Ifeanyichukwu Akanegbu
The 2019 Health Week in Tumbler Ridge has come and gone but its impact will always remain, especially for the chain of events the program has kindled.
The different partners promoting health came together for the first Health Week where they worked together to promote health in Tumbler Ridge, coordinated through the Building Healthy Communities Committee. Mayor and Council made us proud by providing the partners with the conducive environment and support needed to undertake this project which will become an annual event.
Mayor and Council proclaimed September 7–11 as Health Week for this year, spearheaded by our very own Chris Norbury. Health Week has come to stay and the planning for next year’s event has already begun. The program was structured to address the concerns of people across all ages: children, teenagers/youth, adults, and even our beloved seniors (forever young society).
Health Week 2019 started on Saturday September 7 with the Lions Club’s Health Fair organized by Mandy Coulson. The event commenced with a speech by the Medical Director of the Northeast, Dr Becky Temple. She was glad to know that a program was organized locally by members of the community, for the locals, and that the Health Centre was extending services at the community level.
Peter Martin, the Health Service Administrator for Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge, thanked the organizers and assured them of support by the Health Centre in future programs. Mayor and Council was represented by Deputy Mayor Daryl Krakowka, who welcomed and thanked the organizers and gave a speech regarding the importance of community health.
Mandy introduced the day’s program that was geared at educating the public on common health conditions after the opening speeches from our guests. The first talk was by a pharmacist from Fort St John, Cory Hermans, on medication management. Participants consulted Dr Solomon who examined and counseled them on various health issues. After lunch, the participants attended different workshops which were very informative and included: Dementia awareness, caring for the caregivers, shingles education, and community paramedicine. The services available at the events included blood pressure checks, blood sugar, BMI etc…
At 2 pm the next day, at the same venue were two lectures by the Health Centre in Tumbler Ridge. The first by optometrist, Dr Spataro and the second by Dr Ohiaeri, the Addiction Medicine Lead of the Northeast. The lectures were enlightening and the attendees were very thankful for the information learned, with some attendees spending quality time with the experts after the lectures to clarify some personal concerns..
Monday between 3-5pm was the Get Ready to Learn Health Fair in rooms 3, 4, 5 and the TR Public Library by the Tumbler Ridge Society for Children’s Needs. The event focused on germ awareness, and how to stay healthy and resilient while getting back into the school year for families and children of all ages. The TRSCN hosted multiple informative booths, a better breakfast demo with healthy breakfast options and recipes, a karate demo, a germ detective awareness game, introduction to Child/Parent yoga With Michelle Chisholm, and art workshops by Joan Zimmer.
On Tuesday, Tumbler Ridge Secondary School students from grades 10–12, accompanied by their teachers, were invited to the Tumbler Ridge Health Centre for a program organized by the Teen Support Network in collaboration with: the Health Centre, the RCMP and Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Introductions were made by Mark Deeley, who thanked the partners that worked behind the scenes to put on the program.
The facility nurse manager, Barb Schuerkamp, welcomed and thanked the children and teachers for coming and said the facility hoped to hold the program annually, with the goal of educating youth on healthy living. Barb toured the students through the facility, taking them to the various departments and explaining the activities carried out there. Students also participated in workshops that were geared to educate them on the adverse effects of substance abuse. Other activities included a talk by Lilly, a facility nurse, and another on ‘getting help early’ by our RCMP officers, Sergeant Fayle and Constable Robertshaw. Lastly, the paramedics taught the children on how to identify and help a person in need for acute care, including administering Narcan in case of an emergency. The CPR procedure was demonstrated by Paramedics: Joan, Mike, and Matt after which the program came to a close with speeches by Mark and Barb.
Health Week ended on Wednesday with a lecture at the Willow Hall Seniors Centre for the Forever Young Society with an open invitation to members of the public. The lecture on ‘medication review’ was given by our own community pharmacist Charissa Tonnesen.
We want to use this medium to thank all the players which include: Tumbler Ridge Public Library, Health Centre, Northern Health, Lion’s Club, Teen Support Network, Tumbler Ridge Pharmacy, Tumbler Ridge RCMP, Building Healthy Community Committee, Tumbler Ridge Society for Children’s Needs, Tumbler Ridge paramedics, and Mayor & Council. We also want to thank all the special guests: Drs Ohiaeri, Spataro, Becky Temple, Solomon, Cory Hermans, Peter Martin, and all the others who helped and attended the event.
Ndewo, Ndeme, Dalu (meaning ‘Thank you and well done’ – in Nigerian.)
