Melissa Bellocchi (she/her/hers)

Chair

After spending time at the Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) with her little sister, as she battled DeNovo Stage 4 Metestatic Breast Cancer, and observing other family members and herself utilize various hospital resources, Melissa Bellocchi observed first-hand the critical role hospitals play in our lives. From imaging, diagnostics, surgery, therapy, radiation, visits and treatments both at The Ottawa Hospital and the QCH - Irving Greenberg Cancer Centre, Melissa was motivated to join the Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) to offer a patient perspective and utilize her skills to give back to her community.

After spending 25+ years in the private sector, Melissa now works in the healthcare industry and enjoys the intrinsic rewards associated with this. Melissa holds a Bachelor in Human Resources and Labour Relations as well as a mini-MBA from McGill University and is currently the Director of Human Resources at the CHEO Research Institute. She is interested in using her background in human resources, operations and finance to assist in furthering the patient experience at QCH and make meaningful contributions.

In honour of my sister, Deborah Bellocchi-Covella (1979-2022).

Christina MacPherson

Past Chair

Tia grew up in the small town of Buckhams Bay West. Her hospital has always been the Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) as a patient, as a caregiver, as a volunteer and as a parent. QCH would become critical for Emergency Care for her and her father.

She joined PFAC in 2017, after experiencing many struggles in finding emergency care and treatment for her father, who would pass away shortly after. She brought with her a passion for improving patient and family healthcare and experiencing the very best care at QCH in her own mental health crisis.

Tia is the patient and family representative on the Emergency Department Unit Leadership Team, the Mental Health Group Leadership Team, and other strategic planning projects.

Being a part of this amazing PFAC group of diverse individuals with a multiplicity of experiences and knowledge has been an incredible journey for her. Each month these volunteers come together to improve patient care within QCH and our medical community. Thank you PFAC volunteers for all you do. Thank you to our QCH Physicians, Nurses and Allied health care teams for your empathy and commitment to our community. You are all appreciated.

Listening, engaging, and collaborating is the only way to move patients' and families' healtcare forward with accountability, innovation and respect.
As a current out-patient within the Mental Health Department, Tia is most excited for the new expansion and rebuild of the Mental Health Unit. The redevelopment includes additional inpatient beds and expanded outpatient mental health services. It is currently under construction with a tentative grand reopening in 2023.

Tia is grateful to be running a portrait photography business, working in business management, engaged in philanthropy, volunteering and spending time with her life partner and two amazing daughters in this wonderful city.

"Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect."

In memory of her beloved Father, Robert Alexander MacPherson (1948 - 2015)

Member

Member

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Arpan Bhargav

Member

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Rita Cuccia

Member

Rita lives in Ottawa’s West End and the Queensway Hospital has been her family’s “go to” hospital. Ranging from imaging appointments, to Emergency Room visits and most recently for her mom’s joint replacement and stay in Rehabilitation Unit. She is currently employed at Algonquin College as a Financial Analyst, and is also a member of Diversity and Inclusion Circle and AODA Committee. She has volunteered in various community groups and brings lived experience in being a family caregiver. Rita is looking forward to creating a positive, sustainable change at QCH.

Barbara LaPalme

Member

Barbara has lived in the west end for 25 years and has had a lot of experience at Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) as a patient and as a caregiver.

Last year, she visited senior family members daily for six months while they were hospitalized at QCH. Impressed by the caring staff, even during the second year of a very stressful pandemic, she decided to volunteer to try and give back to such an amazing hospital.

Barbara and her husband James are empty nesters. Her career background is in retail management and recently as a small business operator. As the stay-at-home parent, Barbara has 20 years of experience volunteering in the community and is very excited to be apart of a very dynamic group like PFAC.

Member

Over the last fourteen years, I have lived a rewarding and often challenging experience related to healthcare delivery. This has included supporting, along with my wife, the journey of our parents as they moved through the Ontario healthcare system; being involved in the evolution of long-term care in Ontario as a care partner; participating in the development of programs and practices that support patient-centered care through evidence-based research, and working with practitioners, academic and medical professionals, and critical observers to understand the challenges and solutions facing healthcare in the immediate future. More recently, I have had a chance to visit the future with a project team at Ottawa University that is describing how to approach the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by clinicians to better understand and communicate with patients and their caregivers the impact of frailty on primary care. Queensway Carleton Hospital, over the last twelve years, has been a professional friend in helping me meet some health challenges. I decided that it was time to give something back for that continuing support, using my accumulated experience and knowledge. I am now living a new opportunity by contributing to the advancement of the QCH Vision of being the best community hospital of choice by providing exemplary patient care to the people and communities it serves. I feel privileged to have the chance to work alongside a dedicated group of volunteer patient advisors. My hope is to contribute valued opinions to support compassionate and coordinated care. 

Ann McMillan

Member

When Ann received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1976, she had already worked for Ontario Hydro for several years, specializing in research on air pollution. In 1990 she joined the federal government as the Chief of Air Quality Modeling. The group she supervised supported the incorporation of air quality models directly into weather models. They saw the link between air quality and human health and initiated, with Health Canada, the move from the Air Quality Index (AQI) to the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI). Ann went on to work at DFO where she participated in a climate risk analysis for the department which resulted in DFO obtaining funding for a Climate Adaptation Program.

Ann had the opportunity to lead numerous external program activities from within government. As one example, from 2003 to 2011, she was the Canadian Cochair of the International Joint Commission’s International Air Quality Advisory Board (IAQAB).

