Dan Cass

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT DAN CASS

I am dynamic and effective physician leader, with nearly twenty years\' experience in leadership positions at the hospital, regional, provincial and national level. My clinical experience includes 16 years as an emergency physician at a major academic trauma centre, ten of which as Chief of Emergency Medicine. In my current role as Vice President, Medical, I share accountability (with the VP, Clinical Services) for operational oversight of all clinical programs at a large community teaching health centre. I continue to provide care to some of the most marginalized individuals in inner city Toronto through both my clinical practice in Addiction Medicine, and a weekly drop-in clinic for homeless men.I have successfully led large-scale change initiatives, including the merger of two emergency departments and the design and construction of a new department, and one of the most successful computerized provider order entry systems in Canada.My work with Ontario\'s coroner system has included the investigation of non-natural and sudden, unexpected deaths, the development of evidence-based policy, and presiding over complex and high-profile coroner\'s inquests.Throughout my career, I have maintained a strong focus on quality and patient safety, with a specific focus on enhancing access to timely emergency care. As chair of the Patient Safety Review Committee of the Office of the Chief Coroner for nearly five years, I led the development of recommendations aimed at learning from healthcare-related deaths in order to prevent similar deaths in future.In my various roles, I have gained extensive experience and confidence in dealing with print, radio and television media, including live interviews, press conferences and media scrums. I have developed good working relationships with Health and Queens Park reporters, and have been able to successfully leverage the media to advance important messages around public and patient safety.