Gateway Centre Of Excellence In Rural Health Hosts Strategic Planning Day And Welcomes Newest Research Chair

by Bob Montgomery

The Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health recently held its Strategic Planning Day and welcomed its newest Research Chair.

The Strategic Planning Day focused on creating growth, implementing meaningful changes, and identifying strategies to ensure Gateway’s continued success in advancing rural health outcomes. Participants engaged in a series of strategic activities designed to evaluate current initiatives, set priorities, and develop actionable goals for the years ahead.

Adding to the momentum of the day, Gateway proudly welcomed its newest Chair of Equity and Access in Rural Palliative Care, Erin Donald, PhD, RN, CHPCN(C) (they/them). Dr. Donald is a graduate-educated nurse with a 15-year career in palliative care. They have practised as a clinical nurse in community and hospice, as an educator at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and as a nurse researcher in palliative care and health systems. Their program of research focuses on access to palliative care and a palliative approach in rural settings and for populations made vulnerable by social inequity. Having relocated to Goderich in 2022, Dr. Donald has joined Gateway with the aim of fostering local partnerships and supporting community-based initiatives focused on improving the quality of life across the disease trajectory for those with life-threatening illnesses.

Photo courtesy of Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health