Kingston, Ontario – July 6, 2022 – A former vice-chair of Kingston Economic Development is taking on leadership of one of the region’s most important medical organizations. John Sheridan, formerly the president of Bell Canada and Ballard Power Systems, has been named chair of the governing committee of the Southeast Ontario Academic Medical Organization (SEAMO) for a three-year term.
SEAMO enables about 400 local medical specialists associated with Queen’s Faculty of Health Sciences to pursue research projects and teaching assignments while also providing clinical care to patients.
“Since I retired from my last CEO job and moved to Kingston, my plan in retirement has been to get engaged with organizations which are doing important work and where I can make a difference,” says Sheridan. “And SEAMO and its members are doing very important work, providing outstanding clinical care, while fostering world leading medical research and educating the next generation of doctors.”
SEAMO is funded by the Ministry of Health, which supports payment to doctors engaged in medical practice, research, and teaching. Typically, these specialists — representing 13 different clinical departments at Queen’s including anesthesiology, pediatrics, surgery, and psychiatry — devote 30% of their time to research/teaching and 70% to clinical care to patients.
One of Sheridan’s priorities is to raise SEAMO’s profile in the community beyond the health sciences, as well as providing guidance implementing the organization’s new strategic plan. The plan’s mandates include development of stronger partnerships with other regional medical organizations, and engaging more directly with individual SEAMO members.
Kingston Economic Development’s CEO, Donna Gillespie, worked with Sheridan during his days on that organization’s board. “He is a valuable resource to any organization he serves” she says. “While SEAMO may have a low profile today, it is a vital piece of Kingston’s innovative medical eco-system because of the research it funds. John will only make it stronger.”
