A Healthier You by Prince George Citizen

A Healthier You January 2013

Presented by Northern Health and Glacier Media

The building of

healthier

community

ways you can build a healthy community

A community

working together

Eat

local CITIZEN THE PRINCE GEORGE

foods THE

PRINCE GEORGE

CITIZEN THE CITIZEN Published By

PRINCE GEORGE

January 2013

How can an individual make a difference? Visit the Northern Health Matters blog for more healthy living tips at blog.northernhealth.ca — A HEALTHIER YOU — 1

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January 2013

Inside...

A Healthier You

CEO welcome

Healthy aging: words of wisdom

Grow the northern economy: Eat local foods

Vehicular disease: the new VD

Valemount: A community working together

Health care foundations

Healthy Aboriginal communities: Remember where we came from

Outdoor fitness park opens in Dawson Creek

Health tip : How can an individual make a difference?

Active communities

Feature: The building of a healthier community

A healthy community is built on partnerships

Five ways you can build a healthy community

Staff profile: Flo Sheppard, Population Health THEDietitian Registered PRINCE GEORGE

ON THE COVER: Abby Johnson, 4, trys out the slide on the accessible playground at Duchess Park.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

THE PRINCE GEORGE

CITIZEN

CITIZEN A Healthier You is published by THE CITIZEN and PRINCE GEORGE

A product of

January 2013

Visit the Northern Health Matters blog for more healthy living tips at blog.northernhealth.ca — A HEALTHIER YOU — 3

Message from our CEO Cathy Ulrich, Northern Health president and chief executive officer

Cathy has held her position of president and CEO since 2007. From 2002 to 2007, she was the organization’s vice president, clinical services and chief nursing officer. Before the formation of Northern Health, Ulrich worked in a variety of nursing and management positions in northern B.C., Manitoba, and Alberta. Most of her career has been in rural and northern communities, giving her a solid understanding of their unique health needs.

Welcome to

A Healthier You Healthy communities are not just built by a health authority, but are created through the activities of individuals, municipalities, community groups and organizations, the Province, and other partners. Northern Health is proud of the partnerships it has developed across northern B.C., which have led to successful projects that improve the health of the northern communities and residents. The fifth edition of A Healthier You magazine focuses on actions taken by communities across the north to build healthier communities, and provides great tips on how individuals can contribute to this effort. This edition includes stories about walking trails in Valemount, the history of healthy communities work in Mackenzie, outdoor fitness equipment in Dawson Creek, and building healthy Aboriginal communities in northern B.C. We also provide practical examples and tips for individuals around the advantages of active transport, eating healthy, and aging well. In 2012, Northern Health developed a position paper about the importance of building healthier communities that steers the work currently underway. Healthier communities are about building healthy lifestyles into the fabric of the community, such as providing equal access to resources and services for citizens in the entire range

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of the socio-economic spectrum. Some of these solutions can include creating or supporting a local farmers’ market, making a community garden, building a trail system that is suitable for all fitness levels and is wheelchair accessible, creating incentives for people that take active transport, and engaging with the community about their needs to live healthier lives that fit their cultural and geographical needs. I hope you enjoy and get some good ideas about how you can contribute to building a healthier community! n

January 2013

Eat local By Flo Sheppard, Northern Health population health dietitian

Grow the northern economy:

Eat local foods

Your decisions around what foods to buy are probably affected by food likes/dislikes, cooking skills, time, family and cultural traditions, cost and health. With respect to health, you likely consider how certain foods will help you feel good and prevent disease. But did you know that your food choices also affect the health of your community? When you choose foods that have been grown and produced locally, your choice supports local farms, businesses and the local economy. Eating local foods in northern B.C. may seem like a challenge because we have such a short growing season, our climate makes growing crops like bananas and coffee difficult, if not impossible, and we have few large scale farmers. However, on the benefit side, we have better opportunities for fishing, hunting and berry picking and bigger backyards! While there are various thoughts on what eating local means, in the north, it might mean trying to eat food that has been grown (or caught or gathered) and produced as close to home as possible. This might be northern root vegetables, salmon or deer, farm fresh eggs, Okanagan peaches or Vancouver Island hazelnuts and walnuts. Here are a few ideas to get you started eating more locally: • Challenge yourself to spend $10 (or more) each week on local food. • Buy in season and buy from B.C. when you can. Check out what’s in season in B.C. at http://www.bcfarmersmarket.org/ inseason.htm • Shop at grocery stores, corner stores and farmers’ markets that offer local food. Ask for more local choice if it is not available. • Eat in restaurants that serve food that is sourced and/or prepared locally. If you can’t find any, ask for the opportunity to be available. • Ask for and support local food being served in public buildings, schools, and at community events. • Support local farmers through your farmers’ market, a harvest box program, a community shared agriculture (CSA) program, local food cooperative or farm gate sales. • Attend or organize a seed exchange in your community to share/trade local seeds. Check out www.seeds.ca to see if your community hosts a Seedy Saturday event in the spring. • Grow some of your own food or join a community garden. • Gather wild edibles like berries and mushrooms—practice safety and know what you are eating. • Help a neighbour out by picking their fruit tree for them and sharing the harvest—make sure to get permission first! • Think beyond fruits and vegetables—fishing, hunting or backyard chickens are all sources of local food. • Can, dry or freeze fresh, in-season produce, fish or meat for winter meals. Information and videos at www.preserveproduce.ca will help you store local food for the winter. So, today when you look at the food you are going to eat, think about who grew it, who processed it and who profited from it. n January 2013

Visit the Northern Health Matters blog for more healthy living tips at blog.northernhealth.ca — A HEALTHIER YOU — 5

Valemount

By Hollie Blanchette, Village of Valemount municipal councilor

A community

working together for health

We started with a walking trail; next we walk around the world.

