By Athul Domichen
Brampton: The fourth Global Health tour of expert healthcare professionals from the William Osler Health System was concluded recently and the team that was part of the mission said they have made major headway in identifying and implementing their program objectives.
At a press briefing held at the Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness on Thursday, June 21, the team shared their progress and experiences with regard to the mission.
A total of 15 expert staff and physicians (seven for Punjab, India and eight for Karachi, Pakistan) visited the countries from February 15 to February 28, 2018 to engage local health care organizations through training and education initiatives, learn more about health care in the region, and identify research opportunities that will enhance the delivery of health care services in the local community and beyond.
The Sun Life Financial Osler Global Health program, as it is called, aims to provide Osler physicians and staff the opportunity to use their expertise around the world while gaining insights about the patients that they serve and care for, within our local community.
Osler has a large and engaged South Asian community within the region and being the majority of the demographic, India and Pakistan were selected as major focus groups for the program.
Some of their findings from the region, such as the patient to have a relative as bystander 24/7 for physical and emotional support and assistance have already been implemented at Osler Health.
The Indian chapter of Osler’s team worked with physicians and staff at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) and Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha Ayurvedic Medical College & Hospital (SKSS), collaborating in the areas of emergency medicine, mental health and diabetes.
This included continuing to co-design non-pharmacological interventions in Mental Health and Addictions services with DMCH, and providing training and education to nursing students and instructors at SKSS on diabetes, autism, epilepsy and mental health.
The team was led by Ms. Florine Lobo and consisted of Dr. Gurjit Bajwa (ED Physician), Ms. Christina Calvano (Emergency Medical Nurse), Dr. Navin Kaicker (Psychiatrist), Dr. Brian Klar (ED Physician), Ms. Navjot Mundi (Mental Health and Addictions Nurse), and Ms. Harpal Panesar as the tour coordinator.
In Pakistan, Osler partnered with ChildLife Foundation and SINA Health, Education and Welfare Trust, where the team focused on paediatric emergency medicine and diabetes.
On this tour, Osler’s team evaluated ChildLife emergency room operations according to Accreditation Canada standards to support achievement of highest quality of care.
The team was led by Dr. Naveed Mohammed (Senior Team Lead), Dr. Abdul Aziz (Pediatric Physician), Dr. Kamil Haider (Emergency Medical Physician), Lindsay Hogeboom (Pediatric Nurse), Andrea Martin (ED Nurse), Anne McCarthy (Diabetes Nurse), and Dr. Jared Paty (Family Medicine Resident) formed the team for Pakistan and Jyoti Purewal was the tour coordinator.
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Meanwhile, theWilliam Osler Health System Foundation (Osler Foundation) has announce dBob Peacock as Chair of Osler Foundation’s Board of Directors. Mr. Peacock has served on Osler Foundation’s Board of Directors for seven years, and most recently as Vice-Chair. He takes over the role from Kulvir Singh Gill, who has been on the Board for the past 11 years and held the position of chair for the last six years.
“It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with Kulvir over the years,” said Ken Mayhew, President and CEO, Osler Foundation. “He has been a guiding force for Osler Foundation and integral in helping us improve the quality of health care in our community. I sincerely thank Kulvir for his leadership and contributions during his tenure on the Board. I look forward to working with Bob to continue this great work.”
Bob Peacock is CEO of Almag Aluminum, an award-winning custom aluminum extruder based in Brampton and Ardmore, Alabama. Bob graduated from the Engineering program at the University of Waterloo and earned his MBA from York University. Bob has been active on a number of Boards, including the Rotary Club of Toronto-Islington, Brampton Board of Trade, and the Aluminum Extruders Council. In 2017, Bob successfully concluded the $30 million campaign to help build and equip the new Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness as its Campaign Chair.
Three new general Board Members were also announced:
Dr. Gurjit Bajwa, a staff Emergency Physician at Etobicoke General Hospital for almost two decades; Tina Larsen, a Brampton-based business woman who founded and led several companies in the metal and steel industry; and Dr. Roberta Minna – who is currently Interim Chief of Surgery at Etobicoke General and has been a staff surgeon there for two decades.