CARF International Board of Directors elects Aashif Esmail, MD to the board

Dr. Esmail brings decades of experience and perspective as a Canadian occupational health physician working with persons served.

The CARF International Board of Directors elected Aashif Esmail, MD to the board as a new director. His three-year term began on March 8, 2024. Dr. Esmail has been a family medicine physician for nearly 40 years and is presently a rehabilitation centre physician for the Workers’ Compensation Board Alberta, where he supervises occupational medicine residents as an associate clinical professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta. He is also an injury management consultant and a certified examiner for motor vehicle accident claims in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

 “The addition of Dr. Aashif Esmail to the CARF International Board of Directors highlights the importance of the Canadian marketplace to CARF’s international mission, and supports the solid policy governance model established by the CARF Board of Directors which has contributed to CARF’s growth and influence over the last 20 years,” said President/CEO Brian J. Boon, PhD.

 Although a majority of his work involves work injury management, Dr. Esmail also performs independent occupational medical examiner consulting for organizations such as AssessMed, Cira Medical, Viewpoint Medical Assessment Services, Inc., LifeMark Health Institute, CBI Health, Stream-Flo, University of Alberta, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Gilead Alberts, OEM Remanfacturing, Aceso Medical Clinic, and Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped.

 “The first CARF survey I participated in was in 1990, and I have continued to be involved with CARF surveys for various organizations,” said Dr. Esmail. “Over the years, I have been interviewed by CARF surveyors for approximately 15 surveys. Achieving CARF accreditation symbolizes that you are meeting a high-level standard of care for the persons served—which has always guided the way I do my work and teach others.”

Dr. Esmail is an active member of several associations. The most pertinent being the Occupational and Environmental Medical Association of Canada, Occupational Health Physicians of Edmonton, and the Canadian Medical Association.

“Dr. Esmail is a welcome addition to the CARF Board of Directors,” said Board Chair Donald Dew. “His knowledge and experience as a physician, with persons served, and with accreditation will be a real asset to the board as we continue to guide CARF International in its important work on a global basis.”

Serving in diverse health and human services fields, the 12 members of the CARF Board of Directors bring unique and valuable experience to their governance roles. The Board roster for 2024 is:

• Board Chair: Donald J. Dew, MSW., ACSW, Chicago, Illinois
• Susanne M. Bruyère, PhD, CRC, Ithaca, New York
• Thomas J. Buckley, EdD, La Puente, California
• Aashif Esmail, MD, BSc, CCFP, FCFP, Edmonton, Alberta
• Richard Forkosh, Kirkwood, Missouri
• G. Thomas Heath, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Kayda Johnson, Naples, Florida
• Marvin Mashner, CPA, Maple Glen, Pennsylvania
• Paul Prem Nathenson, DNP, APRN, NP-C, ND, Oregon City, Oregon
• D. Sharon Osborne, Seattle, Washington
• Robert H. Short, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Herb Zaretsky, PhD, New York, New York