Julie Bisson
Newmarket,ON
Summary
Bilingual Health System Leader, Entrepreneur, and NP with 27 years of experience designing and managing complex clinical programs. A pioneer in 'Distributed Health,' I have an established track record of launching community clinics and programs across the care continuum. Leveraging an MHA in Home & Community Care and extensive governance experience—including Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), Board and academic leadership, Most Responsible Provider (MRP), and private practice sole proprietorship, I specialize in building community-led networks that resolve 'hallway medicine' through seamless system integration and quality improvement. I am uniquely prepared to spearhead Southlake’s Distributed Health Network.
Overview
28
28
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Clinical Leader, NP as Most Responsible Provider
ONTARIO SHORES CENTRE FOR MENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES
05.2015 - Current
- MRP accountability: Manage tertiary psychiatric care for 180 complex patients in addition to providing virtual specialist consultations to primary care providers; preventing ED and acute-care admissions.
- Executive Governance: Member and clinical stakeholder on the Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), driving hospital-wide policy, risk management, and system-level integration.
- Council Leadership: Chair the NP Council and former member of Quality Assurance, Wait Time, Safe Medications Committees to align professional practice with organizational strategy, Health Quality Ontario (HQO) and Accreditation Canada standards.
- Stepped Care Innovation: Principal Investigator for a strategic QI project on length of service; integrated Stepped Care Model to optimize capacity and patient throughput.
- Access/Flow Management: Co-chair clinic interdisciplinary meetings with Management to streamline patient transitions and ensure 'closed-loop' community re-entry.
- Knowledge Translation: Co-authored curriculum for the University of Toronto Certificate in Mental Health/Addictions for NPs, facilitate clinical training to bridge the gap between evidence-based research and frontline practice.
NP Clinical Consultant & Sole Proprietor
DIG A LITTLE DEEPER PSYCHOTHERAPY
01.2022 - Current
- Operational Governance: Exercise full professional and fiscal accountability as a Sole Proprietor; managing end-to-end operations, billing, and digital health privacy (PHIPA).
- Expert Consultancy: Provide high-level clinical leadership and specialized psychiatric diagnostic and treatment recommendations for ADHD, mood, and anxiety disorders.
Nurse Practitioner – NPSTAT Program
CENTRAL EAST CCAC (Now Ontario Health at Home)
01.2015 - 05.2015
- ER Diversion: Delivered geriatric outreach to LTC Homes; provided same-day diagnostic assessments and treatments to prevent unnecessary ED transfers.
- Capacity Building: Partnered with LTC Directors of Care to provide clinical leadership; enhanced nursing clinical competencies through targeted in-services to reduce acute-sector utilization.
Hospice Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner (Pioneer)
NORTH EAST CCAC (Now Ontario Health at Home)
01.2014 - 01.2015
- Program Launch & Design: Lead NP that oversaw the regional launch of the HPC-NP program; pioneered the first NP community palliative care outreach model in Timmins, including EMR, clinical frameworks, referral and shared care pathways.
- Funding Capture: Co-chaired the Timmins Palliative Care Resource Advisory Committee; Principal author of a strategic business case proposal to the North East LHIN that successfully secured four hospice beds at the Timmins and District Hospital.
Clinic Manager & Nurse Practitioner
CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION (COCHRANE TIMISKAMING BRANCH)
01.2006 - 01.2013
- Primary Care Clinic Start-up and management: hand selected to start up the design, start-up, and implementation of CMHA's first Primary Care NP-Led Clinic for unattached patients; managed all clinic operations, clinical policy and interdisciplinary team.
- Integrated Care: Fostered community partnerships and held hospital privileges at Timmins and District Hospital to facilitate seamless inpatient-to-community transitions.
- Specialized Programming: Developed and managed clinical programs i.e. diabetes, smoking cessation, and long-acting anti-psychotic injectable clinics.
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
VICTORIA ORDER OF NURSES (VON) NP-LED PRIMARY CARE CLINIC
01.2006 - 01.2011
- High-Volume Operations: Orchestrated care delivery within a high-capacity NP led clinic, optimizing throughput for orphaned/unattached patients to meet urgent community demand.
- Distributed Care Delivery: Championed a 'care-at-home' model, conducting high-acuity home visits for palliative and geriatric patients to reduce acute care intervention.
Public Health Nurse
PORCUPINE & TORONTO PUBLIC HEALTH
01.2001 - 01.2006
- Policy and Program Planning: Drove population health policy initiatives, stakeholder with implementation of municipal smoking bylaws, designed/implemented smoking cessation clinics.
- System Building: Served as the GTA’s first Francophone PHN, establishing regional school-based public health infrastructure and acting as a primary liaison to the District Health Council. (predating LHIN).
Team Leader / Cardiology RN
ST. MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL
01.1998 - 01.2001
- Clinical Leadership: Unit Team Leader for Telemetry and CCU Step-down; authored unit Policy and Procedure Manuals to standardize RN clinical practice in a high-acuity setting.
