meet sci's experienced and caring team of employees
Riverview Team
Sheila Helene Clark, Medical Office Assistant
Sheila has worked at Surgical Centres Inc. for16 years and has experienced and enjoyed many roles within the organization. Sheila coordinates surgical bookings for both the Riverview and Rockyview locations.
Sheila says, “SCI has been one of the best employers I've worked at. They are very accommodating and I feel good about coming to work every day. It’s wonderful to work with such great people!”
Outside of work, Sheila enjoys spending time with her family and friends, watching her sons’ soccer games, traveling, golfing and curling.
Dawn R. Porteous, Team Leader
Dawn joined Surgical Centres Inc. (SCI) in September 2000. Dawn first worked as casual recovery room providing coverage to the SCI facilities in Calgary, before moving into supervisory roles. Dawn is the team leader at Riverview with responsibility to manage the recovery room and the dental service.
Dawn has an RN diploma from the Foothills Hospital with a certification in Nursing Unit Management and experience in various sizes of hospitals and specialties.
Dawn enjoys working with the children and the positive comments she receives on the satisfaction surveys from various patients.
In her spare time, Dawn enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her family.
Laurie Jean Irwin, Nurse Manager
Laurie has been with Surgical Centres Inc. (SCI) for almost 17 years. Prior to joining SCI, Laurie worked at the Foothills Hospital for 20 years. Laurie has assisted in the planning and coordinating of new sites and has continued to work at both Calgary locations, Rockyview and Riverview. Recently, Laurie has taken on the role of Nurse Manager at Riverview.
Throughout her career with SCI, Laurie has enjoyed the friendships and camaraderie from her fellow colleagues and what their efforts have accomplished. According to Laurie, “it’s great to hear, ”this is so much nicer than the hospital" a comment she has heard many, many times.”
Outside of work, Laurie enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and other family members. She also has a wide range of interests from sewing to gardening and from traveling to Yoga.
Rockyview Team
Tanille Kosolofski, Medical Office Assistant
Marilou Hailar, Medical Office Assistant
Luisa Gonzales, Nurse Manager
Earlier in her career, Luisa worked as an Operating Room Nurse at Pasqua Hospital and as a Senior Resource Nurse in the Outpatient Ophthalmology department in Regina. More recently, she has held three senior positions at the Rockyview Hospital Operating Room including Senior Resource Nurse, seconded as the Retinal Flow Coordinator and then moved into one of the Unit Manager role.
New Westminster Team
Karen Thibodeau, Medical Office Assistant
Karen recently joined Surgical Centres Inc. (SCI) in November 2009. She is the MOA at the New Westminster facility. Prior to joining the SCI team, Karen worked as a health record technician in various hospital departments for 14 years. More recently over the past three years, she was responsible for the OR booking at a local hospital.
Karen enjoys being part of a great team that provides one-on-one patient care in a more personable and comfortable environment. She finds the approach and the environment at SCI refreshing and feels this makes a difference to the patients SCI serves.
In her spare time, Karen enjoys snowboarding, scuba diving, scrap booking and spending time with her family.
Jennifer A.M. Levett, Nurse Manager
Jenny joined Surgical Centres Inc (SCI) in 2007 as the Nurse Manager for the New Westminster facility. Jenny is a graduate from the Foothills hospital school of nursing and a certified perioperative nurse. Jenny has a wide range of experience in various specialties and has fifteen years of operating room experience gained in various acute care hospitals.
At work, the most satisfying aspect of her job is the patient interaction. She notes, “it’s always heartwarming to hear repeat patients describe how comfortable they are coming to our clinic and how much they enjoy the staff here.”
Outside of her work, Jenny enjoys finding time to stay active.
Seafield Team
Coral Wilson, Medical Office Assistant
Coral has been with Surgical Centres Inc. (SCI) for five years. As the medical office assistant, Coral supports a number of nurses and physicians and enjoys the team of healthcare professionals that she works with everyday.
Prior to joining SCI, she completed the MOA/Hospital Unit Clerk program at Malaspina University College in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
In her spare time Coral enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her family.
Kelly Marwood, Nurse Manager
Kelly joined Surgical Centres Inc. (SCI) in January 2008. She started working at the Seafield facility part-time in PARR and last year moved into the Nurse Manager role.
Since joining SCI, Kelly has enjoyed working with the dedicated and caring team of professionals at Seafield. She has also found it very rewarding when clients comment on how much they appreciate the care and special attention they receive at SCI.
Kelly received her Nursing Diploma in 1986 and gained her critical training through BCIT. Her nursing background includes Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care at Vancouver General and she also worked in the Intensive Care Unit and recovery room at Burnaby General.
