Patient and Community Advisory Committee

The Patient and Community Advisory Committee (PCAC) comprises of individuals with lived experience with the Canadian health care system and who are familiar with issues in health care in Canada. PCAC provides CADTH with advice on issues relevant to its mandate, from the perspective of those using the Canadian healthcare system.

PCAC Meeting Summaries

PCAC Terms of Reference

Acting Chair

Beth Kidd, Alberta

Beth KiddBeth Kidd is the Executive Director of Health Coalition of Alberta, representing more than 90 health charities, as well as individuals, that advocate for improved access to care and greater patient engagement.

Beth lives with chronic migraines and is a Board member of Migraine Canada and Dementia Network Calgary.

 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Beth Kidd


Vice-Chair


Members

Devan Nambiar, Ontario

Devan NambiarDevan Nambiar, MSc, is an education and training specialist on LGBT2SQ+ health and HIV care for organizations, clinicians, and allied health professionals through Rainbow Health Ontario, Sherbourne Health, and his own consultancy, GHIS.CA. He co-wrote four HIV national publications at CATIE, has served on the Community Advisory Committee for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canadian HIV Trials Network, HIV Research Ethics Board at the University of Toronto, as well as on the Boards of the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention and CTAC‒Canadian Treatment Action Council.

Devan is a South Asian gay man who has been living with HIV for 34 years.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Devan Nambiar


Marilyn Barrett, Prince Edward Island

Marilyn BarrettMarilyn Barrett is the Director of the Health & Wellness Centre at the University of Prince Edward Island. She is a retired community nurse and the former Director of Primary Care for Health for Health PEI.

Marilyn has been a caregiver to multiple family members, which required out-of-province care for health treatment.

 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Marilyn Barrett


Abby McFee

Abby McFeeAbby McFee is a policy analyst for the Ministry of Health in British Columbia and is finishing a Master of Public Administration at the University of Victoria. Prior to this, she worked in the health care sector for 4 years and served as a regional advocate for the Victoria chapter of Cystic Fibrosis Canada.

Originally from southern Alberta, Abby has lived with cystic fibrosis her entire life.

 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Abby McFee

 

 


Andrew Jantzen

 Andrew JantzenAndrew Jantzen has been involved in the community around accessibility and disability for a number of years. They have coordinated forums for people with disabilities in Nova Scotia and spoken in the media, and they currently sit on the Accessibility Advisory Board for the Nova Scotia provincial government. He also works for the Tetra Society of North America, an organization that provides volunteer-built custom assistive devices for people with disabilities when nothing exists to meet someone's unique needs.

 Andrew is a queer, multi-gender, low-income young person from Halifax with a genetic connective tissue condition called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. They use a power wheelchair, splints and braces, feeding tube, and support workers to assist them throughout each day. To raise awareness around disability, chronic illness, health care, accessible housing, and independent living, he discusses his own experiences publicly on a Facebook page called “Tales of a Homecare Castaway”.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Andrew Jantzen


Trish Roche

Trish RocheTrish Roche is a Knowledge Broker in Patient Engagement and Knowledge Translation with the George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation. She has a background in basic biomedical science with a Master of Science in Physiology from the University of Manitoba, and Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Winnipeg. She is also a self-taught artist, working primarily in acrylics and abstract expressionism. Trish lives with chronic pain and other conditions including endometriosis, and acts as an advocate for herself and others seeking assistance for mental health and addictions issues in the Manitoba health care system.

 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Trish Roche