Horizon employee rescues boy from dog attack Joy Burns didn’t expect to be a hero while on a trip to the United States, but her instincts as a mother, grandmother and nurse helped her protect a young boy in a scary situation. Joy, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at Horizon’s later come to know as Jack, walking down the street with two rottweilers trailing behind him. She assumed they were his dogs until they suddenly pounced. The rottweilers began attacking Jack, biting and tearing his clothes.
Horizon joins cancer centres, researchers in Atlantic Canada to provide precision medicine for patients across region
Leading cancer centres, hospitals and researchers in Atlantic Canada came together in St. John’s, N.L. in mid-April to help launch the Terry Fox Research Institute’s (TFRI) Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network, which represents a powerful collaborative platform that will help deliver personalized and precision medicine to cancer patients across the region. The east coast group, known as the Atlantic Cancer Consortium (ACC), is comprised of about 40 researchers and clinicians from institutions in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick, including Horizon Health Network. “We’re very proud to be a part of such an innovative and patient-focused initiative,” says Dr. Edouard Hendriks, Horizon’s Vice President Medical, Academic and Research Affairs. “We hope that by working together and using all of our available technologies to help individualize treatments we’ll improve the quality of life and increase survivorship for New Brunswickers diagnosed with this deadly disease.” Representatives from the three provinces Thanks to a generous donation from a local family, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) testing is now available in Eastern Charlotte County. Horizon’s Fundy Health Centre (FHC) has developed and implemented a program to support residents in the area who are living with COPD. UPSTREAM, an 18-month project funded by the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI), is focused on the early screening and support for people living with COPD. As a result of a generous donation from the Gallant Family, the FHC team was able to purchase equipment for the implementation of a community-based, pulmonary rehabilitation program for local residents. “It is important that people living in rural communities have equitable, timely and appropriate access to health care programs and services,” said Dan Doherty, Director of Primary Health Care for the Saint John area. “Having this kind of support, right here in Eastern Charlotte County is crucial to supporting the health and wellness of our community.” The eight-week program has demonstrated positive results for participants and improvements in overall health and wellness.
It will join the Montreal Cancer Consortium in Quebec and the BC-Ontario Pilot Project, which are already functioning, as well as the Prairies Cancer Consortium, which hopes to become operational later this year. “By forming the ACC and joining the national Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network we hope that every cancer patient in our region will have access to the right treatment at the right time for their particular type of cancer,” said Dr. Michael Johnston, TFRI Atlantic node leader, professor of surgery at Dalhousie University and former director of the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute. The Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network is the realization of a long-standing vision of the TFRI. Just as Terry Fox united Canadians with his run and dream to end cancer, the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network will unite cancer researchers to pursue that same goal with precision medicine. For more information on the launch of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network, please visit: marathonofhopecancercentres.ca/launch.
Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital (DECRH), and her granddaughter, Isabella, were in Louisiana visiting Joy’s daughter and Isabella’s aunt over the Christmas holiday. The day before they were to return home to Fredericton, Joy went outside to get her daughter’s mail. There, she noticed a small boy, who she would
“My immediate instinct was to help the boy,” said Joy. “I thought I’d be able to scare the dogs off, but they wouldn’t leave him alone.” Joy ran and threw herself on top of Jack to shield him from the dogs. They began attacking and biting her as well. “I tried to calm Jack down in hopes that once he stopped screaming the dogs would calm down, but they wouldn’t let up,” she said. “They were hauling us around like paper dolls. It was terrifying. At one point, all I could do was pray.” With a rush of adrenaline, Joy managed to stop one dog just long enough for her to get off Jack, and for Jack to be freed. She had no idea where Jack lived, but once the dogs settled down a little, he started running home. The only stich of clothes he had left was a sock. Joy ran back into her daughter’s house, with the two dogs chasing and biting her every step of the way. Once inside, she called her daughter who brought her to the nearest hospital and was immediately taken into surgery. Joy received three surgeries plus skin grafts during her 10-day hospital stay as an attempt to repair the damage. Joy continues to meet
Joy received three surgeries plus skin grafts during her 10-day hospital stay; she continues to see a plastic surgeon at the DECRH, and will likely need more surgeries in the future to regain full function of her arm. with a plastic surgeon at the DECRH, and will likely need more surgeries in the future to regain full function of her arm. Despite her injuries, on that day Joy’s greatest concern was for Jack, as well as for her granddaughter: Isabella lost both her mother and father a couple months’ prior, and was terrified she would lose her grandmother, too. During her hospital stay, Joy received news Jack, the little boy she saved that day, was only five years old, and that the dogs had escaped from a neighbour’s backyard. Jack received over 300 stitches, but thankfully none to his face because Joy was his shield. Jack’s story would have ended much differently if Joy hadn’t been there that day. Thanks to her heroic rescue, Jack was saved from what could have been a much more tragic outcome. The first painting depicts the feelings of isolation and despair associated with suffering from an addiction. The second depicts the recovery process — acceptance of the addiction and its realities and recognition of the need for support from others. The eagle sitting subtly in the background symbolizes freedom, and is looking toward the future. The third depicts the regrowth participants experience through sowing seeds of wellness. Together, the collection highlights the importance of peer support throughout the recovery process.
T E R RY FOX R E S EARCH NE TWORK
participated in the launch event and applied to the national network in May for funding to launch a pilot project focused on colorectal and lung cancers, the two most prevalent cancers in the region. Funding for the network will be made up of support from the Government of Canada (up to $150 million over five years) and will be matched with funds raised by the network partners, their foundations and The Terry Fox Foundation. When the network is officially launched, the ACC will become one of several regional and cross-country groups that make up the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network.
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Joy Burns, an LPN, is photographed at Horizon’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in mid-May.
COPD Testing now available in Eastern Charlotte County
New art at Detox Unit inspired by clients’ recovery journeys
The three paintings, inspired by clients’ recovery journey and created by Miramichi artist AdamBarry, hang prominently at the Detoxification Unit inMiramichi. Here, clients who inspired the painting and unit staff, sit in front of the paintings.
The Detoxification Unit in Miramichi has some beautiful new art hanging on its walls — art that was inspired by clients’ journey to recovery. Recently, the unit’s Recovery Team was awarded grant money from a Department of Health Recovery initiative. With the grant and input from clients, Patient
Experience Advisors (PEAs) and staff, Miramichi artist Adam Barry was given a goal of creating a client’s depiction of recovery. As a result, he created three paintings that could stand alone, but tell a broader story when hung together; these paintings show what the stages of addiction and recovery look like to clients.
From left: Paul Gallant; Dr. Oriano Andreani, Respirologist; Laura Gallant; Kenny Gallant; Anne McLean, community health nurse; and Sherrie Gallant.
Program participants are referred by Dr. Oriano Andreani, a respirologist, and the program is led by Anne MacLean, RN; Dianne Stewart, LPN; and Nurse Practitioners Stephanie Henry and Kate Burkholder.
One patient said the program helped them get the education they were longing for, and it reduced their anxiety in dealing with shortness of breath by using the new breathing techniques they learned.
From left: Miramichi artist AdamBarry, Recovery Team staff representative Sheralee Furlong, a Licensed Practical Nurse and project organizer, and Jeff Miller, a PEA and Horizon employee.
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