THE OPEN GATE NEWSLETTER | SUMMER 2018www.gat ewayruralhealt h.ca

With Gateway marking 10 years of operations this year, it is a cause for celebration of our success as an organization and the challenges we have overcome. Much has changed since our inception, and the past year was no exception to that trend.

To begin, we have had the privilege of part-time Administrative Lead, Brenda Grant, assist with the smooth operation of our organization. She keeps us on-task and deserves a special thank you for her efforts.

This was our first full year operating out of the new Goderich location, thanks to the generosity and community minded vision of Libro.

Our annual fundraiser, the Hometown Heroes Charity Hockey Game was a resounding success, bringing in a record $55,000 in one night.

The summer of 2017 was fruitful for summer student productivity, seeing the completion of three research projects, i) Harvesting Insight, opioid misuse among rural youth by Melissa Cammuso and Melissa Roetcisoender, ii) a survey about improving patient education on novel antipsychotic drugs by Alex Conlon, and iii) an exercise program for chronic psychiatric patients at the 5 mental health clinics across Huron County. We also had the diligent work of Elizabeth Dwyer, who contributed to the Huron Residential Hospice capital campaign and Goderich BIA, the latter of which would help earn Gateway an award for ?enhancing quality of life, health or welfare? at the Huron Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Success Gala. Myles Krahn brought our website

Mail | PO Box 1181, Seaforth, ON, N0K1W0

Office | 74 Kingston St, Goderich, ON, N7A3K4

@GatewayCERH | @GatewayRuralH | @GatewayCERH

into a more modern aesthetic. In the fall of 2017, Gateway attended the

100th International Plowing Match held near Walton. Sharing a tent with Fanshawe College, Contact North and REACH brought many visitors and was good exposure for Gateway. A special thank you to UW pharmacy student Brittany Cook who attended the entire week, including the day the IPM was closed due to rainy weather.

Brittany also guided Gateway board members through a discussion at ?Planning Day? where we collectively organized our thoughts using Normative Group Technique on what directions and priorities our organization should take going forward. A high priority item was sustainable funding, and Britanny together with co-op student Taryn Siertsma identified some novel sources of funding that Gateway will continue to develop.

We received a grant from Trillium ROOTS for some much-needed office equipment. We also received money from the Huron-Perth Poultry Farmers golf tournament to assist with costs associated with Rose-Marie Dolinar?s lung health study.

We hosted Nippissing University nursing students who completed their 12-week practicum at our office and created meaningful works to improve quality of life in this region.

This summer we celebrated our 5th Annual Hometown Heroes Hockey Game, with yet another very successful year, raising over $230,000 in t he past 5 years. The motive of this game is to help to improve health and wellness in the Huron County Community. With the support from various community members, we are achieving Gateway?s goal of helping to foster the sustainability of our future generations, and creating an innovative environment that stimulates cutting edge

We welcomed Fionn O?Flanagan as a board member in the fall of 2017, who has brought new energy and ideas, especially regarding ongoing fundraising and overall strategy for our organization.

Gateway signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail, who has since made the trail ?passable? in its entire length, and will be a community resource for active transportation, event fundraising, and connecting communities along its path.

As we continue to expand and explore new research opportunities, we welcomed Heather Mair as a Research Chair in Rural Community Development and Well Being.

Some of our research chairs have found funding for their projects: Al Lauzon obtained funding from OMAFRA to investigate food insecurity in rural seniors, and Feng Chang with Sheila Schuehlein were successful in funding the Lonely No More project to combat rural senior isolation.

We will shortly renew 2 MOU?s with local hospitals (AMGH and SBG Health Centresa) to become the ?research arm? of our local hospitals, reflecting the research opportunities often provided by urban counterparts.

We are exploring new ways of funding summer students, obtaining funds through private funders,

Canada Summer Jobs, and gifts from HBDC and shared project funding with academic partners. I am optimistic that Gateway will continue to find funding to support student projects, because their work provides a valuable service to our community and the career path of these bright young minds.

This was an active year for Gateway in the media. Our presence in local newspapers has been noticed, as we highlight our activities to the public. Several of our projects were featured on TVO, CBC, and CTV. To highlight one, our founder Gwen Devereaux?s role building this organization and creating an attractive community for young health professionals is perhaps the widest reaching story in the history of our organization. From these broadcasts, it is evident that we are following through on our mission, to improve health and quality of life for rural residents.