I am part of Valemount’s Healthier Communities Committee, a four-person team, along with Dr. Stefan DuToit; Debbie Strang, Northern Health health service administrator for the Robson Valley; and Adele Ford, Northern Health public health nurse, that attacked this healthier communities program head on. Through grant money from the Ministry of Community, Sport & Cultural Development and Columbia Basin Trust, the Village of Valemount has created a 3km walking trail in and around our downtown core called the Bigfoot Trail. It was built by a local contractor who hired local craftsmen, and we are very proud of it! What does our trail represent? It’s a safe place to walk, run, ride a bike, and push a stroller or wheelchair. It gives everyone mobility, a chance to get out of the house or office and into some clean mountain air. Go for a walk, clear your head, meet up with friends, stop for a hot chocolate, window shop and get some exercise, for both the mind and body. As a small community with a population under 2,000, it is wonderful to provide this trail for our citizens and visitors. Placed in a walking loop past shops, parks and wonderful views of the mountains, it can be enjoyed all year round and it’s free. All you need is a comfortable pair of footwear. Our committee is not stopping there though. Our next project is to get the whole community together to walk around the world. We want to encourage as many citizens to get on board and sign up for this fantastic adventure. Everyone will be given pedometers to track their mileage, and we’ll record statistics on everyone in order to track their medical improvement. The entire trip will be tracked on a large scale map in the center of town for all residents to be involved. Can this venture improve people’s blood pressure? Can we drop some unhealthy weight? Can we clear our minds of all the day-to-day clutter? Yes we can! Under medical supervision, we will strive to be the healthiest community we can be. Remember, mind health is just as important as physical health. They go hand-in-hand and together the Village of Valemount will be a healthier community. n

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January 2013

Health care foundations

Health care foundations:

Strong finish to 2012

Throughout northern B.C., health care foundations work with the communities and donors on a variety of fundraising programs. The money they raise helps improve health care for local residents. It’s often used to buy specialized equipment for hospitals and clinics, like the warmers for premature babies that the Dawson Creek and District Hospital Foundation bought in 2012 (see the April 2012 issue of A Healthier You).

Dr. REM Lee Hospital Foundation

Like all foundations, the Dr. REM Lee Hospital Foundation receives donations from individuals and groups. It is sometimes the wish of the individual or group to have its donation directed to specific area or need in our region. Since joining the Dr. REM Lee Hospital Foundation in 2009, the Chair of the Foundation, Todd Taylor, has had the pleasure of seeing one such group in action. The Road Runners Motorcycle club and Gail Munson of the Northern Motor Inn have been hosting the annual toy run in Terrace, and their efforts have resulted in over $40,000 being donated to pediatrics in the past three years along with trucks full of toys for kids. It is the efforts of such groups and individuals that help foundations such as this one do what they do. It’s the efforts of these groups and individuals that will continue to help create healthy communities.

Fort St. John Hospital Foundation’s Angel Tree

Kitimat General Hospital and Health Centre. Recent donations have been towards a C arm for diagnostic imaging, a surgical pressure monitoring system for orthopaedics, and a surgical head lamp. Meetings between the executor (Joseph Feldhoff), Kitimat’s NH health service administrator Jonathan Cooper, and Kitimat General Hospital and Health Centre physicians occur at least once per year to review and present requests for donation towards hospital equipment. n

Fort Nelson Hospital Foundation

It’s been a different type of year for community investment in Fort Nelson. The uncertain future of costs in the oil and gas industry has affected some of the corporate sponsorship the foundation usually sees. However, they have been surprised and delighted to find community spirit and investment more alive than ever among the residents this year. The kick off to the 3rd Annual Be Our Angel Campaign, which includes the light up of a huge outdoor holiday display and an indoor tree adorned with ornaments honouring the loved ones of community members who choose to participate, saw 27 donations by the day of light up!

Fort St. John Hospital Foundation

The Fort St. John Hospital Foundation’s 16th annual Be an Angel campaign came to a close on December 1 with the first Angel Tree Light Up at our new Hospital and Peace Villa facility. The month-long campaign was once again greatly supported by our generous donors helping us reach our $200,000 goal. The Foundation would like to thank everyone who supported them, including volunteers, corporate sponsors, financial institutions, local media and of course donors. Every day your generosity makes a difference in the quality of healthcare that patients receive.

Max Lange Fund

Over the past years, the Max Lange Fund has been able to provide funding, either in full or in collaboration with funding from Northern Health, towards equipment for the January 2013

Visit the Northern Health Matters blog for more healthy living tips at blog.northernhealth.ca — A HEALTHIER YOU — 7

Outdoor fitness park

By Matthew Bains

Outdoor exercise

park opens

in Dawson Creek

Photo coutesy of Matthew Bains

eniors in Dawson Creek may not be getting the exercise they need to stay healthy just at the point in their lives when physical activity becomes most critical. A group of local seniors were introduced to the exercise equipment provided at the outdoor fitness park, located across 110 avenue from the hospital, and designed specifically with seniors in mind. Olga Antonenko and Nellie Watson said Tuesday was their first visit to the fitness park. “I drive past it quite often, I just never thought to stop. I would probably stop here now,” said Antonenko. Both women said they would probably frequent the fitness park more often after having been acquainted with the equipment, though Watson said weather might be a limiting factor. Antonenko added she has never felt limited in her options for physical activity. “Dawson Creek is well known for all of that, we have everything available, from curling to the Seniors’ Hall, it’s a very good city for anybody, not just for seniors,” she said. “As a matter of fact, it’s better than most places because it is really friendly.” Melina Hamilton said she has used the fitness park a few times with her husband, and hopes that it will get more use in the future. Cont’d on page 9

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January 2013

Outdoor fitness park

Cont’d from page 8 “I don’t think it’s used enough here. It could be used more,” she said. Hamilton agreed there are lots of opportunities for exercise in Dawson Creek, including activities like floor curling at the Senior Citizens’ Hall, as well as the walking track and swimming pool at the South Peace Multiplex. These types of affordable options to get active do assist seniors in the community.

