Rick Firth

Background

About Rick Firth

Rick is President and CEO of Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO), an association representing hospices, healthcare professionals, and volunteers focused on improving access to high-quality hospice palliative care. Rick entered the world of hospice care in 1991 as a board member and then joined the staff team in 1997. Rick assumed leadership of the Hospice Association of Ontario in 2009 and led the creation of Hospice Palliative Care Ontario through a merger with the Ontario Palliative Care Association. Rick is a member of Executive Oversight for the Ontario Palliative Care Network, the government’s principal advisor for palliative care planning in Ontario. He also serves on the executive of the Quality Hospice Palliative Care Coalition of Ontario, for which HPCO is the secretariat. Rick is a Past President of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association and served on its Board of Directors from 2010 to 2024 during which is chaired various board committees including membership, audit, and executive. Rick received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his contribution to palliative care in Canada. In 2017, he received the Ontario Medical Association’s Centennial Award in recognition of outstanding achievements in serving the health and welfare of the people of Ontario. Rick is a past president of the Rotary Club of Markham Sunrise and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. Rick’s focus is on enabling sustainable community-based palliative care through effective public policy engagement, driving system change for building sustainable, high-quality hospice palliative care services for the people of Ontario.