THE ISLAND ‘SUCH A DIFFERENCE’
Asthmatic Education Centre 22nd recipient of annual J.H. O’Hanley Award
Asthmatic Education Centre 22nd recipient of annual J.H. O’Hanley Award
Dr. Jerry O’Hanley believes his late father, iconic Island pediatrician Dr. John Hubert (Sock) O’Hanley, would be thrilled with the success of the Dr. Patrick A. Gill Asthma Education Centre.
“He would be so proud of the folks that he mentored that…they are making such a major impact,’’ says O’Hanley.
The Asthma Education Centre has been helping to improve the quality of life for islanders living with asthma since 1997. Located at the QEH, the centre is also a resource to other health-care providers.
The centre was named in memory of the late Dr. Patrick Gill, a respirologist who was a leader in asthma education.
On Tuesday, the centre received the nod as the 22nd recipient of the J.H. O’Hanley Award, which is presented annually to an individual or organization that has made an exceptional contribution to the care of children in P.E.I. and demonstrated outstanding dedication and loyal service.
Judy Hansen, a nurse co-ordinator at the centre, calls the recognition “truly an honour’’.
Hansen says she had the privilege of working with Dr. John Hubert O’Hanley and she recalls how he strongly advocated for asthma education.
“I remember working in pediatrics in the early ’80s, and there would be like 54 children on the floor – it was a 40-bed ward – so you would go on the floor and there would be cribs in the hallways because they didn’t have enough room for them,’’ she says.
“And over half those children would be asthmatics and they would all be getting aerosols and oxygen.’’
Hansen says the three-person strong centre, which is staffed by her, respiratory therapist Janette Conklin and administrative assistant Zita Dougan, has proven that if families are properly educated about asthma, children do much better.