Towards the Best Possible Health and Wellbeing for Everyone
Human beings are social creatures – we need and seek out connections throughout our lives. These connections are essential for us to not only survive, but to thrive.
When we’re navigating unknown territory or facing adversity, good connections are what can get us through. That’s why a connected health system – comprised of connected teams of health and social care providers who encourage close bonds and cooperation in their communities – is the bedrock of a healthy society.
Healthier Community Builders work in partnership and cooperation with others to create the conditions for everyone to achieve their best possible health and wellbeing. We put the spotlight on these local heroes to bring their work into wider discussions of what it means to build healthier communities. This week, the spotlight is on community gardening at North Hamilton CHC.
Being the first fully bilingual centre to go live on TELUS PS Suite is a significant achievement. Yet, even though they are a smaller centre, with fewer resources, Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury-Est (SECSC) was more than up to the task. SECSC also had the distinction of being the first centre to migrate from Purkinje to TELUS PS Suite. We spoke with the Executive Director Michel Mayer about his centre’s implementation and experiences at going live.
Over nearly a decade working as a health promoter at Bridges Community Health Centre in the south of Niagara Region, Lori Kleinsmith has driven herself and others to find ways to impact public policy to support health and wellbeing.
The South Riverdale Community Health Centre (SRCHC) agreed to be the beta testing site for the migration and implementation of Nightingale on Demand (NOD) to TELUS PS Suite Electronic Medical Record (EMR).
Healthier Community Builders are people who work in partnership and cooperation with others to create the conditions for everyone to achieve their best possible health and wellbeing. They could be staff or volunteers at an Alliance member centre, or even a board member from the community. Or perhaps they are a partner who works more widely, but whose work intersects with health and wellbeing, such as a coach, community organizer, or local leader.
Social prescribing is a new spin on an old idea - that people are healthier when they are connected with social resources and supports in their communities.
On May 9, Country Roads Community Health Centre celebrated 30 years of exceptional primary health care in rural Southeastern Ontario. The occasion was marked with live music (with Executive Director Marty Crapper throwing down some mean bass alongside local musician Melanie Weber), a shared meal, and some poignant reflections by community members and leaders. People shared stories of helping to steward the CHC from humble roots – half a day a week in a single room – into the hub of community-governed comprehensive primary health care that it is today.
After Pierrette Vezina received the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship in January, we spoke to her about growing the number of active volunteers at Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health from 14 to more than 400
Last week, Jodi Pearce, a health promoter at Windsor Essex Community Health Centre, received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from Health Promotion Canada. We spoke to Pearce about the importance of health promotion and what's made possible when the role is embedded in comprehensive primary health care