Connexions speaks for Anglos’ health

New health advisory committee

Quebec’s Minister of Health and Social Services, Gaétan Barrette, accepted a request this spring from the Connexions Resource Centre to form an advisory committee to make recommendations to the CISSSO’s board of directors to preserve the defunct Centre de santé et de service sociaux (CSSS) des Collines’ cultural, historical and linguistic or local character.

Mr Barrette confirmed the committee’s formation in a letter to Lucie Lalonde, CISSSO’s board president. Connexions sent Mr Barrette the request on March 31, 2015.

The centre is a not-for-profit community organization that serves and promotes the health, well-being and vitality of Outaouais’ English-speaking population. The centre’s Executive Director is Danielle Lanyi.

“I’m looking forward to having discussions both with CISSSO and the community in des Collines,” she told the Bulletin.

Pleased with Barrette’s decision, Lanyi explained that this committee will give the community a direct line of communication with the regional health board. “This committee will make its recommendations directly to CISSSO’s board. It’s an opportunity to build that link,” she noted.

Lanyi said she appealed for the committee because “the community in general in des Collines and the English-speaking community has been very active in the area of health and social services. We also do have a significant number of Anglophones in that area. For example, the Wakefield Memorial Hospital is a designated bilingual institution.”

Lanyi explained that one of the concerns held by  community members had who participated on the former boards was that all of Outaouais would only have one board following the merger of CSSSs. On April 1, 2015, five West Quebec regional health boards (CSSS) were unilaterally merged by Quebec City to form the CISSSO. “This is an opportunity to provide recommendations and feedback to the institution from a more local perspective,” suggested Lanyi.

Now that the Minister has accepted Ms Lanyi’s request, CISSSO’s board of directors must invite other groups to submit names of potential candidates to form this future committee. In total, the board of directors will nominate seven individuals to implement the committee’s mandate.

“We are in new territory and this committee will need to define its mandate and Connexions will be there. We will continue to play that support role and we will adapt our role as the committee evolves,” noted Lanyi.

Ms Lanyi is also working on a similar request for the Pontiac. “It’s in the works. We will be speaking with the community there to make that request,” she added.