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Vera Etches says she immediately gained an appreciation for public health while watching nurses work as a medical student visiting the African country of Malawi.
“They just knew their community,” Etches, Ottawa’s new medical officer of health, said in an interview Wednesday. “They were positive. They were tackling really big issues. I thought, these are the people I really want to work with. They see the big picture, trying to make a difference over time.”
Etches watched how nutrition, agricultural practices and politics shaped health and realized it was no different in Canada. The experience set her on a path of leadership in public health.
“Our food system is really important to determining how easy is it for us to make that healthy choice or not. The political environment, the decisions our city council makes about investing in bike paths or sidewalks,” Etches said. “These things really make it easier or harder for us to be healthy, so I wanted to work with community leaders, like our city council, that are trying to make Ottawa the most livable city.”
Etches, 42, is the first woman to hold the top job at the city’s public health unit. Council on Wednesday unanimously approved her appointment as medical officer of health. The province’s health minister also needs to confirm her appointment.
Etches has been in the best position possible to become the next top doctor for the municipality. After Isra Levy announced in November he was leaving the health unit for an executive job at Canadian Blood Services, the Ottawa Public Health board appointed Etches to be the acting medical officer of health during a search for a permanent successor. Etches already has about five months of experience leading the health unit.
Her management experience at the health unit extends back to 2009 when she joined the organization as an associate medical officer of health. Etches became deputy medical officer of health in 2014. She previously was an associate and acting medical officer of health in Sudbury.
Originally from Hazelton, B.C., Etches did her bachelor of science degree at Simon Fraser University before attending the University of British Columbia for her medical doctorate. She has completed a master’s degree in health science and a fellowship in community medicine at the University of Toronto. Etches is also an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa.
Etches said her roots in rural health stretched into urban health as she went to university and started working in cities. She prefers walking, biking and taking transit around Ottawa. Etches said she became a car owner for the first time in her 40s after the birth of her second child.
Levy has left the health unit in an excellent position, Etches said, and she aims to maintain a consistent approach. She has been alongside Levy on major health files such as the H1N1 virus, floods and infection control lapses.
The big files today include the opioid crisis and the public health response to the legalization of cannabis.
Etches said she’s interested in finding new ways to engage residents about their health priorities. She also wants to go beyond statistics to understand who’s most vulnerable.
“Sometimes what’s masked in an average number, like the fact that most people in Ottawa say their health is good or very good, is that average conceals inequities in health,” Etches said. “We need to look at the populations that experience more barriers to health and working with those communities to remove those barriers.”
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
“They just knew their community,” Etches, Ottawa’s new medical officer of health, said in an interview Wednesday. “They were positive. They were tackling really big issues. I thought, these are the people I really want to work with. They see the big picture, trying to make a difference over time.”
Etches watched how nutrition, agricultural practices and politics shaped health and realized it was no different in Canada. The experience set her on a path of leadership in public health.
“Our food system is really important to determining how easy is it for us to make that healthy choice or not. The political environment, the decisions our city council makes about investing in bike paths or sidewalks,” Etches said. “These things really make it easier or harder for us to be healthy, so I wanted to work with community leaders, like our city council, that are trying to make Ottawa the most livable city.”
Etches, 42, is the first woman to hold the top job at the city’s public health unit. Council on Wednesday unanimously approved her appointment as medical officer of health. The province’s health minister also needs to confirm her appointment.
Etches has been in the best position possible to become the next top doctor for the municipality. After Isra Levy announced in November he was leaving the health unit for an executive job at Canadian Blood Services, the Ottawa Public Health board appointed Etches to be the acting medical officer of health during a search for a permanent successor. Etches already has about five months of experience leading the health unit.
Her management experience at the health unit extends back to 2009 when she joined the organization as an associate medical officer of health. Etches became deputy medical officer of health in 2014. She previously was an associate and acting medical officer of health in Sudbury.
Originally from Hazelton, B.C., Etches did her bachelor of science degree at Simon Fraser University before attending the University of British Columbia for her medical doctorate. She has completed a master’s degree in health science and a fellowship in community medicine at the University of Toronto. Etches is also an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa.
Etches said her roots in rural health stretched into urban health as she went to university and started working in cities. She prefers walking, biking and taking transit around Ottawa. Etches said she became a car owner for the first time in her 40s after the birth of her second child.
Levy has left the health unit in an excellent position, Etches said, and she aims to maintain a consistent approach. She has been alongside Levy on major health files such as the H1N1 virus, floods and infection control lapses.
The big files today include the opioid crisis and the public health response to the legalization of cannabis.
Etches said she’s interested in finding new ways to engage residents about their health priorities. She also wants to go beyond statistics to understand who’s most vulnerable.
“Sometimes what’s masked in an average number, like the fact that most people in Ottawa say their health is good or very good, is that average conceals inequities in health,” Etches said. “We need to look at the populations that experience more barriers to health and working with those communities to remove those barriers.”
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
