Upon reflecting on the past two weeks of lecture and seminar, I was quickly reminded of a medical series I have been following in the Toronto Star newspaper. A 26-year old man living in Mount Forest, Ontario nearly died of a rare blood disorder called PNH before gaining access to a $500,000 a year drug treatment. Lucas Maciesza's fight for medical treatment drove provincial policy makers to reconsider the five principles of the Canada Health Act and the Ontario Public Drugs Program is considering the request to cover emergency and beyond-budget drugs. This policy change is meant to reinforce the value of equity in the Canadian values of Medicare, providing necessary care to all Canadians regardless of where they live and what services they require. Revising policy legislation, a vital health promotion strategy is a step towards a more comprehensive, accessible and universal health care system.
See http://www.thestar.com/article/926516--ontario-expands-coverage-for-compassionate-drug-access for more information on this story.
In seminar, the point was made that "fairness" one of Medicare's four values was extremely subjective. Growing up with both of my parents being health care workers, I myself feel like I am at an advantage when it comes to receiving adequate health care. My father being a radiologist, I have been able to "bud" the line on many occasions for diagnostic testing of any kind. One particular experience demonstrates how it is often "who you know" that will get you ahead.
In July of this past year I found myself in the emergency room of York Central Hospital where my father has worked for over 20 years. The sea of people waiting to be seen was incredible, the waiting room crowded to capacity, with everything from crying babies to bleeding wounds, my father forging ahead to show the triage nurse his hospital ID. From across the hall my father began waving at the ER doctor on-call and before I knew it I was in and out of the hospital in under 30 minutes. It was a bittersweet feeling of satisfaction and shame as I walked out, passing people who had been waiting over 5 hours to be seen in a much worse state than I was. In that moment, I realized that as much as we would like our health care systm to render fairness and equality for all, there are always going to be shortcuts along the way, and this time I was the one benefitting.
As nutrition professionals, I believe it is our duty as health care workers to embrace the strategies of health promotion in order to provide people with the skills they need to live a more healthy life. As agents of change, we must collectively strive for a healthy population through nutrition education and community health promotion. By reaching people in their everyday context, we can create a healthy social and physical environment including food and supplementation programs right in their own communities. Prevention and awareness are key aspects of community nutrition that can empower individuals to take control of their lives as well as reduce the burden on the health care system.
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