Dr. Ettienne Roux, general practitioner with the Eljen Medical Clinic in Dawson Creek, said too many people in the city, including our elderly residents, are not getting the amount and type of exercise they need. “On average, people are quite sedentary in Dawson Creek compared to places like Vancouver or Calgary,” he said. “Many times, people think that work on the farm or going to the mall is enough exercise, but we want people to get dressed for exercise and spend time doing specific cardiovascular exercise,” he added. Roux said physical activity is critical in preventing a host of conditions and diseases, including heart attack and stroke. He added daily cardiovascular exercise is especially important for people with high cardiovascular risk from smoking, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, or someone who

January 2013

has had a recent heart attack or stroke, heart bypass or stent. “Exercise can be anything that gets the heart rate up. People always associate exercise with jogging, but even washing windows or a car, or using a rowing machine – it’s not just jogging or walking,” said Roux. “It is important for seniors to find exercises they enjoy and will continue to do regularly.” He said while outdoor exercise might be limited here due to weather extremes throughout the year, there are indoor facilities such as workout gyms, the swimming pool, and walking track that people can use year-round. However, he said seniors should check with their doctor to find out what kind of exercise regime might be most appropriate to their health and ability. “You can’t put an abundance of stress on the heart muscles, so you have to be cleared first to do certain types of exercise, but even people who have just had a heart attack or stent put in, we still recommend a daily exercise regime,” he said. “Everybody can do exercise, but that’s just to work out the specific goals and see if there would be any complications to specific exercises.” “Most elderly people have some health issues, and many of them are limited in what they can do, but we can always work around that,” he added. n

Visit the Northern Health Matters blog for more healthy living tips at blog.northernhealth.ca — A HEALTHIER YOU — 9

Health tip

Dr. Ronald Chapman, Northern Health chief medical health officer

Ronald Chapman is a physician with a fellowship in community medicine, and extensive experience in the leadership and management of health services with a focus on community health. Dr. Chapman joined the Northern Health team in 2007 as regional director of the Northern Cancer Control Strategy. Dr. Chapman assumed the role of the Chief Medical Health Officer of Northern Health in June 2011 in addition to his regional director role.

How can an individual make a difference?

Health tip W Check out Dr. Mike Evans’ YouTube video “23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health?”

hen we think of making a difference to our health, we can sometimes think that we need or want drastic results immediately. Improving your health over the long run is about small, incremental steps that you can do every day rather than any big changes that you make for one week, one month, or three months. Northern Health has found that whether a person is looking to improve their health in a number of areas such as physical inactivity, tobacco use, or poor eating habits, it is important to evaluate your behavior and find small ways you can work to improve your health – today and every day. There is no magic pill in health; that’s why we recommend that you start small and work towards your goal over time. For example, the experts agree that the average adult should move their body for 150 minutes a week. If you haven’t moved your body a whole lot lately, start with what feels comfortable for you. For some people, this will be moving around the house - even washing your windows counts! For other people, this may be walking a couple of blocks (but remember that if you are walking outdoors in the winter to wear ice grips so you can walk and feel secure). For others, this may not be walking at all. For example, swimming is a great low-impact way to move your body. The specific activity that you are doing is less important than doing something regularly. The same principles of starting small and doing it regularly also apply if we want to eat healthier. For example, try and focus on foods and portions in the Canadian Food Guide. One way to do this is to have meals with food from three of the four food groups, and enjoying snacks that include food from two food groups. Small ways to do this are to focus on your next meal or snack. Or, maybe plan one dinner or snack with friends to make this a bit of a fun challenge! For new ideas, you can open your willingness to try new foods and try a different grain with lunch, or something new or colourful from the fruits and vegetables section of the grocery store. Cont’d on page 11

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January 2013

Health tip

Cont’d from page 10 When we think about this slower and steadier approach to improving our health, we can find comfort. It is less about an unrealistic regiment, but more about an approach where you enjoy the healthiest choices you can today. If you like what you are doing, the chances are greater that you will stick with it. n

January 2013

Visit the Northern Health Matters blog for more healthy living tips at blog.northernhealth.ca — A HEALTHIER YOU — 11

Active communities

By Doug Quibell, Northern Health northwest public health protection manager

Doug Quibell is the northwest manager of public health protection, and the lead on Northern Health’s partnering for healthy communities approach. He first joined Northern Health in 1995. After stints in the Middle East and in Ontario, he and his family recently returned to the mountains and ocean they call home in Terrace. He stays active trying to get his daughter excited about skiing Shames Mountain and sailing off of Prince Rupert.

