PHABC Annual Awards

The Public Health Association of BC hosts our annual Awards Ceremony at our Annual General Meeting and Conference. The Awards Ceremony allows public health professionals to recognize and appreciate individuals and organizations in our community, whose commitment to public health exceed all expectations.

Do you know someone in the public health community whose hard work and dedication deserves recognition? Please consider nominating them for a PHABC award. We accept nominations year-round for outstanding individuals and organizations.

Read about all PHABC’s Awards and fill out our online nomination form below.

Submit Your Nomination

President’s Award

The President’s Award is given by the sitting President of PHABC to an invaluable member.

The candidate must show commitment to enabling their community, neighbourhood, housing complex or organization to address health issues.

The issue can include: economic security; food security; environmental sustainability; and preventative health actions.

Those affected by the issue must be involved in the decision-making process.

The Award of Merit

The Award of Merit is given to a community member who is not a member of PHABC, but has significantly contributed to enhancing the health of their community.

The candidate’s community actions can include broader determinants of health impacts.

This can include:

Providing support for low-cost housing;
Improving food supply for low-income areas;
Supporting programs for children and youth;
Or enhancing healthy lifestyles.

Sharon Martin Community Development Award

The Sharon Martin Community Development Award was created as memoriam to the late Sharon Martin.

Martin was a visionary and advocate for public and community health at local, provincial and national levels.

The candidate must significantly contribute to community development through:

Supporting capacity;
Advocating social justice;
Mentoring the promotion of public health;
Promoting community members’ involvement in public health programs.

Phyllis M. Baird Memorial Award

The Phyllis M. Baird Memorial Award is given to a Community Health Nurse who practices in rural BC and is employed in a provincial health unit.

The candidate must demonstrate excellence in practice and seeks to pursue a course related to their field of interest.

The candidate must exhibit some or all of the following attributes:

Strong understanding and keen interest in public health nursing;
Excellent leadership, communication and confidentiality skills;
Involvement in professional and/ or community organizations (ex. RNABC, PHABC, CPHA, etc.);
Integrity, compassion, discretion and positivity;
Outstanding moral grounding;
Eagerness to increase health knowledge and education.

Healthy Public Policy Award in Honour of Dr. Richard Stephen Stanwick Award (BSc, MD, MSc)

The Dr. Richard Stanwick Award was created in 2022 to honour his contributions to healthy public policy in the province and the country.

Dr. Stanwick received the Devries Award, the highest honour in public health. He also was recognized by the Canadian Public Health Association with an Honorary Life Membership for his contributions to Public Health. Dr. Stanwick also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the BC Injury Prevention Leadership Action Network.

Prior to his work at Island Health, Dr. Stanwick also took on the role as the Assistance Provincial Epidemiologist for the Province of Manitoba from 1985 to 1990, and the Medical Officer of Health for the City of Winnipeg from 1990 to 1995. He became the Medical Health Officer for the Capital Regional District in British Columbia in 1995, then Chief Medical health Officer for the Island in 2001.

Dr. Stanwick dedicated over 25 years of service to the residents in the Island Health region and served as Island Health’s Vice-President, Population Health and Chief Medical Officer before retiring. He played a key role in keeping the community safe throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and overdose crisis. He was also the Chair of the Canadian Paediatric Society in 2013.

He influenced major policy contributions to tobacco legislation, bicycle helmets, and the use of sunbeds for minors. Each of these local level policy changes have impacted national healthy public policy. Dr. Stanwick also pushed for clean air and clean drinking-water laws, supervised injection sites and humane treatment for those living with eating disorders.

The award recognizes an individual or team responsible for significant contributions to healthy public policy in the province.

Scholar in Residence Award in Honour of Dr. Lorna Medd (BSc, BSc Med, MD, FRCPS)

The Scholar in Residence Award in honour of Dr. Lorna Medd was created in 2022 as a celebration of the research rigour for public health and community wellbeing (e.g. food security, communicable diseases, climate action, healthy communities etc.) at provincial and community levels.

Lorna was a physician who pursued specialized training in community medicine in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. During Lorna’s 30-year tenure as a Medical Health Officer in BC, she brought an eco-centric lens and a community development approach that led to innovative and transformative programs acknowledged and replicated across Canada and beyond.

Lorna is described by her colleagues as a visionary, an inspirational leader, and a beloved mentor. She identified, sought out, and fueled the flame within many aspiring public health leaders furthering research, programs and policy addressing the social determinants of health.

The award recognizes a member or non-member of PHABC who is a graduate student that has contributed significantly to helping achieve PHABC mission and vision by:

Supporting PHABC through program-specific research;
Creating research that advances PHABC’s mission and vision;
Developing novel community-based research and tools;
Promoting knowledge translation and community participation.

Healthy Corporate Citizen Award

PHABC recognizes that corporations affect our health through their increasing dominance in the social, political and economic life of our communities.

The Healthy Corporate Citizen Award is intended to raise awareness of the role the corporate sector plays in public health, and to encourage corporations to provide leadership in improving health.

The award is intended for a corporation, financial institution or producer/ worker cooperative that demonstrates a broad and comprehensive commitment to promoting health through a range of policies, products/ services and practices.

The award meant to recognize a brand’s broad commitment to addressing the determinants of health, such as paying a living wage or refusing to market unhealthy food.

Submit Your Nomination