COE)
Dr. Abhishek Narayan, MD CCFP (COE) is a family physician who completed a Care of Elderly Fellowship. Since then, his work has focused on post-acute services and out-patient primary care geriatrics. Dr. Narayan currently serves as Division Head of Rehab Services at Trillium Health Partners, prior to which he served as Chief and Medical Director of CCC and Rehab at Grand River Hospital. He currently also works at a LTC in the GTA. He also serves as Secretary for the OMA, LTC/COE section.
Board Member - Vu Kiet Tran, MD, FCFP(EM), MHSc, MBA, CHE, ICD.D
Dr. Tran is a family physician, emergency physician and a nursing home physician in the GTA and Assistant Professor with the University of Toronto. He acquired a Master in Health Sciences with a focus on Education and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) though Richard Ivey School of Business. Dr. Tran holds the designation of Certified Health Executive (CHE) with the Canadian College of Health Leaders and ICD.D with the Institute of Corporate Directors. He was a Board Trustee with Yee Hong Centre for
Geriatric Care. Dr. Tran is an educator at heart and enjoys sharing knowledge, skills, and experiences and is an international and national speaker on topics related to emergency medicine, family medicine and geriatric medicine.