Health symposium at St. Mary’s Hospital
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Are you concerned about the health of your community? Have you noticed that certain health issues and illnesses seem to be more prevalent in your community? Have members of your community encountered barriers to access to healthcare services? Are you worried about the health of the aging members of your community?
These are just some of many questions and concerns that many communities in Montreal face every day.
A concerned group of patients, doctors and healthcare workers living and working around St. Mary’s Hospital has organized a symposium called “Delivery of Healthcare: A Patient and Community Designed Approach” to bring community representatives together with clinicians and other healthcare workers.
It will be held on Saturday, October 22 at the Auditorium of St. Mary’s Hospital, 3830 Lacombe Ave
Time: 10am – 1pm. Registration at 9:30am and Lunch at 1pm.
The goal is to begin discussing how to redesign the delivery of primary healthcare in our communities so that the voice of patients and community members play a larger role in decisions that touch the health of community members. Organizers hope to create a working group to tackle some of these issues going forward.
In all the debate and action around the restructuring of how healthcare is delivered in Quebec, one voice has been conspicuously absent: that of patients and the varied communities that they come from.
They want to change that by starting an organized process of listening to people in the area surrounding St. Mary’s about their communities’ health care concerns to try and understand how the needs of different communities can be better met.
A related goal is to explore how the different communities can play an active role in supporting patients and encouraging good health practices.
The symposium will feature a few keynote speakers followed by a variety of round tables addressing disease conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hepatitis, depression, social isolation, infectious and sexually transmitted diseases, dementia, and mental health.
Organizers are currently looking for representatives of the different communities around St. Mary’s to come and join the discussions. They say participants, won’t be asked to do any public speaking.
“What we want is for you to take part in the round table discussions and share the health issues, challenges, and concerns facing members of your community.
Remember: this is an opportunity for your community’s concerns about healthcare to be heard. It’s a chance to voice your concerns about your community’s health needs.”
The number of places is limited. Those interested can register by emailing name and contact phone number by October 10th, to : communityengagementmtl@gmail.com
to reserve a place at the conference.
