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Deadline Extended! OD-PREP Knowledge Exchange Call for Submissions Now Closes November 30th

Posted on November 23, 2020

OD-PREP: OverDose Prevention & Response – Essential Practices

Knowledge Exchange Series

In partnership with:

 

Call for Submissions Deadline Extended!

Apply before November 30th at:
phabc.org/essential-practices-2020-submission-form/ 

 

 

Missed the original deadline for OD-PREP: OverDose Prevention & Response – Essential Practices Knowledge Exchange Series? Well it’s your lucky day! The Public Health Association of BC, Community Action Initiative, and the Canadian Mental Health Association – BC Division want to give everyone the chance to apply so we are extending our deadline to midnight on November 30!

 

This is your opportunity to get more recognition for the work you’ve been doing, get reimbursed for your time based on best practice compensation for peers, and help us to create a tight-knit community of likeminded individuals, organizations and groups fighting against overdose and drug poisoning deaths. Act fast, we won’t be extending the deadline again!

 

The application only takes a few minutes to complete. If you are really pressed for time just leave us your contact information and we will follow up with you to get the whole story. If you can answer all the questions in the online form, that’s great! But if you just don’t have time right now, we get it. That’s why we’re keeping it as barrier-free as possible.

 

For those who were able to submit their work already, thank you for working hard to meet the original deadline! We’ll follow up if we need to for any clarifications. If you haven’t yet, get on it! Check out the form, all the details about the project, and complete your application before midnight on the 30th by following this link: phabc.org/essential-practices-2020-submission-form/ 

 

Once the call closes, we may request some follow up information through December and we will work closely with our advisory committee to select which submissions will be featured in our series. You should know the status of your submission by the end of January!

 

For those of you who are not submitting your work for consideration but are still passionate about the fight against drug overdoses and poisoning in this province and beyond, stay tuned! This series is only part of our plan to launch a network along with a dedicated webpage of resources related to overdose response & prevention.

 

Please follow our social media for updates on this project in the new year!

Facebook: @PublicHealthAssociationBC

Twitter: @PHA_BC

Instagram: @PHA_BC

 

Please also feel free to connect with us via email at essential.practices@phabc.org if you want to be a part of this network or have some resources you think would be suitable for our resources page.

 

Together we can create safe, healthy, and inclusive communities for all.

Trans Awareness Week

Posted on November 21, 2020

Each year between November 13 – 19, people and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise the visibility about transgender people and address issues members of the community face.

The week before Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, people and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise the visibility of transgender people and address issues members of the community face.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence that year.

Read more about Transgender Awareness Week and the Transgender Day of Remembrance below, and find out how you can participate.

Read more HERE

An Open Letter on COVID-19 from Island Health’s Medical Health Officers

Posted on November 20, 2020

Now is the time to double down on our efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.

We have watched the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases and outbreaks on the Lower Mainland over the past weeks. Until recently, the number of positive cases throughout Island Health remained relatively low. This was not by luck. It was the result of hard work by people in communities across our region who took their responsibility to prevent the spread of this virus very seriously, supported by Island Health’s staff working to control COVID-19.

To everyone who has taken their responsibilities seriously to protect themselves, their loved ones, and our health-care system, we thank you.

The number of positive cases across Island Health are increasing, and increasing at a rate that causes us great concern. In the last two weeks, we saw 117 new cases, compared to 24 new cases in the previous two weeks. We must turn this trend around.

Some of the recent Island Health cases came from Halloween parties and other group social gatherings. People at these events acquired the virus and subsequently spread it to others – in their families, with their friends, and in the workplace.

With the growth in cases, we cannot be more clear in our ask of you – to take action now. We need you to increase your vigilance and do not let down your guard. We can bend the curve down again by staying home when we are sick, sticking to our safe six, staying 2m/6ft apart from others,  washing our hands frequently and wearing a mask when we cannot observe physical distancing of 2m/6ft.

Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, put new orders and recommendations in place that further limit social gathering by people within Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health. She has asked all residents of BC not to travel unless it is essential. Please stay in your home communities.

Since the beginning of September to the first week of November, 86 of the 133 cases in Island Health arose from travel – either islanders going somewhere or travelers coming here. The travel ranged from overseas, other parts of Canada, to the Lower Mainland. Further, these individuals passed the virus on to 11 others who in turn infected four more people. Some of this travel was deemed essential but not all.

Now is not the time to travel outside of the Island Health region unless it’s essential, and it’s not the time to invite friends and family from outside of our region to visit or stay with us. Please stay close to home. It is easy to think we will not be the ones who transmit COVID-19 to others when we come back to the island, but the fact is, it could be any one of us who unknowingly acquires and spreads COVID-19 infection.

We know people need to find ways to stay connected. While we need to limit our social interactionsso we can keep our schools and workplaces open – and keep each other safe in our homes and in our community – it is important that we do what we can to support each other. These are challenging times, particularly for those who may live alone. Please reach out to your friends and your loved ones who may be at risk. Let them know they are not alone and find ways stay connected to them virtually.

Now is the time to ask yourself the difficult questions. What is truly essential travel? Is now the time to sit inside with a friend or is it better to grab a coffee and go for a walk outside? Will taking a pass on the games night this weekend be a big deal?

We have flattened our curve, we can do it again, by all of us doing our part and taking the actions we know will keep us safe in the coming weeks and months.

Our sincere appreciation for everything you are doing to protect yourselves and your communities. We will get through this together by working together and doing what is necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19.

In health,

Island Health Medical Health Officers

Dr. Richard Stanwick

Dr. Charmaine Enns

Dr. Dee Hoyano

Dr. Murray Fyfe

Dr. Shannon Waters

Dr. Sandra Allison

Re-Save the Date! PHABC Annual General Meeting Rescheduled to December 3rd, 2020 12-1:30pm

Posted on November 16, 2020

Notice to Membership

Public Health Association of BC’s

Annual General Meeting 2020 – ONLINE

 

Rescheduled to

Thursday December 3rd, 2020 12pm-1:30pm

 

 

 

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the availability of key resources we have come to the decision to reschedule our virtual Annual General Meeting to a new date.

 

We look forward to welcoming you online on Thursday December 3rd, 2020 from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. The link to connect remains the same: https://zoom.us/j/91506805063?pwd=cUJmbDNST1RMNzZyYlJqYXFyM0hMdz09

 

PHABC annual report will be made available in advance on our website, phabc.org, by clicking “About PHABC” under the “About Us” tab of our main menu.

 

Once the AGM has been completed at 1:00pm we invite you to stay for the opening stage of “The Gallery of Memories.” This project, developed by PHABC’s Capacity Building Committee co-chairs, will support collecting stories, art, and experiences of Public Health professionals working under colliding pandemics.

 

The following professionals are our first storytellers.

  • Trevor Hancock, Morris dancer and Professor & Senior Scholar (Retired), School of Public Health and Social Policy, University of Victoria
  • Lara Frederick, Public Health Program Lead, Northeast Division, Northern Health
  • Aaren Topley, Provincial Manager, Can You Dig It, Public Health Association of BC
  • Paola Ardiles, Faculty Teaching Fellow & Lecturer, Social Innovation and Community Partnerships, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

 

We hope that this project will be a way to celebrate everything our public health professionals have been doing for the health of all British Columbians. We thank you for your dedication to public health and your perseverance though this pandemic.

 

And don’t forget to join us on social media!

Facebook: @PublicHealthAssociationBC

Twitter: @PHA_BC

Instagram: @PHA_BC