Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care is excited to announce the recruitment of Dr. Rebecca (Becky) Van Iersel as Medical Director, Integrated Care to fill the vacancy left by Dr. Kevin Young who is now Waypoint’s Vice President Medical Affairs and Chief of Staff. This role is instrumental in Waypoint’s regional collaboration with the Central Ontario Health Team for Specialized Populations, and in the delivery of person-centred integrated mental and physical healthcare.
“I am thrilled to have Dr. Van Iersel join Waypoint. She is an exceptional clinical leader dedicated to quality improvement and patient centred care – high priorities of Waypoint’s strategic plan and what we want for our patients, clients, families, staff and community,” notes Waypoint’s new President and
CEO Dr. Nadiya Sunderji. “Dr. Van Iersel has significant experience in our region leading advancements in system transformation and mental and physical health care and she will support our goal to grow our partnerships with patients and families, and health care and other system partners.”
The Medical Director of Integrated Care is responsible for strengthening Waypoint’s leadership in envisioning and implementing integrated care at all levels, including health system integration and partnerships between hospitals, primary care, long term care and community care, as well as integration of physical and mental healthcare for Waypoint’s patients. Dr. Van Iersel will also be responsible for leadership of physical healthcare at Waypoint, including delivering direct care.
Dr. Van Iersel is a physician executive with a demonstrated commitment to comprehensive, quality patient care with direct experience as both a family physician and system level leader. She is currently the Chief for the Department of Family Medicine at Orillia Solders Memorial Hospital and is working to
initiate mental health and addictions as a priority in the Couchiching Ontario Health Team. Her regional leadership includes serving as the Physician Lead for Clinical Planning and System Integration, as well as Vice-President, Clinical for the former North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network.
In these roles, she revitalized the Regional Critical Care Network and she co-led, with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, the creation of a collaborative, comprehensive, cross-sectoral Regional Opioid Strategy, which increased awareness and collaboration, and led to a coordinated action plan
for a systemic regional response. She was the recipient of the Ontario College of Family Physicians 2018 Award of Excellence in recognition of strategic and clinical leadership in the region. She also has a mental health focused practice as part of the Couchiching Family Health Team and supports The Lighthouse Shelter Medical Clinic.
“Dr. Van Iersel was the regional Clinical Quality Lead for Health Quality Ontario for three years and brings a wealth of experience in strategically aligning with provincial priorities to Waypoint. I have had the privilege to work with Becky for many years and know she is a collaborative leader and system thinker who brings people together, while building, leading and mentoring exceptional talent,” said Dr. Young. “She is able to compassionately engage others in integrating care at all levels and has the combined knowledge of psychiatric and medical illness to support the needs of complex patients, and our staff and programs at Waypoint and regionally.”
Dr. Van Iersel received her Doctor of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences from the School of Medicine, Queen’s University in 2005. She has also completed the Physician Leadership Development Program, Master’s Certificate, from the Canadian Medical Association, Ontario Medical Association and York University Schulich School of Business. She is a co-author of a number of publications and is a member of the Medical Psychotherapy Association of Canada. She joins Waypoint part-time starting June transitioning to full-time in September.