Join us for the final session in the Demystifying AI series—bringing together leading innovators and clinicians who are actively deploying artificial intelligence across the healthcare system.
This session moves beyond theory to showcase real-world applications of AI impacting patient care, clinical workflows, and system performance across Alberta and internationally.
You’ll hear directly from organizations advancing AI in:
• Diagnostics and early disease detection
• Precision medicine and genomics
• Clinical decision support for heart health and prostate cancer
• Workflow automation and care delivery innovation
This final session is designed for healthcare leaders, clinicians, and decision-makers looking to move from AI awareness to AI adoption—with practical insights and direct access to innovators working in the field.
Featured Speakers:
Patty Wickson is the CEO and Founder of InnovaHealth Futures Consulting and a recognized leader in health system innovation across Alberta.
With a distinguished career in senior leadership at Alberta Health Services (AHS), including serving as an Executive Director, Patty has led large-scale system transformation initiatives by leveraging evidence, strategic partnerships, targeted funding, and advanced health technologies to drive measurable impact across care environments.
She currently serves as Director of Research and Innovation at the Dr. Barrie Strafford Centre for Learning, Innovation and Quality at The Brenda Strafford Foundation, where she advances applied research, clinical innovation, and quality improvement to improve care for older adults and complex populations.
Patty also contributes provincially and nationally as an expert advisor with Innovate Calgary and Spark W21C, and serves on several boards including Glenrose Prairies CAN, the University of Calgary Biomedical Engineering program, BioAlberta, and the Southern Alberta Chapter of the Canadian College of Health Leaders.
Her career foundation in Respiratory Therapy and Critical Care Medicine grounds her leadership in frontline clinical experience, reinforcing her commitment to operational excellence, mentorship, and sustainable health system transformation through a patient centered approach.
Verdeen Bueckert brings a rare combination of frontline clinical experience, system-level leadership, and lived transformation to the conversation on AI and personal health. As a provincial senior practice lead in Alberta, she supported initiatives such as Appropriate Use of Antipsychotics across 172 care homes, and Elder Friendly Care in 11 hospitals, translating complex evidence into practical tools that empowered frontline teams. She is also co-author of the Choosing Wisely Canada toolkit When Psychosis Isn’t the Diagnosis.
But Verdeen’s most powerful insights come from personal experience. By age 40, she experienced a complete health collapse—followed by 12 years of chronic fatigue. With no clear path forward, she turned to physiology, research, and relentless questioning—synthesizing knowledge across disciplines to rebuild her health.
That journey now shapes her passion: leveraging AI to make evidence-informed, multidisciplinary health knowledge accessible in real time. Verdeen sees AI not as a replacement for clinicians, but as a tool to meet people earlier—at the first question—supporting better decisions, habits, and long-term health.
FEES:
CCHL Student Members: $5
CCHL Members: $10
EHL Member: $12.50
Non-Members: $15
