Cornwall Mayoral Debate on Health, Wellness and Community Vitality

In advance of this year’s Community Health and Wellbeing Week (CHWW) which will take place from October 22^nd to October 28^th, 2018, Seaway Valley Community Health Centre (SVCHC), Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie (CSCE) and St-Joseph’s Continuing Care Centre (SJCCC) held a mayoral debate on Wednesday October 3^rd 2018 at St-Joseph’s Continuing Care Centre for Cornwall’s upcoming municipal election. The debate, attended by all four mayoral candidates, focused on health, wellness and community vitality. Moderated by Hugo Rodrigues in both official languages, approximately 60 community members attended the debate which was also broadcasted live on Facebook.

 The health and wellness of the community: a priority!

All mayoral candidates recognized the importance of a debate which focused on the health and wellness of the community. Some of the topics addressed included access to affordable housing, building partnerships, priorities for older adults and community vitality. Questions and comments from the community members focused on how to support individuals with lower incomes, housing concerns, pedestrian infrastructure, balancing fiscal responsibilities and concerns about feral cats.

“It is important to hear from our candidates on their priorities for the health and wellness of our community”, stated Seaway Valley Community Health Centre’s Executive Director Debbie St.John-de Wit . “Democratic engagement is identified as a key indicator of wellbeing.  We want all of our community members to exercise their rights as citizens, inform themselves on the priorities of the candidates and cast their vote on October 22^nd”.  This debate provides an opportunity to better understand the views of the four candidates.

It is also noteworthy that the municipal debate was well attended by many councillor candidates who were available for discussion after the debate and provided some information on their platforms.

For more information on candidates and voting in Cornwall, visit https://elections.cornwall.ca.

Community Health and Wellbeing Week

The debate aligned itself well with this year’s topic of the Community Health and Wellbeing Week  – Building Healthier Communities Together.  A week of special events held between October 22^nd and October 28^th, 2018 is being coordinated by the Alliance for Healthier Communities, of which CSCE and SVCHC are a member. The Alliance represents a vibrant network of Ontario’s Community Health Centres, Aboriginal Health Access Centres, Community Family Health Teams and Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics serving diverse communities across the province. Alliance members share commitment to advancing health equity and work together to confront social, economic or environmental barriers that create disadvantages which put many people at risk of poor health.

September 11th, 2018 – The Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie’s (CSCE) 2018 fall schedule is now available on our web calendar. The calendar features a handy search tool which enables you to find groups, events and community activities offered in all CSCE locations (Alexandria, Bourget, Cornwall, Crysler, Embrun and Limoges) by conducting a keyword search, a search by location or by category.

Register today!

Fall groups and activities include exercise groups, nutrition workshops, therapeutic groups like anxiety management, mindfulness meditation, and many more.

To see our new web calendar, visit us at www.cscestrie.on.ca and select the “CALENDAR” tab from the main menu. You can also view the calendar directly by clicking on this link:

https://www.cscestrie.on.ca/en/events/

Once you have completed your search, just click on the title of the event that interests you to obtain more information about the event.

Please note that events and groups offered solely in French will not appear in the English version of the calendar.

On Saturday, July 14, Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry (SD&G) Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) hosted their 15th Annual Golf Tournament at the Heritage Golf Club in Lancaster. The event raised $115,000, which will be handed over to youth initiatives in Glengarry County, like all money raised over the years.

The Golf Tournament, organized in partnership with the Caisse populaire de la Vallée (event major sponsor), Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie (CSCE), Centre culturel Les trois p’tits points, Équipe psycho-sociale and the Richelieu Club of Alexandria, brought together over 135 golfers.

A 15th edition of Golf Tournament focusing on youth mental health

With the support of several businesses, sponsors, participants, volunteers and a very generous anonymous donation of $100,000, this year’s event raised over $115,000. In respecting the anonymous donor’s request to focus on youth mental health, the following amounts were presented during the evening:

• Équipe psycho-sociale (Glengarry County) – $13,500
• Children’s Treatment Centre (Glengarry County) – $8500
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Cornwall & District (Glengarry County) – $4000
• St-Vincent de Paul Society (Alexandria) – $4000
• Tortue Berlue (educational theatre for ages 4-8yrs coming this fall) – $3500

Also receiving are the following organizations, which have been supported over the past years. The amounts raised will allow for financial aid to be sustained yearly until 2021:

• Jumpstart Foundation Alexandria Chapter – $4000 yearly
• North Glengarry Youth Centre (Glengarry Inter-Agency Group) – $4000 yearly
• Centre culturel Les trois p’tits points (Concours de talents de l’Est ontarien) – $4000 yearly
• Richelieu Club’s ART for Joy – $4000 yearly
• Snowsuit Project (Caisse populaire de la Vallée Employees) – $4000 yearly

On behalf of the organizing committee, we wish to extend our sincerest appreciation to all who helped make the tournament another success!