We have much to be proud of, and I look forward to another banner year. We will be a big part of the R2R Conference, October 17-19 and planning the next Rural Network with local academics, government and non-government organizations, and partners. Gateway now has a rich history, and there will be many future opportunities to build on that history. Best Wishes!

Jay McFarlan, President

President's Report Continued

5th Annual Hometown Heroes Hockey Game

healthcare initiatives. The game proudly supports the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign, the Gateway Centre of Excellence In Rural Health, and Goderich Alexandra Marine & General Hospital.

Gateway Embarks on New Research and Outreach Opportunities Continued

We have recently begun working on a new study aimed at gathering information on prescription opioid

use after general surgeries in rural communities. This project has been given the name SaferScripts, as we hope that

the findings from it will make opioid prescriptions safer in our communities. The idea for this project came from Dr. Tiffaney

Kittmer, a local general surgeon at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. Dr. Kittmer recognized that physicians do not receive enough

feedback on how much pain medication to prescribe, which can lead to varied prescription practices. We hope that by providing

doctors with the information they need in order to prescribe the ideal amount of pain medication, we can optimize patient

comfort post-surgery while also limiting the number of

excess prescription opioids in our communities.

Gateway and SaferScripts

Gateway and Lonely No More

Lonely No More continues to impact Huron, Perth, Grey, and Bruce Counties. We have just run our first volunteer training event in Markdale and are looking forward to running more in the other counties in the upcoming weeks. The volunteers that attended this training event are now armed with the skills to support socially isolated seniors in the area through empowerment and peer support, health coaching practices, and system navigation. These volunteers will work with older adults to enhance community engagement and decrease isolation, as well as increase their confidence in their ability to self-manage their own potential health risks and/or make healthy lifestyle changes. Lonely No More aims to impact socially isolated and potentially lonely seniors in our area, an objective becoming ever so prevalent in our aging communities. As such, we ask that everyone reflects on their potential to be a volunteer with this program and hope that you will join us on this endeavour to strengthen our communities as a whole and improve the quality of life of everyone living in them. There are more

training events and opportunities for involvement to come!

Gateway Embarks on New Research and Outreach Opportunities

Gateway has been in collaboration with Dr. Al Lauzon, a professor and researcher at the University of Guelph. Dr. Lauzon recently submitted a proposal to OMAFRA for a research project, "Food Insecurity and Rural Seniors Living Independently: An Exploratory Study in Huron, Perth, Bruce and Grey Counties", and has acquired funding for this project.

Not only are rural populations aging faster than urban populations, but there is also a greater proportion of senior citizens in rural areas. This research project will look into maintaining and improving the health and quality of life of the rural population who are 65 years of age or older and living independently, through understanding their relationship to food. This research project proposes to examine the constellation of factors that impede seniors? access to nutritious food and challenges associated with their capacity to utilize nutritious food once it is obtained. The ability to utilize food may be problematic for a variety of reasons including physical constraints, food literacy particularly as it applies to the management of chronic disease such as diabetes or heart disease, cognitive functioning, isolation and motivation. Rural seniors may also experience food insecurity as a result of inadequate income, limited physical access (i.e. transportation issues, food deserts), functional impairment that prevents seniors from obtaining food or preparing food, lack of knowledge of food preparation (particularly for senior men), and social isolation.

The results of this research will aid in realizing the goal of supporting rural seniors to live independently as outlined in Ontario?s Action Plan for Seniors (2017) by identifying the nutritional challenges rural seniors face that may impede their ability to live independently. Through this research we will address the necessary assets outlined in Ontario?s Food Security strategy: physical, social, financial and human assets. The research will be of interest to the SWLIHN, public health officials and municipalities, and will allow them to address resource issues and services to confront the needs of rural food insecure seniors.

Dr. Al Lauzon is looking forward to leading this research with the help of his research team Dr. Kyle Whitfield (University of Alberta), Dr. Lars Halstom (University of Alberta), Dr. Kathleen Kevany (Dalhousie University) and Ms. Gwen Devereaux (Gateway Centre for Rural Health). This project is a three-year project and is funded through OMAFRA?s Food for Health research program.