Beyond the job, Ann was a member of the Waterloo Alumni Development Council and Issues Committee from 1988-94, the first woman president of the Canadian Association of Physicists from 1993-94, and Chair of the National Science Societies of Canada from 1994-96. In 2012, she became the Vice-Chair for the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographical Society (CMOS) Ottawa Chapter and after her term as Chair she has continued to be a Member-at-Large on the Executive. She is also a Director of the Prior Chest Nuts dragon boat team, a breast cancer survivor dragon boat team from Arnprior.

Now retired, Ann is pursuing a second career as a writer. She ponders words while she weeds the gardens on her rural ten acres. Some of her books include: Air Quality Management: Canadian Perspectives on a Global Issue, with Eric Taylor (co-editor) (Springer, 2014); The New Devil’s Dictionary, with Duane Chartier and Irene Agoulnik (Amazon, 2019); Naked In Time, with Duane Chartier (co-editor) (Amazon, 2020); Plague Take It, with Jon Peirce (co-editor) (Loose Cannon Press, 2021); and Tales from the Boat, (Loose Cannon Press, 2022). The last of these is an anthology of stories written by the Prior Chest Nuts.

Ann feels close to her local hospital, the Queensway Carleton, because she has been a regular customer. As a single, accident-prone Mom of two horseback-riding daughters there were visits to Emergency. Ann is a breast cancer survivor, who explored the orthopedic facilities after falling down a flight of stairs and seriously injuring her left arm. She was also the caregiver for her partner who passed away from pancreatic cancer. Volunteering with the hospital is a natural next step for her.

Maria Sabaye Moghaddam

Member

As a scientist, writer, storyteller and educator, Maria Sabaye Moghaddam has a long and varied history of community engagement. As a volunteer, she has served in various capacities at many organizations such as Let's Talk Science, Ontario Science Fair, Tirgan Festival, PEN Canada, on Advisory Board for Art, Culture, and Recreation of the City of Ottawa and has taught dance to seniors and persons with developmental and physical disabilities. Maria is the recipient of the Ontario Volunteer Award for her contributions to arts and culture.

Living in the West end, Maria and her family have sought care at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital for years. As a volunteer translator, she is aware of extra challenges in communication posed by language barrier in health care. As a member of the Patient and Family Advisory Council, Maria hopes to utilize her experience, skills, and connections with diverse communities to contribute to enhancement and improvement of health care delivery for patients and their families.

Tejas Patel

Member

Tejas lives in Ottawa’s south end and has been a frequent visitor to QCH for various medical reasons and day surgeries. Grateful for the exceptional care he and his family has received, Tejas is inspired to give back by joining the Patient and Family Advisory Council. As the owner of a local CPA firm, and coming from a diverse cultural background, Tejas brings a unique perspective to the hospital. He is passionate about contributing to initiatives that improve the patient experience and looks forward to making a positive impact on the hospital and its community. 

Sabrina Shaheen

Member

Ava Grace Sliwa

Member

Ava Grace is incredibly grateful for the privilege of becoming a member of the Queensway Carleton’s Patient and Family Advisory Committee (PFAC). With this opportunity, she brings a wealth of insight and empathy for individuals navigating the transition from adolescent to adult healthcare services. She understands the need for self-advocacy when seeking mental healthcare, and the importance of continuing to ask for help when encountering hurdles in your health journey.

At 17 she was admitted to QCH’s inpatient mental health unit, where for the next couple of years she intermittently spent several months in the hands of her care team. She is confident that she would not be here today without the support of QCH’s team of nurses, doctors, patient support workers, and occupational therapists.

Ava Grace is excited for this opportunity to guide the positive development of hospital policy and educational initiatives for hospital staff. Her experience allows her to continually input a perspective which prioritizes personal connections as part of public health resources. To create meaningful connections with current patients and their families, Ava Grace always looks forward to her weekly volunteer shift at the QCH Gift Shop! She is also currently advising a research study with the University of Calgary that is investigating the intersection of pharmacogenomics and youth psychiatric care. In her spare time, she enjoys watercolour and acrylic painting; a passion she re-discovered during her time as an inpatient.

After taking a pause from high school in 2021, Ava Grace recently graduated from secondary school as a recipient of the Governor General’s Academic Medal. She is now continuing her education at The University of Ottawa, pursuing an Honours BSc. in Biomedical Science. As she begins this next chapter, she is eager to contribute to the ongoing development of Ottawa’s healthcare as a part of the QCH PFAC.

Member

Elizabeth Venditti

Member

Elizabeth Venditti was inspired to join the Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) through her role and experiences as caregiver to her father. QCH was an important part of her father’s life.

In July 2020, QCH provided emergency care in diagnosing her father with multiple pulmonary embolisms and possible cancer. QCH quickly referred him to the thrombosis and oncology clinics at The Ottawa Hospital – General Campus. Her Dad’s diagnostic imaging and other tests were carried out at QCH. When her Dad needed radiation treatment, in 2021, he also went to the Irving Greenberg Cancer Centre. In previous years, her Dad was also a surgical day unit patient and an inpatient.

Elizabeth has always been fascinated with medicine, health and health care. She uses her experiences, as a caregiver, to help enhance patient and family care at QCH. Having been born and living in the National Capital Region her entire life, Elizabeth is keen to apply her skills, knowledge and network to a leadership role in the local community.

Elizabeth holds a Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Program Evaluation (Carleton University); Master of Public Health, Specialization in Indigenous and Northern Health (Lakehead University) as well as an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences, Specialization in Sociology (University of Ottawa).

In honour of my father, Vincenzo Venditti (1951-2021).