Event in photos

Cheque presentation for $4000 from event major sponsor – Caisse populaire de la Vallée. From left to right: Michel Laviolette (CSCE/Tournament Organizer), Elaine Oetelaar (Caisse populaire de la Vallée), France Brunet (Tournament Organizer) & Derek Durocher (Caisse populaire de la Vallée).
		Cheque presentation for $13,500 to Équipe psycho-sociale (Glengarry County). From left to right: Michel Laviolette, Gina Lacombe (Équipe psycho-sociale) & France Brunet.
Cheque presentation for $8500 to Children’s Treatment Centre (Glengarry County). From left to right: Michel Laviolette, Milton Ellis (Children’s Treatment Centre) & France Brunet.
		PCheque presentation for $4000 to Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Cornwall & District (Glengarry County). From left to right: Michel Laviolette, representative from ig Brothers, Big Sisters & France Brunet.

Last Sunday, August 26, 2018, the 1st Edition of the Limoges Family Color Run was held, as part of Boboul Family Day, bringing together 110 runners and walkers of all ages. The event, organized by the Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie (CSCE), raised $1034.33, which will be handed over to the Limoges Citizens Committee in order to support community projects.

Limoges Family Color Run: A great event for all ages!

At 2 p.m., with the sun shining, participants both young and old were all smiles at the start line for the 2.6 km course. Volunteers were stationed at several points along the route, waiting to spray passing walkers and runners with colorful powder. At the finish line, the look of pride on the participants’ faces was overwhelming, since many were running for the first time.

Thanks

The event, launched by Audrey Beauséjour, Kinesiologist and Health Promoter at the CSCE in Limoges, owes much of its great success to the collaboration of volunteers and sponsors: Casselman Canadian Tire, Coureur des bois Challenge, Embrun Creation Decor, Embrun Independant Coop, Nérée Lavictoire Roofing, students from Rockland École secondaire catholique L’Escale, students from Limoges École élémentaire catholique Saint-Viateur and many volunteers from the community. The CSCE sincerely thanks all these partners for their generous participation.

Boboul Family Day

In addition to this event, Boboul Family Day allowed families to enjoy all types of activities including live music by Sweet Gang Joes and The Urban Misfits, inflatable structures, carnival games, face painting, vendor booths, food and draws.

Event in photos

At 2 p.m., with the sun shining, participants both young and old were all smiles at the start line for the 2.6 km course.
		The 1st Edition of the Limoges Family Color Run brought together 110 runners and walkers of all ages.
At the finish line, the look of pride on the participants’ faces was overwhelming, since many were running for the first time.

* To see more pictures, visit Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie on Facebook.

Last Thursday, August 16, 2018, the 2nd Bourget Splash Pad Fun Event organized by the Splash Pad Committee was held at the park to inaugurate the newly constructed gazebo. The event, launched by François Plouffe, Community Health Worker at the Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie, and Diane Choinière, City Councillor, brought together about 250 people from families of Bourget and surrounding area.

On the photo (event partners with the new gazebo): François Plouffe (Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie), Sophie Goudreau (community member), Marc Roy (Bourget Optimist Club) and Michel Forget (Comptoir familial Le Partage) (absent from the photo: Jean-Luc Jubinville from City of Clarence-Rockland and Jacques Drouin from Bourget Recreation Committee).

Splash Pad Fun Event: all kinds of activities!

With the sun out shining, the children enjoyed all kinds of activities such as water games at the splash pad, an obstacle course, bingo and the Clarence-Rockland Fire Department inflatable structure. In addition, a free BBQ lunch, including popcorn and a fruit & veggie station, was served for all to enjoy.

Show by The Keepers 

The day ended with an interactive and educational show by The Keepers and their animals. The Keepers is an organization that focuses on educating the public about the importance of wildlife conservation and responsible pet ownership.

