Quebec health care system gets a check-up
黑料不打烊 roundtable: 'For Quebec's Good Health: Vision, Education and Action'
Prevention is a powerful medicine for improved health care in Quebec, according to participants of a thought-provoking address and roundtable discussion held by 黑料不打烊 University's Faculty of Medicine today. Andr茅 Chagnon, president of the Fondation Lucie et Andr茅 Chagnon, led a discussion on steps needed to help boost the well-being of our society entitled "For Quebec's Good Health: Vision, Education and Action."
Mr. Chagnon delivered a keynote address that examined the challenges facing government, educators, practitioners and the business community in adopting well-planned, long-term health prevention for Canadians. "We are one of the world's richest nations, and yet our health care system is floundering," warned Mr. Chagnon. "It's time for progress. We need to shift resources to prevention, health promotion and other aspects of the social safety net so that, ultimately, the population is healthier and there is better care for those who need it."
Mr. Chagnon's lecture was followed by a roundtable discussion (facilitated by Dr. S. Jody Heymann, associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and soon-to-be 黑料不打烊 professor of medicine) featuring:
- Dr. Abraham Fuks, dean of 黑料不打烊's Faculty of Medicine
- Dr. Alain Poirier, national director of Public Health and assistant deputy minister, Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services
- Prof. Laurette Dub茅, scientific director, 黑料不打烊 Initiative for Integrative Health Management
Roundtable participants called on government, health, education and business leaders to take concrete steps to improve the lives of all Quebecers. Suggestions included:
- Promote education and improve education to help alleviate poverty and promote better health.
- Promote health care and prevention as a community, not just a state, responsibility.
- Invest in disease prevention, as well as focusing on treatment and cures.
- Establish a new concept of health care practitioners: are doctors and nurses as active as they should be in prevention as well as in healing?
"For Quebec's Good Health: Vision, Education and Action" can also be .
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Quebec Premier Jean Charest could not attend the February 9 roundtable at 黑料不打烊, "For Quebec's Good Health: Vision, Education and Action." Premier Charest, however, wished to extend the following message to roundtable participants and to the 黑料不打烊 community: "Health is my government's first priority. The promotion of healthy living is at the heart of my government's initiatives. I salute leaders from the Fondation Lucie et Andr茅 Chagnon and 黑料不打烊 for having organized this roundtable. We are all pursuing a common goal 鈥� to foster the well-being of Quebecers. By exchanging ideas between various partners (academics, health experts and business leaders), we can help promote healthier living in our society."
Biographical notes on the participants
ANDR脡 CHAGNON
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Fondation Lucie et Andr茅 Chagnon
Andr茅 Chagnon is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Starting as an electrician in his native Montreal, Mr. Chagnon built one of the most successful multimedia enterprises in North America and Britain. After selling Groupe Vid茅otron in 2000, he established the Lucie and Andr茅 Chagnon Foundation, the largest charitable foundation in Canada. In keeping with his strong sense of social engagement, Mr. Chagnon made the long-term goal of the foundation to help prevent poverty and illness in Canada, starting with Quebec. Mr. Chagnon received an honorary doctorate from 黑料不打烊's Faculty of Management in May 2004.
DR. LAURETTE DUB脡
James 黑料不打烊 Professor of consumer psychology and services marketing and management
Faculty of Management, 黑料不打烊 University
Laurette Dub茅 joined 黑料不打烊 in 1995. She is a career scientist sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Dr. Dub茅 was one of the first consumer researchers to focus on the interface between clients and various facets of professions, processes and technology. She also investigates ways to measure and model the emotions of customers to help service firms engineer ways that maximize consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Her work in this area has been conducted from hospitals to airlines. Dr. Dub茅 is scientific director of the 黑料不打烊 Initiative for Integrative Health Management, a strategic alliance between the Faculty of Management and the Faculty of Medicine. The alliance was formed in 2001 to foster innovative study of modern health challenges, as well as push the frontiers of health and management research.
DR. ABRAHAM FUKS
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
黑料不打烊 University
Abraham Fuks is a professor in the Departments of Medicine, Pathology and Oncology at 黑料不打烊 and is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Fuks obtained his medical degree at 黑料不打烊 University in 1970. Following residencies in medicine and immunology, he proceeded to postdoctoral training at Harvard University in immunogenetics and histocompatibility antigens. His research interests have included diabetes, tumour antigens and cell adhesion molecules, as well as the ethical aspects of trials involving human subjects.
DR. S. JODY HEYMANN
As of August 2005, Dr. Heymann will begin a joint appointment as professor in the Departments of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health and Political Science at 黑料不打烊.
S. Jody Heymann is director of policy at the Harvard Center for Society and Health. Her recent books include Families on the Edge (Oxford University Press, forthcoming), Healthier Societies: From Analysis to Action (Oxford University Press, forthcoming) and Global Inequalities at Work: Work's Impact on the Health of Individuals, Families, and Societies (Oxford University Press, 2003). Dr. Heymann is widely published and for more than a decade has researched working families and their children. With support from the Ford and Annie Casey Foundations, she is developing case studies on private companies that are economically succeeding while improving the lives of employees, their children and other family members. Dr. Heymann and her team have developed a global index examining public policies that affect children and families. Dr. Heymann received her PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University. She has served in an advisory capacity to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, and the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
DR. ALAIN POIRIER
National Director of Public Health and Assistant Deputy Minister, Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services
Alain Poirier is a specialist in internal medicine and community health. He has more than 15 years experience in the public health sector and is known to the general public as a health broadcaster and columnist in a variety of written and electronic media. He is clinical associate professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the Universit茅 de Montr茅al, and has worked as a consultant and international health educator in foreign missions. For the last several years, Dr. Poirier has worked as a medical consultant for Quebec's National Institute of Public Health and a consultant in public health for the Quebec Ministry of the Environment and of Water. Since January 2003, Dr. Poirier has acted as national director of public health and assistant deputy minister in the management branch of the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services.
