Horizon’s Recognition Month – another great success! with gifts as a token of appreciation to mark their respective years of service at luncheons held in their honour. And kudos to Horizon’s Engagement and Recognition Committees for making Recognition Month a huge success!
Successful second annual Harm Reduction Symposium
In March, the second annual Harm Reduction Symposium brought together hundreds of stakeholders from across Canada to help raise awareness, educate and enhance harm reduction collaboration. Horizon is a proud sponsor of this event, held in Saint John, which allows stakeholders to present innovative approaches in the field of harm reduction. Dr. Duncan Webster, an infectious diseases doctor and a medical microbiologist at Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital, said through a harm reduction approach we can decrease unnecessary deaths in our community and help move forward with the World Health Organization (WHO) Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS elimination plans. People who use drugs (PWUD) quite often find it difficult to access health care services because of stigmatization, discrimination and isolation, which results in poorer health outcomes. Reframing the way health care providers think about and describe PWUD is a key component in reducing stigma surrounding those who suffer from addiction and drug use. Moms Stop the Harm is a network of families from across Canada who have lost their children from drug related harms or who have struggled with substance use. They called for an end in the war on drugs and encouraged health care provider to embrace an approach that reduces harms and respects human rights. Members from the Halifax Area Network of Drug Using People (HANDUP) spoke bravely about their journey with drug use. Involving those who are battling substance use disorder is essential to planning solutions. The harm reduction approach recognizes that high risk behaviour might continue despite the risks. However, it is the right thing to do as it has been proven to reduce risks, decrease the spread of infection, prevent overdose and death and ultimately connect and engage people in health care to improve outcomes and quality of life.
Horizon honoured thousands of employees at Years of Service and Retirement celebrations across the organization in May, which is Recognition Month. More than 2,100 employees were recognized for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 or 45 years of service. Horizon also presented 300 retirees
The 2020 symposium will take place next spring. Event details will be posted at Eventbrite.ca. Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits may be available.
Horizon thanks and congratulates this year’s honourees for their incredible dedication and commitment to their professions and to Horizon, and wishes best of luck to those retiring.
Horizon employees who wish to view a full list of employees who reached Years of Service milestones in the last year can visit the Employee Engagement page on Skyline.
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Dr. DuncanWebster, an infectious diseases doctor and a medical microbiologist at Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital, speaks to the large crowd at the second annual Harm Reduction Symposium.
UNB researchers exploring weight stigma in health care From Andrea Bombak, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of New Brunswick A University of New Brunswick (UNB) study is exploring diverse New Brunswick residents’ experiences with health care and how location and community affects health.
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the experiences of newcomers to Canada and individuals who identify as Indigenous. The groups selected as the focus of this research are known to encounter unjust treatment or attitudes, which is linked to risk for some chronic diseases. Researchers are interested in hearing about people’s experiences in and out of health care and the places in New Brunswick that make being healthy more or less difficult. This project has been reviewed by the UNB Research Ethics Board and is on file as 2019-035. If you have a patient or client who would like to find out more about the study, they can contact assistant professor Andrea Bombak at andrea.bombak@unb.ca or 506-429-2130.
Weight stigma (stereotyping or discrimination based on weight) occurs in many settings, including health care. People who experience weight stigma may avoid seeking health care, receive a lower quality of care, misuse their medications, be less active, and deal with high levels of stress and mental health challenges. As well, weight stigma doubles the risk of stress and worsens diabetes symptoms; not liking your body is associated with developing diabetes over time. For groups also affected by other forms of prejudice, weight stigma may worsen health outcomes. There are gaps in understanding weight stigma among different groups. Most studies do not include very diverse samples; studies that do include diverse samples show differences between genders, social classes, and racial groups in experiences and effects of weight stigma. We need to understand how multiple forms of injustice can interact with weight stigma to affect health outcomes in New Brunswick. To do this, researchers at UNB Fredericton are conducting interviews and visiting sites with persons of a higher weight who are also living on a low-income, 65 years of age or older, or identify as mostly Francophone. Next summer, the researchers hope to expand into exploring
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The University of New Brunswick research team exploring weight stigma in health care, from left: Alison Turner, MA Candidate, Department of Sociology; Julia Sheehan, BA Candidate, Department of Political Science; Jen Rowett, PhD Candidate, CCC-S, LCT, Instructor, Faculty of Education; and Andrea Bombak, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology.
Symposium committee members KimWilbur, left, RN, UNB Nursing and LindaWilliams, Public Health nurse.
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