Devin Harris Named New Chair of BC Patient Safety & Quality Council

Vancouver, BC — The Government of BC has appointed Devin Harris as our new chair, effective today. Devin assumes the role from Doug Cochrane, who served as chair since our organization was formed in 2008.

“Dr. Harris is the perfect person to serve as the second-ever board chair of the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “His combination of hands-on clinical experience and history leading teams to improve health care quality will ensure a smooth transition as he takes the helm of an important organization dedicated to patient safety and quality throughout BC.”

Devin has been a member of the Council since September 2018. He was our clinical lead for stroke care from 2011-17, during which time he led a province-wide collaborative to improve care in emergency departments, was instrumental in the development of Stroke Services BC and was part of a leadership team improved stroke outcomes in the province. He is a practicing emergency physician and currently the executive medical director, quality and patient safety in Interior Health, a medical advisor for Stroke Services BC and a clinical professor within the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine.

“I’ve had many roles within BC’s health system – emergency physician, medical administrator, researcher and improvement leader – and know very well the vital position that the Council plays within it,” said Harris. “I’m tremendously excited to begin this next role, and cannot thank Doug enough for his leadership within the province as chair of the Council and throughout his career, for his mentorship since I began working with the Council eight years ago, and for guiding this transition so that it is as seamless as possible.”

Doug will be continuing in his role as board chair of Interior Health. Over the past couple of months, we paid tribute to his leadership with a series of articles titled #BCThanksDoug that highlighted his impact on our team, our organization and BC’s health care system.

“This is also a historic time for the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council as it says farewell to its founding board chair, Dr. Doug Cochrane,” said Dix. “Thanks to his vision and passion for continuous improvement in health care safety, Dr. Cochrane fostered a culture in BC that inspired health care stakeholders to enhance patient safety in every corner of the province. We all owe him a debt of gratitude.”

This is the third time we’ve been able to welcome Devin to our team – first as a clinical lead, then as a Council member and now as our chair. We’re excited to have him at the helm of our organization and look forward to continuing to support our partners to improve care for patients. Welcome, Devin!

About Devin
Devin has been a member of the Council since September 2018. He was our clinical lead for stroke care from 2011-17, during which time he led a province-wide collaborative to improve care in emergency departments, was instrumental in the development of Stroke Services BC and was part of a leadership team improved stroke outcomes in the province.

He is currently the Executive Medical Director, Quality and Patient Safety in Interior Health. Previously, he has held leadership positions within Interior Health, the Provincial Health Services Authority, Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care.

Devin has been a practicing emergency physician since 2001, now working in Kelowna General Hospital. He was a Clinical Research Fellow at St. Paul’s Hospital from 2001 to 2003 and is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He has taught medical students and residents and presented and published extensively. He is currently an investigator or co-investigator on multiple research trials, mainly focused on stroke and cerebrovascular diseases.

Originally from Penticton, Devin now lives in Kelowna with his wife and two kids, having moved back to the Okanagan in 2014.