Healthy communities are active communities

s more people begin to consider moving out of the expensive and overcrowded large urban centres, northern and smaller communities are going to be seen as potential homes for individuals and families. People will be looking for vibrant and healthy communities that have lots to offer for all age groups and all economic circumstances. How can we make sure our communities are on people’s lists of potential places to settle? We want our communities to be healthy and active places to live for those of us already living here. What we know and love about our home communities we can promote to others. Our Keys to close proximity to wilderness and all an active the northern recreational activities community: that proximity offers to us is a strong asset. • Accessibility But what else do we have that • Organized recreation promotes physical activity? Or, put another way: What makes an ac• Active tive community? There are a range transportation of issues to consider and questions we can ask. And there are lots of wonderful examples of solutions other communities have come up with that might be models for us to consider. Accessibility: A community needs to be accessible, meaning it needs to be financially affordable and physically welcoming. Does our community sponsor and support recreational opportunities that encourage participation regardless of income or physical challenges? If not, how can we turn that around? Exploring the assets in our community will help identify what’s missing. For example, are our walking trails accessible for wheelchairs? One northern B.C. community recycled rubber belting from a local mine to “pave” so wheelchairs could easily reach the lakeside viewing spot. Do we have benches strategically placed so seniors might rest? Another community instituted memorial benches so loving and grieving members could remember a loved one by sponsoring a bench at their loved one’s favourite spot on the walking trail. As a memorial, the benches certainly

outlive floral tributes. And remember, any improvements we make for minority groups inevitably improve access for everyone. For example, any parent with small children and a stroller will testify that both of these improvements make their outings easier also. Organized recreation: Team and individual sports, and other organized recreational activities, teach wonderful life lessons for youth, and a passion for a particular sport might be just the motivation to keep us active into our senior years. But, not everyone is born to dance or play hockey, nor do interests and capacity stay unchanged over the lifetime. Does our community encourage us to be active? In Prince George, a skate board park and a seniors’ fitness park, both outdoors, demonstrate how other forms of exercise can be supported. Active transportation: One way of building in more activity and saving money is for drivers to leave their cars behind and walk, bike or bus it (or some combination of all three). Doing this would not only mean savings in our wallets but contribute to improved air quality and keep us fit. The question is this though: How realistic is stepping out of the car in our community? Are there ways we can reduce our dependence on our cars? Paris has become the city of bicycles with brightly painted bicycles and bike racks strategically placed around the city. This one initiative is reducing traffic in the city centre, reducing smog levels and is a good way to keep active. Research shows that in addition to these benefits, the costs of implementing a free park- bikeride program are more than offset in the savings generated in other areas, such as reduced maintenance and wear on roads and parking lots. Could our community have similar park and ride spots, racks at the entry points into the centres of our community and bike racks strategically placed for use within the centre core? In our northern and winter bound communities, should we have a snowshoe rack? If considered fully and responded to creatively, these three key areas will do a lot to improve the level of support to physical activity within a community. What other areas or ideas do you have to help make our communities more active? n

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January 2013

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Feature

By Peter James and Ted Clarke

The building of

healthier

community

orthern Health has set up 15 formal committees with cities in the region with the aim of promoting healthier communities. Co-chaired by a senior elected official and a local Northern Health representative, the groups identify risk factors and propose action plans for how best to achieve a healthier environment. Grants of up to $20,000 are available to implement the projects. Doug Quibell, Northern Health northwest public health protection manager, said the goal is to create places “with an environment and a culture that nurtures and supports its people to make healthier choices. . . not only where they live, but where they live, learn, work and play.” Quibell said that includes having equitable access to physical activity and local fresh foods, a tobacco-free setting and a sense of connectedness to reduce any feelings of isolation. “It takes a cultural shift - the entire community has to make the healthier choice, the easier choice,” he said. The idea is to let communities figure out what will work best for them and then give them the tools to achieve their goals. For instance, in Quesnel, the community asked Northern Health to summarize all the research which has been done over the years on the health of the community. In Houston, the local committee decided to bring as

many community members as possible into the process. “It seems to me what Northern Health is doing is actually an outgrowth of something they’ve been doing for an awfully long time, which is really building relationships at the local level,” said Theresa Healy, Northern Health regional manager of healthy community development. “Northern Health staff embedded in their communities have often undertaken really neat work that has a population approach.” Northern Health has produced health synopses for communities across the region, identifying disease rates and other health indicators and comparing them with the rest of the province. “The data has gotten quite refined and it can tell us from community to community what are the major issues being faced by the populous,” Quibell said, noting the variables include demographics and the environment. “It’s a fascinating thing to look at.”

Prince Rupert’s activities in building a healthier community

In Prince Rupert, community facility enhancements such as an outdoor gym of stationary equipment, skateboard parks in Prince Rupert and Port

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Edward, and a rubberized running track and rubberized field turf soccer field at Charles Hays secondary school in Prince Rupert have encouraged residents to make fitness a year-round priority. The annual week-long all-native basketball tournament in February has become the city’s largest sporting event and is a huge economic driver, continuing to inspire youth and adult-aged players to keep playing the game. It also gives health care professionals a chance to connect with the community. “We had a men’s health push at the all-native tournament and we did portable testing for cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar and we tested more people in one day than we they had done so far that year,” said Sheila Gordon-Payne, NH northwest health service administrator. “People who were tested went back for follow-up work with their physicians. It was a huge success for Northern Health.” Communities like Prince Rupert understand that by creating the conditions for a healthier population, there will be less stress on the health care system. “Communities get that, it’s almost like an ‘a-ha,’” Healy said. “It isn’t that we need more acute care beds, we need healthier people. It flips the whole notion of health care on its head.” Cont’d on page 15 January 2013

Feature

Cont’d from page 14 By empowering communities to make the types of changes they want, Healy said it fits in with northern sensibilities. “We don’t have a lot of time to spend on research; we don’t have a lot of time to spend on piloting; we don’t have a lot of money; we don’t have a lot of human resources,” Healy said. “Instead of seeing ourselves as in deficit and needing help from outside, we simply get on and do it.”

