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Dr. Nel Wieman, Acting Chief Medical Officer, is very pleased to announce another exciting addition to the First Nations Health Authority’s (FNHA) Office of the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO): Effective March 20, Dr. Evan Adams will return as part-time Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Public Health, to co-lead the OCMO with Dr. Wieman and Dr. Kelsey Louie, Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Evan Adams is a member of, and grew up in the territories of, the Tla’amin First Nation in Powell River, British Columbia (BC). He completed his medical degree at the University of Calgary, an Indigenous Family Practice residency at St Paul’s Hospital/University of BC (as Chief Resident), and a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Adams has spent the past three years at Indigenous Services Canada as Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Public Health, with a focus on the national COVID-19 response and recovery. Prior to this, from 2014 to 2020, he was the FNHA’s inaugural Chief Medical Officer. His role at the FNHA included monitoring and reporting on the health of the First Nations population, developing new ways to focus on wellness from a First Nations perspective, and advocating for cultural safety across the health system.

Dr. Adams will join Dr. Wieman and Dr. Louie in serving as the “face” of the FNHA’s public health function, including being the FNHA’s representative/keynote speaker at health conferences and community events and on social media. Together, they and the OCMO team will continue to develop and strengthen partnerships and action plans with First Nations health governance partners, BC First Nations, provincial and federal government health agencies, and other FNHA departments. This work will be part of the FNHA’s overall work to contribute to improving the health of BC First Nations and to transforming the health care system to make it culturally safer for BC First Nations.

Before joining the FNHA, Dr. Adams served as BC’s Deputy Provincial Health Officer from 2012 to 2014, where he provided direction on First Nations health issues to the Ministry of Health, reported to First Nations citizens on health issues affecting the general population, and set out a path for the improvement of First Nations health and wellness.