Fall Saturday Speakers Series: Owning Your Health
Mid Island Elder College is pleased to announce its Fall Saturday Speaker Series, with three timely and thought-provoking talks on the topic of “Owning Your Health.”
Three outstanding speakers will be featured:
· Saturday, October 12 – Dr. Hector Baillie - Navigating Our Broken Healthcare System
· Saturday, November 9 – Dr Adam Hoverman - Can Social Prescribing Help Heal the Healthcare System?
· Saturday, December 7 – Kamal Parmar - Healing the Mind and Body Through Poetry
Mid Island Elder College (MIEC) Board President Robin Fisher says that the theme of this speaker series is especially appropriate, given that the mission of MIEC is dedicated to the growth of a community of life-long learning and well-being. “By seeing old age as a time to learn new things and make new plans, we can positively impact both our mental and physical health,” he says.
Location: Nanoose Place, 2925 NW Bay Rd, Nanoose Bay
Time: 10 am to 12 noon on the days listed above
Cost: $10 at the door or you can register online at eldercollege.org.
Plan to join us for Insights, coffee, and conversation!
Dr Baillie is an internist, specialising in complex adult medicine. He has practiced in BC since 1987 and, although retired, still sometimes works in Northern BC doing rural locum work.
He says, “Healthcare is the biggest industry on the planet. It is complex. Social changes make matching deliverables and expectations tough. We need to have a pilot steer us through rough waters, and a navigator help us when we get sick. It starts by understanding the landscape.”
Dr. Hoverman is a Family Medicine Physician with the Wellington Medical Clinic and co-lead for Social Prescribing at the Nanaimo Division of Family Practice. His present academic posts include Clinical Instructor roles with the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and the Department of Health Systems and Population Health at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health.
He says, “Why is social well-being so frequently side-lined and forgotten in contemporary healthcare environments? With the paired crises of loneliness and social isolation exacerbated by the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, and the evidence that 80 percent of our health is socially determined by factors in our environment, the present need for manifesting social cures of connection and community has never been more urgently clear.”
Kamal Parmar, Nanaimo poet and writer has been passionately involved in writing for the past 20 years. She has a number of books, in poetry and non-fiction, to her credit. As the current Poet Laureate of Nanaimo, she has been organizing readings and panel discussions with the community of Nanaimo and other cities on Vancouver Island, in order to create awareness about poetry. It is her view that whether one is a beginner, playing with words or an established writer, poetry is a very powerful tool in combating any ills in us, be it mental, social, emotional or physical.
She says, “I will talk about emotional and physiological healing across cultures. I want to also delve into poetry as a meditative art.”