Finding the community that meets your needs

Prince Rupert mayor Jack Mussallem knows his city can brag about at least one healthy attribute the rest of the world can’t offer. The risk of developing skin cancer or aggravating sunlight allergies is remote in the rainiest and cloudiest city in Canada. “We get about 100 inches of rain a year and there are a lot less skin products used here -- I don’t think the creases run as deep in this kind of climate,” laughed Mussallem, now in his fourth term as mayor. One South African family with solar allergies came to Prince Rupert spe-

cifically so they could lead a normal lifestyle and participate in outdoor activities during the day. While the rainy climate was perfect for them when they arrived on the north coast in 1999, the economic climate was driving people away. The city was already reeling from the near-collapse of the salmon fishery, and January 2013

the closure of the Skeena Cellulose mill followed in 2001, which took away 700 jobs. The resulting sawmill and support service industry closures triggered a mass exodus of people out of Prince Rupert and as its resourcebased industries faltered, the city’s population plunged from 18,000 in the late 1990s to less than 11,000 in 2008. At that time, a doctor shortage affected Prince Rupert and in the surrounding north coast villages of Port Edward, Port Simpson, Metlakatla, Kitkatla and Hartley Bay. By 2009, an estimated 4,500 people in Prince Rupert were unattached to a family doctor, and Mussallem realized a coordinated intervention was needed. “When we identified that problem, we had Northern Health come look at it and they were very receptive to the concerns,” said Mussallem. “Through our community to community forums, the end result was we established in the community a primary health care clinic and a drug and alcohol day treatment program. “Both of those were facilitated by Northern Health and they were successful in getting additional doctors to come into the community. By the early part of 2010, things started to roll and it eased the pressure on people requiring medical and drug and alcohol services.” Construction of Prince Rupert’s container port in 2005 allowed a new industry to emerge and it has become a major employer, offering seasonally

employed fishermen a chance to transition to year-round port-related jobs. People started coming back to the area, including an influx of medical professionals, and the population has grown

to more than 13,000. Despite a more rosy economic outlook, northern B.C. residents continue to have more health issues than the other half of the province, showing higher rates of smoking, poor diets, physical inactivity, and obesity. Collaborative meetings to identify and target health issues began happening and the community integration committee was formed three years ago, involving Northern Health, the City of Prince Rupert, aboriginal communities, the Salvation Army, social services agencies, cancer survivors and seniors. The group meets quarterly and is having success promoting lifestyle changes such as healthier eating habits which are improving community health in the region. “We identified some key issues we’d like to address and once you start sitting down with someone and get to know them then other things naturally begin,” said Gordon-Payne. “We now have mental health clinicians, public health people actually visiting the Salvation Army, and we wouldn’t have had that before. We know that people who access the Salvation Army often don’t have a family doctor they go to routinely and when somebody sitting at the table brings that to your attention we can all work together on that.” n

Visit the Northern Health Matters blog for more healthy living tips at blog.northernhealth.ca — A HEALTHIER YOU — 15

By Barb Crook, Northern Health health service administrator for Mackenzie

Partnerships

A healthy community is built on partnerships

orthern Health has always realized that in order to best focus on a health promotion and disease prevention approach in our communities, we cannot do this by ourselves. This is why, in Mackenzie, we have worked towards building a healthier community by forming partnerships, collaborative groups and alliances within our community for the past two decades. Through these interactive groups we have developed resources Barb Crook is the Northern Health health services administrathat we can share, which have been the cornerstones of the protor at Mackenzie and District Hospital and Health Centre. She grams that have evolved and flourished in the community. Hisgrew up in the prairies and pursued her nursing diploma/ tory has shown we have worked on issues, and solved problems RN training in Saskatoon and completed her BScN in 2008 by seeking input from individuals, industry, local governments and provincial resources. through distance learning from the University of Victoria. She In 1990, the grade 7 transition program was developed and has lived in Mackenzie for 34 years having married and raised a built into the existing career and personal planning program curfamily there. She worked as a general duty nurse in rural pracriculum. We saw that there were struggles as our young children tice for 25 years before making the move to administration in began to mix with the children in the high school. They needed 2004 – she loved her clients and working at “the bedside,” but tools to improve their decision making. appreciates that in administration she is able to influence sysCont’d on page 17 tem changes to improve the health of community members.

