Dr. Neil Naik practices family medicine in Waterloo, Ontario where he teaches family medicine and office management to medical students as an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University. Dr. Naik grew up in the GTA and studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He completed his residency in both urban Newfoundland and rural Nunavut, and further enhanced his education with an elective at OntarioMD on Health Informatics and Leadership. He is heavily involved with the community's health care system, taking on his newest endeavour as Interim Regional Primary Care Lead for the Waterloo Wellington Regional Screening and Cancer Program. 

"I have been involved with the hospital and foundation in a variety of ways since moving to the community in 2016. Everything from being a patient to referring my patients, my experience with GRH has been excellent. The pandemic allowed me to work with the foundation, as they were one of our main supporters during the community PPE drive. The work that we did during that time, showed me how the ongoing changes at GRH and the Foundation would change our community, and it has been wonderful since joining the Board to be a part of the change

Innovation is huge for me. The constant desire to change for the better just means that we as a group will always strive for greener grass. I work with startups in the region, from being a founder myself to fundraising to promote innovation. If we think we have already reached perfection, we've already failed.

Being a clinician in the community, I am embedded in the healthcare system, but I also get to see how my patients interact with it. All of us deserve a healthcare system that we can say is great, it is innovative, and it is something that we as a community have built where no one is left behind.  Having a world-class healthcare system is not just about having the most powerful MRI system, or the most comprehensive research facility, but more so it is that we treat each other with respect and equality, no matter how rich or poor we are, how sick or healthy we are. Our system has been designed to help those who are the most fortunate, what we need to strive for is to make it help everyone through the help of everyone in our neighbourhoods, then we truly have a world class healthcare system which the community has built."

One of Neil's Waterloo Region gems...

"The GRCA trails and the conservation areas are the hidden walking trails running through the entire city. There are several access points to the river to kayak and canoe down the Grand, which is a favourite sport of mine on a quiet weekend."