In 2012, Canada’s public healthcare system – Medicare – celebrated its 50th anniversary. So too did Saskatchewan’s network of cooperative Community Health Centres, which »»»
CACHC ByLaws: Definition of Community Health Centre Fact Sheet: Community Health Centres – What are they? COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRES AT A GLANCE Community »»»
Together, CACHC and its members are working hard to expand access to high-quality, people-centred primary health care. We are also partnering and collaborating to improve »»»
The Canadian Association of Community Health Centres (CACHC) is the federal voice for Community Health Centres and community-oriented, people-centred primary health care across Canada. The »»»
Community Health Centres – My “Aha Moment”
A Medicare@50 blog post by:
Scott A. Wolfe
Federal Coordinator – Canadian Association of Community Health Centres
My first introduction to Community Health Centres (CHCs) came roughly 15 years ago. However, my personal journey with CHCs, in earnest, dates back a decade. In 2004, not fully-aware of what I was embarking upon, I accepted a role with the burgeoning Association of Ontario Health Centres (AOHC), Canada’s single-largest provincial CHCs association.
Having recently returned to Canada from work in the international health and development field with a couple of larger international agencies, the opportunity to contribute on the home front was one that had great appeal. Nonetheless, I was admittedly unclear about what exactly these Community Health Centres were and how they might connect to the particular experiences that I had amassed in the international arena.
I suppose that, much like the majority of Canadians who work in health care or social services (but not in direct contact with CHCs), I had a vague sense that these so-called CHCs were community resource hubs…
Self-management and peer support at Manitoba CHC
The Hans Kai program at NorWest Cooperative Community Health Centre in Winnipeg supports individuals to achieve health and wellness through group learning and peer support. Learn more via this short video. You can connect directly with NorWest Coop CHC via their website and on Twitter at @NorWestCoop.
Volunteers at CHCs: leaving a mark, leaving a legacy
LIHC Immigrant Seniors Home Visiting Program staff worker, Sarah Patterson, and program volunteer, José.
A guest blog post from London Intercommunity Health Centre volunteer, José.
Good afternoon! It is a pleasure to share my volunteer experience with all of you. 4 years ago my family and I came to Canada as permanent residents. A Doctor in El Salvador, the country I came from, I was aware of the difficulties and challenges faced by newcomers, and since I was not able to start to work in my field, volunteering was an attractive option to keep myself in “the field”. I came to the London InterCommunity Health Centre (LIHC) looking for an opportunity to volunteer and help as much as I can to a population sector that for so different reasons are not reached by the “conventional” health care system.
So far, it’s been an interesting and rewarding experience. In the “Senior’s Home Visiting Program,” my job is to give companionship and help to immigrant seniors in the London [Ontario] Area. To be honest with you, it is not a simple task. They have grown and lived in different cultures, do things their way always; and facing a 180 degrees change in their