Heather McPherson has been transforming health leadership and driving innovation in patient care for over 20 years. Since 2008, she has served on the Senior Executive Team of Women’s College Hospital (WCH), revolutionizing health care for women and helping to build the hospital of the future. As Executive Vice-President, Patient Care & Ambulatory Innovation, Heather works tirelessly to rethink our systems of clinical care delivery and redefine what it means to be a patient: engaged, empowered, and understood.
An occupational therapist by trade, Heather is a passionate advocate for a multifaceted and comprehensive approach to health. Beginning her career in 1985, she started as an OT at Queensway General Hospital (now the Trillium Health Centre) and St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, before joining Women’s College as Supervisor of Occupational Therapy in 1989. She has gone on to fulfil numerous innovative roles for the organization, including Manager of the Multidisciplinary Osteoporosis Program, Chief of Health Disciplines, and the Administrative Director of Women & Chronic Disease.
Now with over 30 years of experience in her field, she continues to give back to her community as a lecturer in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto. Serving as the Director of Interprofessional Education at WCH from 2006 to 2013, she has been a key member of several academic committees at the University of Toronto, working towards greater collaboration between disciplines. She currently serves as Co-Executive Lead on the hospital’s Ambulatory Electronic Patient Record Project and Chair of the Senior Operations Team.
Heather is an avid runner and skier, and has been a volunteer member of the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Toronto since 2014 and is the incoming Chair of the Board. She holds a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Toronto and has pursued executive education in Business Innovation in Global Health at Harvard Business School.
- Company: Women’s College Hospital
- Short Bio: Executive Vice President, Patient Care & Ambulatory Innovation