Thanks

The great success of the event is due in part to the collaboration of the Splash Pad Committee’s partners: Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie, Comptoir familial Le Partage, Bourget Optimist Club, Bourget Recreation Committee and City of Clarence-Rockland. The Splash Pad Committee would also like to sincerely thank all the volunteers and following partners for their generous participation: Healthy Kids Community Challenge, Mike Dean’s Super Food Stores, LM Leadership Program, VC Gym, Coureurs des bois Challenge, United Counties of Prescott & Russell, OCWA and DJ Marty.

Event photos

Kids had lots of fun at the Splash Pad.
		Clarence-Rockland Fire Department inflatable structure: a very popular activity!
An obstacle course is a nice way to get kids and their parents moving!
		Healthy Kids Community Challenge fruit & veggie station.

*To see more pictures, visit Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie on Facebook.

Last Thursday, June 7, 2018, the 10th annual bilingual Senior Fair organized by the “Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie” (CSCE), in partnership with the Care Centre and Carefor, took place at the Cornwall Care Centre. This event was orchestrated by Ivan Labelle, Community Health Worker for the CSCE, and received approximately 150 seniors from Cornwall and area. The CSCE would like to give a warm thanks to all its partners, sponsors and volunteers involved who assured the success of this event.

The Senior Fair Celebrate in Unique Fashion Seniors Month

Every year for the last ten years, the Senior Fair celebrate in unique fashion Seniors Month (June), by organizing and reuniting organizations and seniors, in order to better inform seniors of services in their community. To confirm this 27 various agencies were present at this event, and because of their devotion to better serve our seniors, the day was a success. The CSCE would also like to thank Stéphanie Hemmerick from CSCE for her exercise session, Stéphanie Cadieux of Elder Abuse Ontario and Josée Desrochers of the Alzheimer Society, who both offered two interesting bilingual conferences (Healthy Relationships: The Key to Aging Well and Healthy Brain: Living Well With Dementia and Strategies for Caregivers).

It is essential to mention the generous contribution of The Care Centre, who offered their centre for the venue and also generously served a free lunch to all those in attendance. Thank you as well to Suzanne Villeneuve of the “Centre culturel” for letting us use her centre for conferences, to Comfort Quilts for their beautiful display of quilts in the hallway and to Carefor for supplying some wonderful desserts.

In a nutshell, the event was an overall success and Mr. Labelle is looking forward to renewing the event again next year: See you all in 2019!

Event Pictures

     

April 16, 2018 – It’s Volunteer Week from April 15 to 21, 2018 and we would like to tip our hats to them! The Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie (CSCE) is proud to rely on the services of its fifty or so active volunteers who provide valuable assistance to our organization. Volunteers are key to the success of the CSCE. Their talent and the time and energy they invest in their role as volunteers enrich the work that we do.

There are several opportunities for volunteering at the CSCE, including the following programs and activities:

• Vaccination clinics
• Knitting club/card & sand bag games activities
• Community gardens
• Support group
• Green Food Box program
• Exercise program/walking club
• Office work

Thank you for your dedication!

For more information about the Volunteer Week, visit www.fcabq.org.

You would like to apply to become a volunteer at CSCE? Visit the Volunteer page for more information about volunteer opportunities.

 

November 14, 2017 – The World Diabetes Day 2017 campaign will promote the importance of affordable and equitable access for all women at risk for or living with diabetes to the essential diabetes medicines and technologies, selfmanagement education and information they require to achieve optimal diabetes outcomes and strengthen their capacity to prevent type 2 diabetes.

There are currently over 199 million women living with diabetes and this total is projected to increase to 313 million by 2040. Gender roles and power dynamics
influence vulnerability to diabetes, affect access to health services and health seeking behavior for women, and amplify the impact of diabetes on women.

Diabetes is the ninth leading cause of death in women globally, causing 2.1 million deaths each year. As a result of socioeconomic conditions, girls and women with diabetes experience barriers in accessing cost-effective diabetes prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and care, particularly in developing
countries. Socioeconomic inequalities expose women to the main risk factors of diabetes, including poor diet and nutrition, physical inactivity, tobacco
consumption and harmful use of alcohol.

Two out of every five women with diabetes are of reproductive age, accounting for over 60 million women worldwide. Women with diabetes have more difficulty conceiving and may have poor pregnancy outcomes. Without pre-conception planning, type 1 and type 2 diabetes can result in a significantly higher risk of maternal and child mortality and morbidity.

