Sources: CHEO & BBPA
Ottawa’s Dr. Carrol Pitters was honoured with the Health Sciences award for excellence at the 33rd Annual Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA) Harry Jerome Awards held on Saturday, April 25th, 2015 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
The BBPA Harry Jerome Awards is recognized as the most prestigious national awards gala in the African-Canadian community and a coveted symbol of achievement. This years winners received awards in the following categories: Academics, Athletics, Media, Entertainment, Community Service, Health Sciences, Leadership, Lifetime Achievement, Young Entrepreneurs, Professional Excellence, Public Advocacy, Youth Advocacy, Diversity, Social Engagement and the President’s Award.
Dr. Carrol Pitters is the Chief of Staff and Chief Medical Officer at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). She holds an academic appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine, and her clinical role is as a staff physician in the Emergency Department at CHEO.
Dr. Pitters obtained her medical degree from the University of the West Indies and after a one-year internship at the University Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, she pursued her residency training in Paediatrics at CHEO from 1980-84. She spent an additional year as a resident in Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa, before beginning her medical career in the CHEO Emergency Department in 1985.
After serving as Associate Director of the Emergency Department for 4 years, she was appointed Medical Director and Chief of Emergency Medicine in 1996, a position she held for 10 years. She then became the Chair of the Board of the Children’s Hospital Academic Medical Organization (CHAMO), a role she continues to hold.
Dr. Pitters was appointed Chief of Staff in 2010. As CHEO’s senior physician leader, she is responsible for organizing the activities of the medical staff and for ensuring the quality of clinical care and patient safety. In this role, she reports directly to the Board of Trustees.
Carrol and husband Ian McDowell have two children, Graeme and Karin and two step-children Kristan and Wesley.