Beyond the Barriers: A Community Forum on Healthcare in a Multicultural City
Featuring
Dr. Augie Fleras, Department of Sociology, University of Waterloo
Fauzia Mazhar, Intercultural Health Worker, Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre
Myrta Rivera, Spiritual Care Department of St. Mary's & Former Executive Director of the KW Multicultural Society
Sandra Hett, Chief Nursing Executive, St. Mary's
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / 7:00 p.m.
St. Mary's General Hospital
Heasley Hall
911 Queen's Blvd.
Kitchener, Ontario
Good healthcare not only depends on the best science and medicine, but it also requires that healthcare providers understand the cultural, moral, and religious traditions of those seeking healthcare. This year, St. Jerome's University and the St. Mary's Foundation have collaborated to establish a forum that addresses some of the challenges posed by the cultural, moral, and religious diversity facing our health professionals as they seek to deliver world-class healthcare to an increasingly multicultural - and multi-religious - population. Bringing together health experts and leaders from some of Waterloo Region's ethnic and visible minority communities, this forum will initiate a discussion of how healthcare providers can establish relations with our region's various communities to provide welcoming care that respects the dignity, values, and unique spirituality of Canadians.
St. Mary's General Hospital (SMGH) was founded over 85 years ago on the principles of inclusivity and openness. St. Mary's mission was simply to care for the sick and needy, especially the poor and marginalized. In the tradition of the founding order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton, SMGH continues to provide a place of healing for all people - a place where the sick are cared for in body, mind, and spirit.
St. Jerome's University is honored to support the work of SMGH and gladly celebrates the recently- opened 100,000 square foot addition to accommodate the St. Mary's Regional Cardiac Care Centre and the busiest day-surgery program in the province.
RSVP to foundation@smgh.ca or (519) 749-6539
PLEASE NOTE TIME AND PLACE: This lecture takes place at St. Mary's General Hospital, Heasley Hall, 911 Queen's Blvd., Kitchener, Ontario, N2M 1B2, at 7:00 p.m., on a Wednesday evening, 22 April 2009.