Dr. Sheila Laredo to Join CPSO as the College’s First Chief Medical Advisor

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) is pleased to announce that following an extensive search, Dr. Sheila Laredo has been selected as the College’s first Chief Medical Advisor. Dr. Laredo is an MD and specializes in endocrinology and metabolism. She is a healthcare leader and is recognized for her research and teaching excellence.

“We are thrilled to have someone of Dr. Laredo’s calibre joining us as our first Chief Medical Advisor,” said Dr. Nancy Whitmore, Registrar and CEO at the CPSO. “Dr. Laredo’s passion and healthcare expertise will be invaluable as we continue on our journey to ensure Ontarians have the safest, highest quality healthcare.”

In this new role, Dr. Laredo will provide leadership to the College’s Medical Advisors to advance the goals and objectives of the College. As part of the executive team, Dr. Laredo will be involved in strategic planning and cross-departmental program and policy development.

Dr. Laredo is joining the CPSO from Women’s College Hospital where she has served as the Chief of Staff since 2013. During her tenure, Dr. Laredo focused on enhancing quality and safety by strengthening physician documentation, improving credentialing processes and strengthening the governance of physician privileges. In addition, she also implemented a 360 review process for physicians and encouraged more interdepartmental collaboration. She will continue her clinical practice at Women’s College Hospital in addition to her new duties at the CPSO.

Dr. Laredo holds a PhD in clinical epidemiology and is an associate professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine. Her clinical interest is in women’s reproductive health. Dr. Laredo is a passionate advocate for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and is a parent to four children, two of whom have ASD. In her other advocacy work, Dr. Laredo co-founded and chaired the Joint Domestic Violence Committee at Women’s College Hospital which has developed an eModule to train several thousand physicians and health professionals to recognize intimate partner violence among colleagues. 

“I am delighted to join the CPSO because the work of the College is critical to ensuring that we have the strongest health system possible in Ontario,” said Dr. Laredo. “I look forward to using my experience in healthcare and public system advocacy to support CPSO in this critical work.”

Dr. Laredo will begin her new role at the CPSO on January 8, 2019.

Media contact
Shae A. Greenfield
Senior Communications Advisor
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
T: 416-967-2600 | 1-800-268-7096 ext. 378
[email protected]

About Dr. Sheila Laredo

Sheila Laredo received her MD from the University of Toronto in 1991, and specializes in endocrinology and metabolism. She holds a PhD in clinical epidemiology. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto in the Faculty of Medicine. Her clinical interest is in women’s reproductive health. She is an enthusiastic teacher, has supervised many students, residents and fellows, and has been the recipient of numerous research and teaching awards.

She has served as the Chief of Staff at Women’s College Hospital since 2013 and continues her clinical practice at the hospital. During her tenure as Chief of Staff, Dr. Laredo focused on enhancing quality and safety by strengthening physician documentation, improving credentialing processes and strengthening the governance of physician privileges. In addition, she also implemented a 360 review process for physicians and encouraged more interdepartmental collaboration. In addition, she was an active member of the Board of Directors at the hospital and the hospital foundation.

She is also the parent of four children, two of whom have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). She has advocated for almost 20 years for effective evidence-based interventions for children with ASD. This has included her participation in a Charter of Rights challenge as a litigant and expert witness. She has worked with individual families to help them obtain services, with the Ministries of Children and Youth Services and Education in the Government of Ontario, and participated in the legislative process. She has served for several years as a Board Member and most recently past Chair of the Kids’ Brain Health Network, a federally funded Network of Centres of Excellence. 

She continues to advocate for the creation of public policy that provides appropriate evidence-based services and support for individuals with ASD and other disabilities throughout their lives. She teaches medical trainees about public health policy advocacy, has developed and delivered curricula in advocacy for undergraduate and postgraduate medical trainees and has supervised several social justice advocacy initiatives with her students, including the development of a comprehensive national diabetes resource that will assist patients with diabetes across Canada to better access resources to manage their care.  Most recently, she co-founded and chaired the Joint Domestic Violence Committee at Women’s College Hospital, which has developed an eModule to train several thousand physicians and health professionals on recognizing intimate partner violence among colleagues.