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January 2013

Partnerships Cont’d from page 16 We worked in collaboration with the school counselors, the District and Mackenzie and Mackenzie Counseling Services. We supported existing initiatives like the “Kick the Nik” program to reduce tobacco use, which linked well to the philosophy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s drug abuse resistance program (D.A.R.E.). Another area that has been improved with consultation occurred when our local service provider group identified a need to address teen pregnancy and the impact this has on education and parenting skills. We worked in collaboration with School District 57, the municipality, the Province, and Mackenzie Counseling Serves to establish Sabre Land Daycare in 1994. This onsite daycare provided support and guidance to young parents enabling them to complete their high school education while helping them to build strong parenting skills. We learned that steroid use was creating a health hazard through discarding of needles, and the Youth and Adult Program began to offer a needle exchange in 1991. This program evolved as condoms became offered through high school programs and public health initiatives focused on education of the youth from grades 5 through to 12. This has expanded from a youth program, to a women’s wellness program, into the options for sexual health program that exists today. As well, the community advisory committee evolved out of our service provider luncheons providing a venue to keep service providers apprised of activities taking place and offering the opportunity to share resources and programs. Working in conjunction with the Leisure Centre (the district) and Mackenzie merchants, we provided resources for: • Youth International Night • All about You: Focus on Women • Move For Health Day • Men’s Health and the Men’s Health Challenge The community garden, a vision of the healthy eating, active living program, grew well in Mackenzie because we have a collaborative relationship with the district. This garden has grown from a lonely sunflower and a few potatoes to over 80 beds and a gazebo. This would never have happened if a dream was not supported by a town. The province enabled the further growth when it provided funding to keep our community viable during the 2008 forestry crisis. This money was put into labour and through this we built the garden that we have today. Our projects cannot be a shot in the dark, but have to be sustainable. As health care providers, we see that we cannot just focus on a part but have to see the whole, and fortunately, it’s the culture in Mackenzie to work in partnerships. When it came time to create our Healthy Communities Committee, it was an easy task; we had to simply formalize how we already worked. Mackenzie Gets Healthy is the name of our committee and we are focusing our energies on getting people active, particularly targeting the obesity rates. n January 2013

Visit the Northern Health Matters blog for more healthy living tips at blog.northernhealth.ca — A HEALTHIER YOU — 17

Healthy community

By Theresa Healy, Regional manager healthy community development

Theresa is the regional manager for healthy community development with Northern Health’s population health team and is passionate about the capacity of individuals, families and communities across northern B.C. to be partners in health and wellness. As part of her own health and wellness plan, she has taken up running and, more recently, weight lifting. She is also a “new-bee” bee-keeper and a devoted new grandmother. Theresa is an avid historian, writer and researcher who also holds an adjunct appointment at UNBC that allows her to pursue her other passionate love - teaching.

ways you can build a healthy

community

The healthiest communities are those that develop and support a healthy balance of modern life. Smart communities work with principles that improve the community, environment, economy, and public health; these are the communities that are able to grow because potential employers, businesses and individuals can see a community that people would want to live in, one that offers the amenities for residents to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. These are communities that seniors want to, and are able to, live in as they age. These are communities that support young families and vibrant cultural and social scenes. These are communities that provide healthy and challenging recreation activities and entertainment alternatives for youth and children. How do we get involved in helping build these smarter and healthier communities? Here are some tips on how to get a healthy community project off the ground. Get involved. Think about the future of the community and how you would like it to look. Become an advocate for a vision of community that is smarter, brighter and more hospitable. Then go to open houses and public forums and have well informed opinion to offer that will further the interests of the community as a whole. Start small. Finding out about and supporting initiatives that help improve your neighbourhood is a good way to begin. Adopting a block or hosting a block party is a good way to get to know neighbours. It will allow you and your neighbours to have conversations about how to improve your community. For example, the community might have trails that seniors don’t use due to a lack of benches. Could building benches for rests along the trail help? Are there carpenters who could teach youth how to build them? Host a learning exchange. Many skills and abilities held by our senior community members are dying out while the need for them is actually growing. Organizing a community event where seniors can demonstrate important skills like quilting, canning, and gardening can help build a healthier community by giving our seniors a place where they are valued and included. Cont’d on page 19

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Healthy community

Cont’d from page 18

Top five ways to build a healthier community • Get involved • Start small • Host a learning exchange • Foster relationships • If it doesn’t exist, invent it Younger people and young families will also benefit from free mentorship. Foster relationships. Events like the learning exchange or block parties are the start of healthier relationships. Look for ways to keep the relationships growing and flourishing. Potluck suppers, encouraging young people to spend time with older citizens, anything that brings people together in comfortable and safe ways builds the health of our communities. If it doesn’t exist, invent it. Helping to build a healthier community can be a very rewarding experience, but it also requires someone to take the initiative. If your gut tells you this is a good thing for our community then make it up as you go along. Many things we enjoy today were once considered unreasonable and/or impossible. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel; Google is a great friend to

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generating ideas. Look to see what other communities have done. There are all kinds of ways to build healthier communities and many of them involve taking the time to get to know others in our community. As our communities grow healthier they are going to attract newcomers who are going to want what we have built. As more people grow tired of the expense and lifestyle of commuting associated with larger urban centers, communities that are welcoming, inclusive and active will attract young families and early retirees; they will attract new businesses looking for a community that supports a healthy workforce; they will attract skills, professions and diversity. They will want to enjoy what we have paid attention to: a healthy work-life balance and a community that values and supports all of its citizens in living the best life possible. If we build it, they will come. n

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Staff profile

Flo Sheppard

What is your position with Northern Health?

Population Health registered dietitian, Ages 0 – 6 Lead and northwest population health team lead. I’ve worked with Northern Health for 16 years in both acute care and public health.

Describe your family life.

I’ve been married for over 17 years to my high school sweetheart, have a 12-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old cat. We are a busy family between work, school, family and volunteer commitments.

Where did you grow up?

Mortier, a small community of about 300 people on the south east coast of Newfoundland.

Where do you currently live? Terrace, B.C.

What brought you to your community?

I moved to Terrace in 1996 to work at Mills Memorial Hospital as the clinical dietitian.

What’s the most rewarding part about living where you do?

