WHITEWATER REGION (Westmeath) — During a guest speaker’s talk, with the exception of oohing and ahhhing, a needle could have been dropped…and it would have been heard.
Well-known author and commentator Mary Cook was the guest speaker at the Lanark Renfrew Health & Community Services AGM held in Westmeath Tuesday evening, June 26.
Prior to Ms. Cook taking to the podium, board chairman Tom Beaumgartner provided an update of what occurred in the past year, including the recent accreditation of the LRHCS.
John Jordan, executive director of the board, said it was a great idea to move the annual general meeting, as well as board meetings, to various communities within the board’s coverage area.
“It gets us to see new faces at the annual general meeting,” he said.
Talking about the annual report provided, Mr. Jordan said, “It’s great to read, it reminds me of the great things that have happened in the organization.”
This most recent accreditation was the sixth successful one, and it was due to the staff, volunteers and board, he said.
“Collectively we strive to provide the best care we can to our communities and we do that every day,” Mr. Jordan said. “We don’t do this so we get accredited, we are accredited because we do this, and we do it all the time.”
He said he works in a great facility, with great staff, and support from volunteers and the board.
He briefly spoke about the expansion of some of the services, which included long term health care, autism and respite home services. The LRHCS will continue to focus and expand in these high need areas, he added.
“The family relief program had a resident housing project this year, which was also very successful,” Mr. Jordan said.
Other areas of focus included working with Pembroke Regional Hospital and other regional partners to develop co-ordinated care programs designed to help people within the communities who have the highest needs, Mr. Jordan said.
This year, the idea is to expand and build capacity to serve people suffering from mental illness, he said. It is working with the Royal Ottawa Hospital, Canadian Mental Association and LHIN to provide psychotherapy services at Beachburg, Cobden and Lanark sites, he advised. Psychotherapy treatment is an evidence-based treatment for mood and anxiety disorders, he added.
“This is a high needs area with 50 percent of us, by the time of age of 40, have encountered, had or still have, mental health challenges,” Mr. Jordan said. “Out of those, 50 percent of the people who suffer from depression never access services.
“There is a huge need in the community for this service,” he said.
The new buzz word in health care is health equity, means different things to different communities, such as different populations, economics, and demographics, he said.
“It’s important you define what health equity means in your community,” Mr. Jordan encouraged.
“I believe for us in rural Ontario, the challenge is to advocate and be innovative and strive to make accessible the essential health and community services so often missing in our rural communities.”
He noted that doesn’t mean it’s expected rural Ontario will receive the same services of the big urban centres and the facilities, “but we should and expect and demand that we have the core services to keep our community healthy, so I’m speaking of primary care.” There is a waiting list in Beachburg, and that’s not acceptable, he noted.
Oral health was removed from health care funding and that’s a real need, he said.
“We’ll continue to work with you and our community partners to achieve health equity,” Mr. Jordan said.
Staff were also recognized for their years of service, in the 10, 15, 20, 25 and 35 years of service. Mr. Baumgartner invited each of those staff present receiving awards to come forward and he spoke about each person’s service. The 10-year recipients are Ellen Fleming-Michaud and Lianne Mohns (both of Whitewater Bromley Community Health Centre), and from Lanark, Kelly Brett, Lynda Cameron, Tammy Demidoff, Emily Edwards, Alicja Gruder, Sarah Mattey, Laurraine Normandin, Jenny Smith and Lill and Jeff Winkenweder.
The 15-year award recipients are Mike Bingley, Mary Beth Devine and Erin Hewson. The 20-year recipients are Tannia Cooke, Sarah Sark and Kara Symbolic. The 25-year recipient was Pam Fergusson while there were three for 35 years of service, Cynthia Ferrier, Carol Anne McNeil and Jan Paul Barr. All of these recipients are from the Lanark sites.
The board members who are departing were given a round of applause — they are Norene Adams, Diane McGee, Melanie Mills and Nic Maennling.
There are also five new board members, who were each nominated to a three year term: Gwen Bennett and Bonny Johnson from Whitewater; Stephen Bird from Perth and from Carleton Place, Kim O’Connor and Barbara Drake.
Mr. Jordan also spoke about the value of volunteers, especially those from the Whitewater Bromley Community Health Centre..
While it’s great the LRHCS received accreditation, Mr. Jordan noted that one of the things mentioned by the accreditation team is the volume and number of community programs we have, he said.
“Those are only possible because of the volunteer commitment that we get from the community,” Mr. Jordan said.
The LRHCS participated in a provincial survey and Renfrew and Lanark came out of the survey demonstrating a much higher-than-provincial-average level of volunteerism.
“It’s something to be said of rural communities and also something to be said of this community in particular, something we can all be very proud of,” he said.
There were over 1,000 hours of service from the Whitewater Bromley Community Health Centre as a result of the contribution of volunteers, he said. Some of the programs include fitness classes, cooking, sessions, chronic condition workshops, walking programs, just to name a few.
Mr. Jordan briefly mentioned the senior fitness instructors who have participated, as well as led, in various workshops at the Research 2 Action Conference in London, Ontario, which is an annual national conference held through the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging.
Lara Mylly, health promoter for the WBCHC, said twice the WBCHC senior fitness instructors have been called to the national stage at the conference to present. This year, senior fitness instructor volunteers Hester Min and Connie Tabbert, along with Ms. Mylly, prepared a one-hour choreographed fitness class and presented to about 100 of their peers.
“It was a fantastic experience for me, and I hope it was for them too,” Ms. Mylly said.
Ms. Tabbert, who was called to the podium by Ms. Mylly, said it was a lot of fun.
“We were nervous, of course, presenting in front of that many people,” she said. “Usually I have a class of no more than 25, but you see a crowd of 100 people and you think, ohoh.”
Ms. Tabbert is looking forward to the refresher course in August for the area senior fitness instructors, so she can share what she learned at the national conference.
Following the meeting, Ms. Cook enthralled the audience with a peek into her grandmother and mother’s lives. She also spoke about a trunk that had hidden treasures discovered after her mother died. Upon opening the trunk, the treasures were revealed, each holding a special memory. As she spoke, Ms. Cook held up some of the treasures one-by-one and asked if anyone knew what they were. It was interesting to see items from as far back as the 1930s, some recognizable, others not so.
Ms. Cook received a standing ovation at the end of her hour-long presentation.
