Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health Celebrates White Paper Day And Donor Appreciation Event

by Bob Montgomery

The Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health Celebrated White Paper Day and their Donor Appreciation Event last Friday at the Comfort Inn in Goderich.

Gateway Project Lead and Research Assistant Amy Sturgeon says they decided to celebrate the two events together. The White Paper Day is an opportunity to thank their research assistants and their summer students for the work they've done, and the Donor Appreciation Event is a chance to show the donors what they get back for the funding they provide to Gateway.

Sturgeon says the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health was founded in 2008 and they have had a huge impact on their communities since then. Part of their work involves making sure that rural communities have the same resources that are enjoyed in urban centres. She says one of things she's found very encouraging is the way that rural communities are working together with the understanding that in many cases they're dealing with same challenges, so there's a lot to be gained by sharing their experiences. She says at a Senior's based Summit she attended last year in Ottawa people from as far away as Nova Scotia and B.C. were saying “we're experiencing the same problems, how are you dealing with them in your community?”. So, it's encouraging to see rural communities working together.

Sturgeon says something that has become a growing challenge is that people are living longer today then they used to. That's very encouraging, but it also means they tend to require more medical attention and that's proving to be a challenge on our system.

Photos courtesy of the Gateway Centre for Excellence in Rural Health