Approximately one in seven births is affected by gestational diabetes (GDM), a severe and neglected threat to maternal and child health. Many women with GDM
experience pregnancy related complications including high blood pressure, large birth weight babies and obstructed labour. A significant number of women with GDM also go on to develop type 2 diabetes resulting in further healthcare complications and costs.

Stigmatisation and discrimination faced by people with diabetes are particularly pronounced for girls and women, who carry a double burden of discrimination
because of their health status and the inequalities perpetrated in male dominated societies. These inequalities can discourage girls and women from seeking diagnosis and treatment, preventing them from achieving positive health outcomes.

***

For more detail on the World Diabetes Day, visit www.worlddiabetesday.org

Are you at risk of having pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes? Take the test at www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/en/canrisk

For more information on the services offered at the CSCE Diabetes Education Program (DEP), go to the DEP page.

It takes a community to prevent a fall.
We all have a role to play!

Did you know? In Ontario, falls to older adults accounted for $1 billion in direct health care costs.

Fall Prevention Month encourages organizations to coordinate their efforts for a larger impact. Organizations in Ontario and beyond participate by planning activities and sharing evidence-based information on fall prevention. Together, we can raise the profile of fall prevention and help everyone see their role in keeping older adults active, independent and healthy as they age.

To learn more, go to fallpreventionmonth.ca

Marc Bisson, Executive Director at the Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie (CSCE) received a distinction award after delivering a brief presentation on the quality of care received under the low back pain pilot project during Health Quality Ontario’s conference which was held in Toronto on October 24, 2017.

Under the theme Quality Matters, this conference focused on bringing quality care to the Ontario health care system and the best way to achieve this goal. More than 300 abstracts, which focused on six dimensions of a high-functioning health system, were received and reviewed by a panel consisting of members from Health Quality Ontario, partner organizations and patient advisors from across Ontario. The low back pain pilot project ranked at the top of its category. The following six dimensions were taken into consideration during the reviewal process: safety, effectiveness, patient-centredness, efficiency, timeliness and equity.

The low back pain pilot project began at the CSCE in January 2015. It is designed to help interprofessional health care teams provide the best possible care to patients suffering from low back pain. By hiring two chiropractors, the CSCE has increased access to care, resulting in the treatment of patients who otherwise would not have received such services. Generally, the treatment of low back pain by a chiropractor can cost upwards of $400, which means individuals with low incomes or those who do not have insurance are unlikely to access these services. Moreover, this project helps lower costs by reducing the number of unnecessary diagnostic imaging tests like X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

Since the inception of the pilot project, more than 470 patients have seen a chiropractor at the CSCE or at the Glengarry Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic in Lancaster, where the CSCE also offers English services. Chiropractic treatment consists of a rigorous examination to assess if the problem is muscle or joint-related, or if it is the result of another health problem. This is followed up with adjustments to the spine, muscles and surrounding structures. Lastly, treatment includes teaching patients how to better manage their pain by doing exercises and following certain recommendations so they can heal faster. On average, ten visits are required for treatment.

The project has achieved many positive outcomes. From a patient perspective, many have reduced the dose of their pain medication. Recreational activities previously abandoned due to low back pain were also resumed more quickly after treatment.

Below are some interesting facts gathered from a survey conducted on 146 patients who received services through the low-back pain pilot project:

• 94% were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the assessment of their condition and the services rendered.
• 87% agreed or strongly agreed that the pilot project enabled them to receive services they may not have otherwise received.
• 83% agreed or strongly agreed that they required less medication to help manage their low back pain after receiving services.
• 91% agreed or strongly agreed that they were better able to self-manage their low back pain after receiving services.
• 93% agreed or strongly agreed that their quality of life had improved after receiving services.

The pilot project has also generated positive impacts on the health care system, including:

• A reduction in referral consultations with specialists and diagnostic imaging tests.
• A reduction in hospital emergency visits for low back pain problems.
• A reduction in medication being prescribed for low back pain.

Initially, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care funded the pilot project for two years, from 2015 to 2017. However, given its overall positive outcomes, financing has been extended until 2018, after which time we cannot say with certainty if the project will continue. “This pilot project quickly exceeded expectations. The formula is simple, effective and cost-efficient. It would be a shame for it to come to an end in March 2018 due to a lack of funding. The outstanding work of our team of chiropractors not only significantly reduces the costs on the health care system but changes the lives of individuals who suffer from low back pain.” added Marc Bisson, Executive Director at the CSCE.

For more details on the CSCE low back pain pilot project, click here.