I like the sense of community that exists in Terrace—it is small enough that you meet people in a variety of contexts, which adds depth to your relationships, but large and vital enough, that there is the opportunity for new connections, ideas and opportunities.

What made you want to enter your field?

I knew I wanted a profession that would help people but didn’t think I wanted to be a teacher or a nurse, which were the standard female occupations when I was a child. When I was 12 years old, I read a novel that featured the positive impact a dietitian had on a young girl’s health. This appealed to me. During my undergraduate degree and internship, I realized that why people eat what they do is more complex than knowing the right food to eat and this led me to complete a master’s degree in community nutrition. Community nutrition considers the impact of systems, policies, community and cultural beliefs and practices, resources and capacity on eating practices and uses this information to work with communities to make positive change. Cont’d on page 21

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Staff profile Cont’d from page 20

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Knowing that the work matters and is having an impact. Just this past year I was involved in the development of Northern Health’s position statements on healthy eating and health, weight and obesity and I’ve seen how these have impacted practice within the health authority and how they are providing direction for future work, with the ultimate goal of supporting health for all northern people.

How do you contribute to a healthy community in your local area?

In smaller communities, the line between your personal and professional roles and contributions blur – it’s not unusual to be at the grocery store, the park, the pool or church and have someone approach you with a professional query. I consider myself a connector—whether it’s connecting individuals/groups to one another around a common issue or connecting them to information and resources—and also being able to provide a healthy eating/food security perspective on community issues. Using a broad definition of health and healthy communities, I volunteer (and try to create opportunities for my daughter to do so as well, as both my husband and I have a strong commitment to volunteering). I currently volunteer as a mass coordinator at my church every Sunday, I am the secretary of my daughter’s school PAC, and I try to support wellness activities within my workplace and do a variety of one-off volunteer jobs.

How do you stay active in your community?

I am fortunate to live fairly centrally and can walk or bike, if time permits, just about anywhere I need to go—whether that is work, my daughter’s school, church, the grocery store, the library, the bank or friends’ homes. When possible, I plan walking dates with friends. My walking partner of 15 years, my dog, died in November, and although I’ve borrowed others’ dogs, it isn’t the same. As a family, we try to get out and enjoy the beauty of where we live: walking, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, geocaching or camping.

Who has been the most influential person in your life?

I have had the good fortune, from living in many places throughout Canada, to have met many people that have taught me many things. I think our parents are our first teachers, so I would say that my mom and dad have had a great influence on my life. My mom taught me to meet everyone as an equal and that being kind is more important than being the best or having the most. My dad taught me that even when life doesn’t give you a lot, hard work will get you where you need to go.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Still in northern B.C.—it’s my home! n

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Words of wisdom

By Doug Quibell, Northern Health northwest public health protection manager

Healthy aging:

words of wisdom

woke up recently with a pain in my right hip. After years of being the stereotypical northern man, playing hard (mostly beyond my skill levels), I wonder if this is the beginning of the big slow down. Is time and hard play finally catching up with me? When I think about what the fundamental meaning of health is to me personally, I think about the hope that I am able to be an active and fun dad, or granddad, in my retirement years. What is the golden wisdom around making this dream a realistic expectation? I took my questions on the road to a couple of those folks I know have made the act of aging look good. Each is vigorous, and actively celebrates life, well into their retirement years. What are their words of wisdom on healthful longevity?

“For the majority of us keen but average golfers, a “good” game is not so much about making perfect shots and achieving incredibly low scores; rather it’s about damage control and doing the best we can with what we’ve got. So my tee shot is 20 yards shorter than it used to be and I’ve just sliced it off the fairway…maybe if I hit a low shot with a hybrid club I can keep it under the tree branches and get it to run up somewhere near the green for the compromise “chip and putt” for par. Of course keeping healthy is a lot like playing golf. The definition of good health gets modified as you get older and it increasingly includes a lot more compromises with perfection. I don’t get to ignore the flaws and problems, but as any old duffer will tell you, as long as I am out playing on the topside of the grass, the game is still worth playing and it’s still fun!” The other person I know who routinely makes the 70s look like the 20s, is my mom. I remember as a youthful triathlete, the humiliation of trying to keep up with her at Disney. Last year she hiked Machu Picchu, at 73. An interview, with my mom: “I grew up on a farm where we grew what we ate. I steer clear of processed foods. You are what you eat and I don’t want to be a TV dinner. I try to stay away from my couch whenever possible. I think it would swallow me up if I let it, and almost nothing life affirming ever happens there. Back on the farm, neighbours helped neighbours build farms or bring in the harvest - you could really count on each other. Today we are so busy we are losing some of our ancestry. It’s important to dive in and contribute to the community. Get to know your neighbours, and always be there to lend them a hand. Mostly, health and vitality in later years is a result of years of the right state of mind: living life to the fullest, positive can-do attitude, actively celebrate life with the people you love.”

An interview with Dr. David Bowering, Northern Health northwest medical health officer: Dr. Bowering let me know that health is really about making the most of what we have.

As of this week my mom is just getting off a 60-day cruise of the South Pacific where her only complaint was that it was a bit slow until she dumped her “old fogey” friends for some adventurous young travelers. And Dr. Bowering was recently off in Sri Lanka. I still have that pain in my hip, but the prognosis feels better. n R001413886

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Road health

By Dr. David Bowering, Northern Health northwest medical health officer

Dr. David Bowering is Northern Health’s medical health officer for northwest B.C. and the former chief medical health officer. In November 2010, he released the report “Where are the Men? Chief Medical Health Officer’s report on the Wellbeing of Men and Boys in Northern BC” and has been heavily involved with the men’s health program since then. To stay active, Dr. Bowering walks or bikes to work, walks his dog daily, boycotts elevators, hikes or cross-country skis most weekends and plays with his grandchildren.