Gateway and Food Insecurity and Rural Seniors Living Independently

Grand Sparks summer camp is self-sustaining in 4th yearGrand Sparks is a summer camp for children and their grandparents, originally developed to get seniors more active through a grant with Ontario Ministry of Seniors Affairs in 2015. The program was further developed to include lessons on nutritional and physical activity for children, through grants with the County of Huron Healthy Kids Community Challenge in 2016 and 2017. This past summer, the program was successfully run without the support of grant money and is considered self-sustaining.

Developed by Jay McFarlan, Research Chair of Rural Nutrition and Exercise, each year has included voluntary participation in rural health research. This year, Jay has partnered with Professor Heather Mair of the University of Waterloo (and Gateway's new Research Chair of Community Well-Being) to investigate what motivates people to be active, and how does the camp affect their personal health and well-being. Results will be communicated back to the community in the near future.

Grace Bonnett joined Gateway as a summer student after having recently completed her second year at University of Toronto. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences, with a major in Human Biology and a double minor in Immunology and Sociology. Grace will be working in conjunction with the AMGH Foundation and the YMCA of Goderich-Huron to organize the 5th annual Hometown Heroes hockey game. She will also be assisting with this summer?s research team and continuing to promote Gateway?s community involvement, celebrating their 10th anniversary. Having grown up in Huron county, Grace is looking forward to enhancing her knowledge of the unique healthcare needs and challenges that are faced in rural Ontario. In doing so, she wishes to expand the availability of resources and opportunities to rural areas, like Huron County.

Sam Murray is currently completing his Bachelor of Science in Honours Biology through Trent University under the Special Admissions Scholarship. During his time at Trent Sam has excelled in his studies, receiving the Biology Department Book Prize for outstanding academic achievement. Going forward Sam plans to specialize in the field of biochemistry and later pursue a career in teaching. During his time at Gateway, Sam will be assisting Doctor Tiffaney Kittmer with her research project on post-operative opiate stewardship. He will also be helping with community events such as the Hometown Heroes Hockey game. As a resident of Huron East, Sam is well-versed in and passionate about rural life. He has always been interested in health sciences and is excited to be joining an organization which focuses directly on improving the quality of life in rural Ontario. Sam hopes that his time at Gateway will provide him with new insights into the research field and have a positive impact on the surrounding rural communities.

Alex Conlon recently completed his third year of medical school at The Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland. He is excited to be continuing a project focused on educating patients and their families on long acting injectible medications and their use in various mental health disorders. It will take place in the outpatient clinics in Goderich, Seaforth, Wingham, Exeter, and Clinton. He is hoping to gain both both clinical experience as well as knowledge on mental health in the rural setting. Alex plans to continue his schooling in Ireland and plans on practicing in Canada after he graduates.

Jessie is pursuing her undergraduate degree in a Bachelor of Science Honours in Biotechnology and Neuroscience at Queen?s University as a Schulich Leader Scholar. She hopes to pursue future studies in medicine and research through a Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering. Growing up in Bayfield, Ontario, Jessie joins Gateway with an understanding of rural life as well as the challenges and beneficial aspects that are part of it. She hopes to apply this knowledge to the research project ?Lonely No More? where, under the supervision of Dr. Feng Chang, Gateway board chair and research chair, and management of Gateway board member Sheila Schuehlein, she aims to enhance our knowledge of seniors in rural areas experiencing isolation and loneliness; with the ultimate goal of supporting these seniors through resources currently available to them and by offering training to their caregivers. She hopes that this will provide a sustainably enhanced quality of life for all parties involved.

Jessie Payne

Grace Bonnet t

Sam Mur ray

Alex Conlon

Gateway Welcomes Summer Students

Farmers' Lung project presented at Newfoundland conference

Upcoming Events

Conference with a rural focus

Hosted in Blyth, Ontario, this is the 2nd Rural talks to Rural (R2R) conference after the much celebrated inaugural conference in 2016. Gateway will have a strong presence at the conference, as many of our members will be talking about their projects, past and present. Join us, and register early!

Rose-Marie Dolinar, PhD candidate at Western University, presented her findings on a health research project that sought to improve lung health in poultry producers of Huron County. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), is also known as Farmers' Lung because of the high prevalence observed among farmers. The poster was presented at the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada annual conference in Newfoundland. The full study will soon be published in a peer-reviewed journal.