In her spare time, Kelly is an avid hockey fan and enjoys tennis, skiing, yoga and boating.
Corporate Team
Dr. G.M. Nanji, President and CEO
Dr. Mohamed Nanji is a founding partner, and current President and CEO of Surgical Centres Inc. (SCI), a private healthcare company that has been committed to providing excellence in day care surgery, medical diagnostics, and research initiatives in four locations across western Canada since 1988.
The growth experienced over the past 20 plus years by SCI, can be attributed to Dr.Nanji’s vision and his commitment to building relationships with investors, talented staff, physicians and surgeon, and partners in the healthcare industry throughout BC and AB.
Prior to building SCI, Dr Nanji attended the University of Nairobi (Kenya) where he earned his medical degree in 1985. He then started his Anesthesia residency in Syracuse, New York and completed his residency after moving to Calgary. He also has his American Boards in Anesthesiology and is a Member of the Institute of Corporate Directors of Canada.
In addition to operating a full practice of Anesthesia in Calgary, and leading the way for Surgical Centres Inc., Dr. Nanji is the Assistant Clinical Professor of Anesthesia with the University of Calgary.
Today, Dr Nanji and his wife, Shenaaz, a children’s author, are empty nesters living in Calgary.
Fatima Fazal, Chief Operating Officer (COO)
As the Chief Operating Officer at Surgical Centres Inc. Fatima Fazal serves as principal liaison with the various health authorities, overseeing both management and administrative issues. Her other responsibilities include – financial management (budgets and performance), human resource management (selecting, training, and performance measures for staff), on-going relationships with clients, and general administration of SCI’s business.
Greg Wiebe, CA, Controller
Greg is a Chartered Accountant with 30 years of financial management experience focused on growth oriented owner-managed enterprises. He has extensive experience in directing and advising organizations with respect to improved financial performance, capital restructuring, strategic acquisitions, significant expansion strategies and investor realtion activities. In addition to being responsible for all financial aspects of a number of corporate entities his experience also includes approximately 10 years of public practice with a major CA firm, a number of corporate refinancing, strategic acquisitions/mergers and two private to public company transitions.
Teresa (Teri) Zucht, Executive Associate
Teri just recently joined Surgical Centres Inc. (SCI) and is in the new position of Executive Associate with the Executive Team.
Always having a passion for healthcare, Teri is happy to be back in a surgical environment which fosters choice allowing Canadians to gain access to required services in a timely manner. Teri is a strong supporter of the symbiotic relationship private and public healthcare partnerships can have and the advantages associated.
In addition, Teri has a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from the University of Lethbridge. and holds a certificate in Medical Terminology from Bow Valley College.
In her short time at SCI, Teri has been impressed with the level of professionalism demonstrated by the SCI team and is proud to be a part of it.
Outside of work, Teri enjoys spending time with her husband and their two daughters. She also enjoys international travel and scrapbooking her memories.
Poonam Dhaliwal, Accounting Coordinator
Poonam joined Surgical Centres Inc. (SCI) in June 2010. She is the organization's Accounting Coordinator providing support to SCI's Corporate Office.
Poonam started off with experiencing aspects of both Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable department before transitioning into her current role as Accounting Coordinator. Since her time at SCI, Poonam has been enjoying the daily challenges that come her way and she is happy with how much Medical knowledge she has gained in a short time.
As an advocate for continuing education, Poonam is pursuing her CGA designation and in her spare time, she enjoys shopping, traveling, and cooking.
Christina Cheng, Accountants Payable and Administrative Support: Administration
Christina has been with Surgical Centres Inc for three years. Christina lends her administrative support and accounting expertise to various initiatives throughout the organization. Christina completed her formal education in Hong Kong and since then has completed various accounting courses at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. She formerly has also provided administrative support, but is now concentrating mainly on Accounts Payable.
Christina enjoys the variety in her role and learning about the medical field. She enjoys meeting new people through her work including patients and vendor partners. She is especially pleased with the opportunity to be working with and learning about analyzing contracts in the medical field.
Outside of her work, Christina enjoys making crafts, travelling and shopping.
Viola Xhillari, Accountants Receivable
Viola has recently joined the accounting team at Surgical Centres Inc (SCI) in the accounts receivable department. Fluent in English, Albanian, and Italian, Viola also comes to SCI with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from the University of Tiana in Albania. Viola is fostering her passion for continuing education with the pursuit of her CGA.
Viola has enjoyed learning about the business operations at SCI and is looking forward to further learning as she grows with the company.
Outside of the office, Viola enjoys travel, cooking, and is currently learning to speak French!