Vehicular disease: the new VD

n 1854 Dr. John Snow tracked the source of the London Cholera outbreak termed “Black Death” to the Broad Street pump. He removed the handle, saving thousands of lives. Throughout the 1800s, similar advances gave rise to the system of public health we see in our communities today. Although communicable diseases remain a focus of our work, we’ve recently seen other serious risk factors rise up as significant risks in our communities. Motor vehicle crashes have become an increasingly serious modern plague in northern B.C. At rates nearing twice that of the B.C. average, they’ve become the leading cause of death and injury in people aged 15 – 50. We estimate the financial costs of this carnage to be well

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over $500 million annually, but the impact on our families is far more severe. With more than 400 deaths, and 20,000 serious injuries a year in B.C. alone, there are few other “killers” in our communities that take such a toll. Fortunately, Northern Health and a wide range of our community partners are taking notice, and together, beginning the process of working towards reducing the number of road crashes. Northern Health has been leading a program called RoadHealth that includes a coalition of the Royal Canadian Mountain Police, Insurance Corporation of BC, Forest Safety Council, and WorkSafe BC, all with the common vision of improving safety for people who live and drive on northern roads every day. RoadHealth has been associated with a 50 per cent reduction in the number of men killed on northern roads over the past seven years with the greatest gains made with those who make their living driving (logging trucks, ambulance, fuel trucks, transports). That’s a lot of men who are home safe tonight with their families who might not have been otherwise. But there is so much more we can do. We know that road crash deaths and injuries are, in theory, 100 per cent preventable. First, let’s throw out the term accident. This is a preventable vehicular disease; in fact let’s call them the new “VD.” Next, if you are not in your vehicle, your chances of catching VD are greatly reduced. Drive less by walking, cycling or using alternate transport more. Less traffic would also mean less exhaust, less stress, and more physical activity. Every one of us is susceptible to vehicular disease, and every one of us can contribute to its prevention. If we have to drive, we can all slow down and be safer drivers. There are countless more ideas around developing a culture of safe driving. What if the entire system were remodeled to support the prevention of vehicular disease? For example, more walking or biking paths and less parking. What if our car insurance were linked to kilometers driven? If it’s parked back home in the driveway, there’s no risk, for us, or for our insurers. We all have friends or family members who have been devastated by this disease. It’s time we, as a society, worked together on prevention. Let’s envision the virtual elimination of this waste of human potential, and come together to make it a reality. n

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By Theresa Healy, Regional manager healthy community development; Agnes Snow, regional director Aboriginal health; and Victoria Stewart, lead, Aboriginal health engagement & integration

Aboriginal communities

Healthy Aboriginal communities

Remembering

where we came from “We already know what it is to be healthy. We just have to remember.”

ight, colour, movement, song, dance, local foods, the stories of Elders, the laughter of children, the beat of the drum… These are the hallmarks of a healthy Aboriginal community; and they are more and more frequently what we see when we visit Aboriginal communities across the north. As these partnerships grow, so does the importance on healthy eating, opportunities and options for youth and Elders, and traditions and cultures reemerging and flourishing. There is something that feeds not just the body but also the mind and the spirit. Cont’d on page 26

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Aboriginal communities

Cont’d from page 25 Research tells us, and it is visible, that when Aboriginal communities can re-establish connections to the culture and the land, a healthy community follows. As we create more links to Aboriginal culture and ways of being that can be reclaimed and flourish, we develop a stronger social and economic fabric in the community. Aboriginal health within Northern Health is proud and honoured to be part of the journey to wellness, walking beside the leaders and workers in Aboriginal communities. The team listens to what communities tell us and then shapes workshops and resources in consultation over many conversations to match what local people express as important. The aboriginal health team wants to ensure their efforts are encouraging creativity and support local ingenuity. Additionally, we also work hard to make sure our workshops allow a more holistic and locally directed identification of issues and discussions for directions forward. “Northern Health is reaching out to express these ideas,” said Agnes Snow, Northern Health regional director of Aboriginal Health. “In order to come to a mutual understanding, Northern Health knows they need to develop a partnership in supporting northern communities we know and love.” Leading the Aboriginal Health team is Agnes Snow. Before becoming the regional director of Aboriginal Health, Snow worked as a nurse for many years, and then trained and worked as an addiction counsellor for 11 years with

Northern Health at the Nechako Centre. She was also Chief in her community for 6 years. “My role within Northern Health describes me very well. Aboriginal Health and Aboriginal people are high on my list of what I choose to work on in my lifetime. My role is to support our people to become leaders, to have their own leaders. Aboriginal people have so much to offer the world and their communities. I want to support their stories so they add to the richness of our society and to everyone’s well-being. “ Northern Health has been very privileged to see Aboriginal communities enjoying the richness that is culture. Walking into a hall where the drumming is loud and powerful, the older women are teaching younger women how to do the hand movements, little ones are trying to dance and the smells of the traditional foods are in the air stirs the heart to remembering the pathways to health. “We bring light to where, for many years, there have been shadows,” said Snow. “Over the last few years I have noticed a new movement in communities renewing their songs and music and laughter. Sometimes this is mixed with tears but it is a wonderful sight to see.” For more information on resources and supports available through Aboriginal Health at Northern Health please visit northernhealth.ca. n

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