Education
Master of Health Administration (MHA) - Home & Community Care
Toronto Metropolitan University
01-2020
Advanced Oncology & Palliative Care Courses
University of Windsor
Online01-2014
Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner (PHC-NP) -
Laurentian University & University of Toronto
01-2006
BScN And Nursing Diploma -
Toronto Metropolitan University & George Brown College
Skills
- Distributed Health Networks & OHT Strategy Alignment
- Program Design, Launch, Scaling & Operational Management
- Funding Proposal Development & Grant Capture
- Governance: MAC Stakeholder, Committee Chair & Board Roles
- Quality Improvement, Risk Management & Accreditation Standards
- Stepped Care Models & Access/Flow Optimization
- Interdisciplinary Team Leadership
- System Integration
- Bilingual (English/French)
- Academic Leadership: Curriculum Design, Lecturing & NP Mentorship
- Data-Driven QI & Research
- Labour Relations & Bargaining Team Leadership
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO | LAWRENCE S. BLOOMBERG FACULTY OF NURSING
Adjunct Professor, Curriculum Writer & Teaching Assistant | Sept 2021 – Present
- Curriculum Design: Authored course content for the Certificate in Mental Health and Addictions for Nurse Practitioners Website: https://bloomberg.nursing.utoronto.ca/pd/courses/mental-health-certificate/
- Knowledge Translation: Serve as lecturer for online modules, utilizing digital platforms to deliver clinical education to nurse practitioners across Canada.
- Academic Evaluation: Lead rigorous grading and clinical performance assessments for the Faculty, ensuring that NP workforce meets the highest standards of competency and safety.
- Nurse Practitioner Preceptor – Primary Care NP Program since 2016
Affiliations
- College of Nurse of Ontario
- Registered Nurses Association of Ontario; Nursing Leadership Network of Ontario
Certification
- Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Certification - Canadian Nurses Association
- CPR and First Aid (2024)
- Safe Management Group - prevention and management in crisis (2024)
- Leading Edge - Effective Leadership and Change Management, Ontario Shores Center for Mental Health Sciences (2020)
- P. I. E. C. E. S - North East Specialized Geriatric Center (2013)
- Montessori Methods for Dementia – NELHIN (2013)
- Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative and End of Life Care (LEAP) - Mac Master University (2014)
- Certificate of Intensive Training in Motivational Interviewing – University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Integrative Primary Care
- Coronary Care 1 and 2 Certificate, ACLS (1999-2001)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS & ADVISORY TEAMS
- Member / Clinical Stakeholder - Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) & Interdisciplinary Council Ontario Shores Center for Mental Health Sciences.
- Chair, Nurse Practitioner Council
- Former Member, Quality Assurance, Medication Safety, Wait Time Committee
- Former Board Member - Alzheimer's Society Timmins
- Former Chair - Timmins Palliative Care Resource Team
- Past member - OACCAC NP Hospice Palliative Care
- Former Chair – OPSEU Bargaining Team Canadian Mental Health Association
- Former Member, OACCAC NP Hospice Palliative Care, North East Seniors Mental Health Advisory Group, Northeast Diabetes Regional Coordinating Center Steering Committee
RESEARCH
MHA Capstone Research: Clinical and sociodemographic factors associated to prolonged length of service in patients registered to a general complex psychiatry clinic.
PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS
- Ontario Shores; Routine "Lunch and Learn"; various psychiatric topics (ongoing)
- Ontario Shores Grand Rounds; Psychiatric symptoms in the peripartum period (2020)
- Ontario Power Generation Conference Guest Speaker; Healthy Lifestyle Choices (2006)
- Falconbridge Conference Guest Speaker; Shiftwork by Clockwork (2006)
Timeline
NP Clinical Consultant & Sole Proprietor
DIG A LITTLE DEEPER PSYCHOTHERAPY
01.2022 - Current
Clinical Leader, NP as Most Responsible Provider
ONTARIO SHORES CENTRE FOR MENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES
05.2015 - Current
Nurse Practitioner – NPSTAT Program
CENTRAL EAST CCAC (Now Ontario Health at Home)
01.2015 - 05.2015
Hospice Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner (Pioneer)
NORTH EAST CCAC (Now Ontario Health at Home)
01.2014 - 01.2015
Clinic Manager & Nurse Practitioner
CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION (COCHRANE TIMISKAMING BRANCH)
01.2006 - 01.2013
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
VICTORIA ORDER OF NURSES (VON) NP-LED PRIMARY CARE CLINIC
01.2006 - 01.2011
Public Health Nurse
PORCUPINE & TORONTO PUBLIC HEALTH
01.2001 - 01.2006
Team Leader / Cardiology RN
ST. MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL
01.1998 - 01.2001
Master of Health Administration (MHA) - Home & Community Care
Toronto Metropolitan University
Advanced Oncology & Palliative Care Courses
University of Windsor
Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner (PHC-NP) -
Laurentian University & University of Toronto
BScN And Nursing Diploma -
Toronto Metropolitan University & George Brown College