Prince Edward Islanders are invited to learn about and comment on their health system during a series of Health Expos taking place across the province this month, says Leo Steven, chair of the Health PEI board of directors.
“We’re bringing all of our health services together so we can hear from Islanders about how they’re working,” Steven said.
“The public input we gather at these expos will help craft Health PEI’s strategic plan for the next three years and will begin what we hope will be on ongoing dialogue with Islanders about their health system.”
Health and Wellness Minister Carolyn Bertram says the expos will provide an opportunity for Islanders to see what is happening within our health care system, to learn more about health services, and provide their personal input.
“We look forward to taking part in the expos and I encourage all Islanders to attend the Expo in their region. This is a new model, where every Islander will have the opportunity to engage in one-on-one dialogue with leaders from within our health care system.”
The four expos will take place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the following locations (storm dates are the following day, except in Montague):
— Monday, March 7, Credit Union Place, Summerside
— Wednesday, March 9, Rodd Mill River, Mill River
— Monday, March 14, Montague Wellness Centre (storm date March 21)
— Wednesday, March 16, Murchison Centre, Charlottetown (St. Pius X Avenue, across from the church)
Presented as a trade show, the expos will allow for one-on-one dialogue with health staff, professionals and front-line workers. Exhibits will feature some of the services Health PEI and the Department of Health and Wellness offer including: Healthy Living programs, Public Health, Primary Health Care, Mental Health and Addictions, Ambulatory Care, Emergency Services, Hospital Care, Stroke Care, Cancer Care, Electronic Health Record s, Quality and Safety, Collaborative Model of Care, Home Care, and Long-term Care.
Health PEI board members and staff will be available to provide information and answer questions, and there will be food, beverages, and door prizes donated by local businesses.
Passport to Health, a new “instruction manual” for healthy living and eating produced by Health PEI and the Department of Health and Wellness, also will be introduced at the Expos. For more information on the Health Expos, visit www.healthpei.ca.
Hope the term "instruction manual" in reference to the Passport to Health is something the writer dreamed up and not a term being used by Health PEI. People don't need to be INSTRUCTED in good health practices - they need to be informed and partnered with in promoting a healthy lifestyle. Congrats to Health PEI & Dept of Health & Wellness for providing this information so individuals have the knowledge to live a more healthy lifestyle and thus reduce the burden they place on the already overtaxed health care system. This is a good first step to sustainability of the care system. But please get away from it being an instruction manual - whoever started that term.