Canadian Healthcare Optimization Workshop (CHOW) Call for Papers and Registration:

The Health Care Operational Research Special Interest Group (HCOR SIG) of the Canadian Operational Research Society (CORS) and Dalhousie University are proud to host the 2nd annual Canadian Healthcare Optimization Workshop in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Wednesday, June 6, 2018. The one-day Workshop will follow immediately after the annual CORS conference, which will be held on June 4-6, 2018.

The goals of the workshop are to provide a forum for researchers with a common interest in healthcare optimization and to promote the research of young scholars, with the aim of networking and sharing the latest advances with other researchers in the field.

For more information click here.

August 2016

HCOR SIG Website – coming soon!
Justin Boutilier and the rest of the officers are busy getting content ready to launch our very own HCOR SIG website. It will be hosted by CORS and using the new templates for the website. Stay tuned for details on when it will be launched.

Bylaws – Approved
Amended bylaws were approved at the annual HCOR SIG meeting in Banff in May. If you would like a copy of the amended bylaws, please contact our SIG president, Sonia Vanderby (sonia[dot]vanderby[at]usask[dot]ca).

Annual Members Meeting
The HCOR SIG had their annual members meeting during the CORS conference against a majestic backdrop of the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Banff. If you missed the meeting and would like to get a copy of the minutes, please contact the HCOR secretary Justin Boutilier (j[dot]boutilier[at]mail[dot]utoronto[dot]ca).

Upcoming Conferences and call for session organizers

INFORMS 2016 - The INFORMS meeting is scheduled for Nov. 13-16 in Nashville.

CORS/IFORS 2017 – Next year’s CORS conference is being held in conjunction with IFORS from July 17-21, 2017 in Quebec City, QC. It promises to be a great event with many international colleagues in attendance. If you are interested in organizing a session, please contact Peter Vanberkel (peter[dot]vanberkel[at]dal[dot]ca).

May 2016

HCOR Members Meeting at CORS
The annual HCOR SIG meeting will be held on Monday May 30 at 6:00 PM MT in Banff. We hope to see everyone interested in healthcare applications of operational research at our meeting. This year, the HCOR SIG meeting is scheduled such that it does not conflict with the Queuing and Forestry SIGs, allowing members with interest in more than one SIG to attend. The agenda will include introduction of the 2016/17 officers, a vote on the proposed by law changes, information about our first annual student competition, and more.

HCOR Student Competition Results
We received a total of 7 submissions for our first annual student competition. The five finalists will be presenting at the CORS meeting in Banff. The winning submission will be announced at the CORS conference, based on the judge panel’s assessment of the submission video and conference presentations.

HCOR Officers for 2016/17
In March we held electronic elections for three vacant officer positions. The election results are in and our 2016/17 officer slate is as follows:

President: Sonia Vanderby
Vice-President: Tim Chan
Secretary/Treasurer/Webmaster: Justin Boutilier
Communications Officer: Daphne Sniekers
Track Organizers: Peter Vanberkel
Past-President: Armann Ingolfsson

Thank you to our outgoing officers Dionne Aleman (outgoing secretary/treasurer) and David Stanford (track organizer) for your service and leadership in HCOR SIG.

HCOR By laws Update
Last month, we sent members our proposed by law updates for consideration. We will discuss and hold a vote on the updated by laws during the meeting at CORS.

Healthcare Sessions at the CORS Meeting
There are 15 healthcare sessions scheduled at the CORS meeting in Banff. The schedule will be finalized soon, stay tuned.

Reminder to Renew your HCOR SIG Membership with your CORS Membership
When you are renewing your CORS membership this spring, don’t forget to select the HCOR SIG membership as well. In order to be captured in the membership list to receive information, etc., you need to renew each year.