‘Helping make a difference’
Retired doctor dedicates life to helping those in need
While almost everyone in Canada has health insurance, it does not guarantee primary health care, and it’s the less fortunate that often fall through the cracks.
But thanks to people like Dr. Margaret Casey, efforts are being made to ensure no one is forgotten.
Casey, with a special team, collaborated to build an institution giving those in the North End of Halifax a place to go for essential primary health care.
“About 50 years ago, three determined local women persuaded physicians from Dalhousie Medical School to establish the first-ever primary health clinic on Gottingen Street in Halifax,” explains Casey.
The women were fed up and thought it was unfair that those in the community had to seek medical care in the outpatients clinic of the Victoria General Hospital, she explains. They wanted a place that represented their community — a place that would treat all patients with equality, not hierarchy.
Casey joined the North End Community Health Centre (NECHC) in 1972. It soon was dubbed a “beacon of hope” by area residents.
“In medical school, we had no idea of the day-to-day lives of those living a mile or further away, so when I joined the North End Clinic, it opened my eyes. I saw the inequities of people and became passionate about helping them. My colleagues felt the same,” she recalls.
Casey worked at the NECHC for 25 years, later becoming the chairwoman of its board of directors.
Over the years, she witnessed the three-room clinic grow to include services of social workers, dieticians, an occupational therapist, nurse practitioners and a mental health outreach nurse. They all worked collaboratively in recognition that many issues require different expertise.
“This collaborative team approach made it all happen,” she says.
“Some people can take an incentive and actualize it. For example, dental health is essential, but it is prohibited (financially) for many people. Now the dental clinic is a huge part of the North End Clinic, including prenatal programs, mental health programs, the Mobile Outreach Street Health (MOSH).”
MOSH, a mobile service, delivers primary health care to the homeless, marginally housed and street-involved by driving to their locations (shelters, streets, drop-ins).
PANDEMIC LESSONS
Casey believes in the disaster of the pandemic lies an opportunity.
“For many, it is a time to reflect on what their lives have been, to reset priorities and direction. But I believe, most importantly, it is an opportunity to respect and recognize the dignity of all people,” she says.
Casey says the younger generation can be the primary movers and shakers of the injustices she has seen.
“I think about the human spirit and what capacity there is to change things. I have been thinking a lot about the prominent issues during this pandemic, like social justice, gender inequities, racism,” she says.
“These are things that we are going to have to work to change. There is an awareness now, and momentum is building. But we need action.”
And, described as having a “missionary zeal,” Casey is helping to break these barriers.
“A lot of people sit down when they retire, thinking there is not much else going on. I believe that is a bleak outlook,” she says.
Casey has been a member of various committees and boards of directors for organizations that include North End Community Health Centre, Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine, Doctors Nova Scotia and Brunswick Street Mission.
She’s also been a member of the Board of Governors, a committee member with the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging and a volunteer supporting Projecttwenty12.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, there are going to be things where young people can make significant changes. Many young people today, I think, have a great sense of the injustices. I hope they will take these on,” she says.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Casey was one of five women in a class of 60 people when she started medical school.
“There was a sense it was a man’s world, and the real achievers were men when I was in medical school. All the professors, deans and so on were men. Now, of course, this demographic has changed, and that is huge,” she says.
“But in general — and I am not talking about the medical profession — salaries, opportunities, diversity, respect, all of these things still need to be addressed.”
Arising from Casey’s experience at the NECHC, she says one of the issues that must be addressed is affordable housing.
“Without a place to live, life deteriorates. You lose a sense of dignity. There are initiatives underway to create affordable housing, but there needs to be much more. Some major discussions in the city are going on with how to approach these issues,” she says.
Casey has witnessed the impact of social determinants of health and social justice during her medical life. She remembers extraordinary patients who showed courage, determination, and commitment, all with dignity, and says she learned a lot from them.
“It certainly impacted my life,” she says. “I became aware of all the iniquities, such as racism, and all the social detriments of health. That had a major impact on me. I met people dealing with severe adversities that showed incredible resilience.”
Parents who lost children to cancer, children who lost their parents, parents on a quest to help raise a disabled child, people left to raise families alone.
“They had to carry on by themselves, and they just got up and put one foot in front of the other, over the years, in a way that was quite outstanding,” remembers Casey.
“When you look at the African Nova Scotian community, having relocated from Africville (a subdivision in Halifax) to public housing and how so many of them are doing so well. Some are involved in the project Hope Blooms growing vegetables. It’s an example of getting down to earth and making a change — this is resilience,” Casey says.
She feels blessed to meet so many people who have strived to make change happen.
“The people I met made an imprint in my life. They gave me a purpose, a drive to see change. It was a good fortune for me to work at the North End Clinic, a pioneer in providing collaborative care,” she says.
“Once I saw what the situation was in the North End, you get caught up in it. All the people I worked with feel lucky to have worked in such a situation, helping make a difference.”