Donations roll in to honour departing executive director at AGM
The achievements and leadership of the departing executive director of the Aberdeen Health Foundation were feted at the annual general meeting on Feb. 22.
A surprise for Susan Malcolm came with the announcement that, on her behalf, over $5,000 in donations were given to the Aberdeen Health Foundation as tribute to her hard work. Malcolm’s name, as a result, will be added to the Donor Wall of Honour at the Aberdeen Hospital.
Malcolm expressed her gratitude, acknowledging the community support and many community programs she worked with over the years.
“It’s all about the community coming together to better improve health care for everyone. I am so thankful for our journey. I have had my work-family grow by leaps and bounds,” said Malcolm.
Members of the board and guests at the meeting had a great deal of praise for Malcolm, who has worked with the foundation for 20 years.
Past-chair Hilary Amit praised the leadership and hard work of Malcolm, who chaired the foundation through the transition from the Pictou County Health Authority to the Nova Scotia Health Authority, and “those were challenging times, and I think she navigated those times with aplomb and grace.”
The talk of community support was a fitting one, given that earlier in the meeting it dovetailed into the subject of Dr. Ryan Sommers’ speech to the assembled board members and dignitaries.
Sommers, the medical officer of health, spoke about improving and protecting population health, and how to invest in people’s health by investing in their communities.
Sommers referenced the fact that, since 2002, the amount of money Canada invests in health care has doubled from around $100 billion to over $200 billion, with an amount that is quickly closing in on half of provincial spending going into health care systems.
Sommers referenced a report by chief medical officer Dr. Robert Strang that indicated increasing rates of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, and an increasing rate of cancer in Nova Scotia as causes for concern.
To deal with the health care problems Nova Scotia faces, Sommers emphasized the need for a change in perspective on how to treat patients, saying, “When a person is in front of us ... we look at their story. We have to change the story, and to do that, you need to change the frame,” said Sommers, comparing that to a “portrait” frame.
“We have to switch to a landscape frame, and look at everything in that person’s world. What does their housing situation look like? Do they have home supports? We start looking at health differently, we start seeing a different approach,” said Sommers.
Sommers spoke about how important collaborative approaches are, setting the foundations for proper population health with support for early childhood development; proper mental health supports; good housing; the encouragement of active lifestyles and collaboration on all levels of government, to create vibrant, healthy communities.
Nominations were heard, and this year the board of directors will include Hilary Amit, Susan MacConnell, Peter Bennett, Heather MacDonald, Neil Bysterveldt, Lisa MacDonald, Robyn Eaton, John Morrow, Cheryl Fraser, Harry Munro, Jim Gogan, Sean Murray, Murray Hill, Valerie Ryan, Melissa Jackson, Jim Shaw, Heidi Jamieson-Mills, Aaron Smith, Aulayne Jeans and Frank Sobey.
The 2018 officers for the board include Hilary Amit (past chair), Jim Shaw (chair), Robyn Eaton (vice chair), Heidi Jamieson-Mills (Treasurer) and Aaron Smith (secretary).