The Connected Care Halton Ontario Health Team is guided by a Collaborative Committee with equal leadership representation from Ontario Health atHome, Acclaim Health, Halton Healthcare, and Halton Region, and our Patient, Family, & Caregiver Advisory Committee, as well as physicians from Milton, Halton Hills, Oakville, and specialty care.
Collaborative Partners
Halton Healthcare
Melissa Farrell
President and CEO, Halton Healthcare
CCHOHT Collaborative Committee Co-Chair
Melissa joined Halton Healthcare as President & CEO in June 2023. Melissa is a health system leader who is passionate about building integrated care and making sure that people have the support they need from all parts of the health system – this includes hospitals, community services, primary care, mental health, public health, population health and more.
Prior to joining Halton Healthcare Melissa served as President of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton where she led an innovative multi-site academic teaching hospital, affiliated with McMaster University. Before her time at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Melissa had a long and distinguished career largely focused in the public sector including her role as Assistant Deputy Minister, Acute and Emergency Health Services for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Melissa is currently a Board Member of the Ontario Hospital Association. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Master’s Degree in Planning from Queen’s University and has continued educational development in leadership programs at Harvard Business School, Ivey Business School and The Rotman School of Management.
Acclaim Health
Kelly McWilliams
CEO, Acclaim Health
CCHOHT Collaborative Committee Member
Kelly McWilliams (RN, MBA), has over 30 years of healthcare leadership experience in both home care and hospital settings. Her deep understanding of both of these sectors, has given her a unique perspective on the challenges facing the healthcare system today and has made her a passionate advocate for better integrated patient care. She leads Acclaim Health in providing innovative care and support for families that combines the best of the home care and community service sectors in unique, patient-centred ways. A champion for healthcare workers, she has fought hard for wage parity and improved working conditions for front line team members. Believing strong collaborative relationships is the key to moving the sector forward, she is actively involved in the home care transformation across three Ontario Health Teams and is committed to building a resilient and sustainable healthcare system for the future.
Halton Region
Jane MacCaskill
CAO, Halton Region
CCHOHT Collaborative Committee Member
Jane MacCaskill is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for Halton Region. Jane has been with Halton Region for over 30 years, 8 of those in the capacity of CAO. Halton Region provides essential community services including Public Health, Paramedic Services, Housing, Long Term Care, Children Services, Social Services, Water and Wastewater Services, Waste Management Services, Transportation Services, and Planning Services. Previously, Jane was the Commissioner of Corporate Services and Regional Treasurer and also the General Manager for the Halton Community Housing Corporation.
Jane is also currently the Chair of System Leadership Group, a collaborative of community leaders, responsible for the implementation of the Halton’s Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan. In addition to serving on the Connected Care Halton Ontario Health Team Collaborative Committee, Jane is also a member of the Burlington Ontario Health Team Steering Committee.
Jane has strong connections in the Municipal sector having previously served as the Chair of the Regional and Single Tier CAOs Committee. Jane is a Chartered Accountant and a graduate of the University of Waterloo with an MBA from Queen’s University and a graduate of the Chartered Director Program.
Ontario Health atHome
Janet Wright
Vice-President, Ontario Health atHome
CCHOHT Collaborative Committee Member
I have had a fulfilling career in healthcare, the majority of which has been focused on Home Care. I have spent the last 11 years in a leadership role with Ontario Health atHome Mississauga Halton, where I have had the opportunity to be part of an organization focused on quality care for patients and their families.
My goal as Vice President, Ontario Health atHome and executive partner within the CCH OHT Collaborative, will be to lead our organization toward the provincial vision of Ontario Health Teams with excitement, as we shape the future of healthcare in our community.
Patient, Family, and Caregiver Representation
Michele Sparling
Chair, PFAC
CCHOHT Collaborative Committee Member
Michele Sparling has more than 30 years of in-depth experience as a results-oriented senior human resources professional. Her work experience ranges from small entrepreneurial firms to large multi-location companies covering the private, public, and not-for-profit sector across provincial and federal jurisdictions. She has over 18 years of experience as Chair for Boards, Committees, and Advisories at local, provincial and national level in healthcare, education, and social services. Through community collaboration, Michele helped create the grassroots program, Just Be You, to provide peer support for youths (15-25) dealing with mental health and addiction concerns.
She serves as Chair of the CCHOHT Patient, Family, and Caregiver Advisory Committee, and as a member of the CCHOHT Collaborative Committee, in addition to being a member of the Mental Health and Addictions work stream. She signed up because of her strong advocacy for patient and family centered care, believing strongly in the need to treat patients and their families and cargivers as a partner in the healthcare system, especially when informing system change and co-design.
Primary Care Representation
Dr. John Henein
HPA Oakville Primary Care Representative
Dr. John Henein has been practicing as a family doctor for more than 20 years. He worked in Halifax, Nova Scotia as a family doctor as well as an emergency physician at the Digby General Hospital, Digby, Nova Scotia. He was part of the Canadian Blood Bank team as a consultant physician. After relocating to Ontario in 2009, he has been practicing as a family doctor in Oakville. He also worked as an Emergency Room Physician at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital, in Grimsby and as a Hospitalist at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. Dr. Henein has hospital privileges at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital where he is part of the CME organizing committee. He is also a clinical Adjunct with the University of Toronto where he provides mentorship to medical clerks as well as residents.
Dr. Kiran Cherla
HPA Halton Hills Primary Care Representative
CCHOHT Collaborative Committee Co-Chair
Dr. Kiran Cherla is a family doctor in Halton Hills for over 18 years and serves as their representative on the CCHOHT Collaborative Committee. He is also the co-lead for the Mental Health work stream and serves as a Halton Physician Association liaison at the Collaborative Committee. He is a primary care lead for the Mississauga-Halton Ontario Health atHome, and has been the President of Halton Healthcare Services Professional Staff Association, a Board Member for the Ontario Medical Association and the Canadian Medical Association, and is an Associate Clinical Professor at McMaster University.
Dr. Briana Howarth
HPA Specialist Representative
Dr. Briana Howarth completed medical school at McMaster University, psychiatry residency at University of Toronto, and geriatric psychiatry sub-specialty back at McMaster University. Currently, she works as a geriatric psychiatrist with Halton Healthcare. She manages the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry services at Milton District Hospital and Georgetown Hospital. She also manages the Older Adult Mental Health Clinic in Georgetown within the former North Halton Mental Health Clinic. Dr. Howarth is passionate about collaborative care, particularly between primary care and mental health care, recently publishing a book chapter on Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Collaborative Care Models of the Patient with Renal Disease in Psychonephrology – A Guide to Principles and Practice.
Expression of Interest Partners
If you wish to collaborate with the Connected Care Halton OHT, please select and fill in one of the two Expression of Interest Forms below and email it to info@connectedcarehalton.ca
By signing the expression of interest you are communicating your willingness to participate in further discussion and exploration of involvement with the Connected Care Halton Ontario Health Team.
Please note you can fill in an Expression of Interest form with multiple OHTs.
General Inquiries: info@connectedcarehalton.ca