Date: 14-Jul-2010

College of Physiotherapists of Ontario Announces Re-Election of Council President and New Council Executive

The College of Physiotherapists of Ontario (the College), the regulatory body for Ontario’s over 7000 physiotherapists, is pleased to announce the re-election of its Council President, Lori Neill and the election of Councillors to the Executive Committee. Congratulations to other elected Executive Committee Members including John Spirou (Physiotherapist Member), Vice President and members at large Peter Ruttan (Physiotherapist Member), Frank Gielen (Physiotherapist Member) and Suresh Muthulingam (Public Member).

This is Ms Neill’s third term as President, serving previously as chair of the Quality Management Committee. She believes that physiotherapists can contribute greatly to the future of a quality, collaborative and sustainable health system for all Ontarians. She emphasizes that this will only be accomplished with engaged physiotherapy professionals committed to the development and continuing refinement of a shared vision for the profession itself and the future of health care delivery. Ms Neill is committed to partnering with physiotherapists, other health professionals, the public and external stakeholders to achieve the mutual benefits that will accrue with such a deliberate collaborative effort.

Council is the College’s governing body or board of directors. It is composed of eight elected physiotherapists (PTs) from regions across the province, two academic representatives selected by their peers and seven members of the public appointed by the Government of Ontario.

Council members are responsible for making decisions that best serve the public interest and improve the quality of physiotherapists' care in the province. Council members are involved in establishing policies to ensure that College operations reflect corporate goals and safeguard the organization’s assets.

In addition to attending four Council meetings each year, Council members serve on at least one statutory committee.

Open to the public, Council meetings are used to address a broad spectrum of issues important to the provision of high quality physiotherapy services and to develop policies to guide the profession.

Council Members for 2010/2011 are:

Lori Neill, President
John Spirou, Vice-President

District Representatives

Douglas Freer - Collingwood (Central)
Frank Gielen - Belleville (Eastern)
Stephen Mangoff - Nipigon (Northern)
Lori Neill - Peterborough - (Central Eastern)
Mary Ellen Newbold - (Toronto West)
Dennis Ng (Toronto East)
Peter Ruttan - Dunnville  (Central Western)
John Spirou - Windsor (Southwestern)

Academic Representatives

Kathleen Norman - Queen's University
Renee Williams - McMaster University

Public Appointees

Mel Catre -Toronto
James Fitch - Woodstock
Muhammad (Moe) Irshad - Toronto
Vigneswaran (Warren) Kanagaratnam - Toronto
Suresh Muthulingam - Markham
Saeid Sajadi - Richmond Hill
Tyrone Skanes -Georgetown

For more information, please contact:

Karin Micheelsen, Director of Communications
Tel: 416-591-3828 or 1-800-583-5885, Ext. 234
Email: kmicheelsen@collegept.org
www.collegept.org

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