*Athletic orthopaedic surgeon joins RVHS
An accomplished orthopaedic surgeon – whose patients include college athletes and the Toronto Blue Jays – has joined Rouge Valley Health System bringing a key specialty to the eastern Greater Toronto Area.
“The addition of Dr. Jason Smith is part of our efforts to developing as a centre of excellence in orthopaedics. We proudly welcome him to our Rouge Valley team. Recruiting the best physicians to treat our diverse, growing community remains a priority. All of our physicians, who’ve joined us in recent months, enhance our outstanding medical team bringing specialized care to our patients,” says Rik Ganderton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rouge Valley Health System.
DR. JASON SMITH’S EXPERIENCE
Dr. Smith’s extensive experience in treating athletic-related injuries enhances RVHS’ orthopaedic expertise at both of its hospital sites. He also enhances the surgical team at the Rouge Valley Centenary site, where he is based. Dr. Smith completed his residency in Sports Orthopaedic Surgery at the American Sports Medical Institute, a leading treatment centre for sport-related injuries in the United States. There, Dr. Smith was part of a team of doctors who treated members of the Washington Redskins and college teams at Auburn and Tuskegee Universities. Dr. Smith is also the team orthopaedic surgeon with the Toronto Blue Jays.
While Dr. Smith has spent much of his time treating professional athletes, he says that there is a real need for surgeons who specialize in sports-related injuries right here in our community. “There’s a big void in the GTA for sports-related surgery, especially for arthroscopic ligament surgeries for the shoulder, knee and elbow. We have a need for acute treatment of the athlete,” explains Dr. Smith. He’s looking forward to treating patients and bringing more awareness of sports-related injuries to the Rouge Valley area. “If you’re in a car accident, the injuries are treated urgently. But, for an athlete who’s severely injured their knee playing soccer, they may be placed on a wait list before they get surgery.” He adds, “I’d like to bring more insight into treating athletes.”
HOCKEY PLAYER
Dr. Smith understands the needs of professional athletes very well. A decade ago, he spent a year playing in Calgary for the American Hockey League, a development league for the National Hockey League. But after three concussions, he decided to hang up his skates. “That’s where my desire to treat athletes came from – experiencing my own athletic injuries,” says the Calgary native.
INTERNALIST/NEPHROLOGIST JOINS ROUGE VALLEY AJAX AND PICKERING
Internalist and Nephrologist Dr. Ali El Firjani is no stranger to Toronto. Born in Libya, he joins Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering from the University of Ottawa, where he studied Internal Medicine and Nephrology and completed his fellowship. Dr. El Firjani lived in Toronto when he first moved to Canada seven years ago. “I’m happy to be back in the GTA and I’m very excited to become a part of the Rouge Valley team,” says Dr. El Firjani. He and his wife live in Ajax with their young son and are expecting their second child.
ANAESTHETIST JOINS ROUGE VALLEY CENTENARY
Anaesthetist Dr. Hedi Hooshangi joins Rouge Valley Centenary. The mother of two has extensive experience practising in Iran in both public and private hospitals and clinics. Dr. Hooshangi says Rouge Valley’s diverse ethnic community and selection of different types of surgeries and specialties are what drew her to the community hospital. Hooshangi and her family arrived in Canada three years ago at the encouragement of her sister, who lives in Toronto.
“I researched it and found different kinds of sub-specialties and operations here. So I’ll still have exposure to different types of surgeries. I work with a great group, and this is a great hospital to work in,” said Dr. Hooshangi, whose husband is an anaesthesiologist at Women’s College Hospital.
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Rouge Valley Health System is an innovative leader in quality family centred care, with regional programs in cardiac care, mental health and paediatrics. Rouge Valley consists of several health sites, including two hospitals: Rouge Valley Centenary, in east Toronto; Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering, in the west Durham Region. Together a team of doctors including 224 general practitioners and 325 specialists, more than 1,000 nurses and many other professionals, care for a broad spectrum of health conditions. In consultation and partnership with community members, other hospitals, healthcare organizations, the Central East Local Health Integration Network and the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Rouge Valley continues to improve its programs and create new ones catering to the needs of the growing communities of east Toronto, Ajax, Pickering and Whitby. It's in our nature to care. www.rougevalley.ca.
For more information, please contact:
David Brazeau
Manager (Acting Chief)
Public Affairs and Community Relations
Rouge Valley Health System
416-284-8131 ext. 4010
Last modified 2007-09-14 03:16 PM
