Chief Medical Strategy Officer
Emergency Physician

As a veteran emergency physician, Dr. Ovens has held key leadership roles on multiple local, regional and national committees, and for the past decade has been the Ontario Provincial Lead for Emergency Medicine. 

“I feel the Sinai Health emergency department responded to the challenge of the pandemic very well. We developed supportive processes so that clinical teams were able to get familiar and comfortable with the changes in care and protocols to keep everyone safe. 

“Remarkably, we’ve remained fully staffed with good morale throughout the simultaneous challenges of an all-consuming public health crisis, while undergoing renovation of the emergency department. Despite these challenges, I think the department has come through this as an even closer and more cohesive group.

“Just like in a personal life or the life of a family — when there’s a crisis — stress and challenge can split you apart or bring you together. And I feel this has brought us together in a very positive way. 

“When I say brought 'us' together, I include our supporter community: our volunteers and our donors. Our relationship with the community is an important part of the story — both in our ability to meet their needs for important, accurate and credible information, and in their wanting to be part of the solution and find ways to express their appreciation. And at the centre of it all, we have a CEO, Gary Newton, who is credible, transparent, calm, and always keeping a long-term perspective — that means a tremendous amount.”