Non-profit named to run health and wellness service on Gabriola Island
A non-profit organization has been selected to operate the Regional District of Nanaimo’s new health service on Gabriola Island.
People for a Healthy Community has been named as the service provider, the RDN announced in a press release last week.
The service provider will hire and oversee a health and well-being coordinator who will implement the new service on the island. The non-profit will work with Gabriola Island Health and Wellbeing Collaborative, a group of stakeholders, and collaborate with other organizations in the area, and develop and implement a strategic plan. The coordinator is also expected to provide administrative and coordination services between organizations, support funding applications to support health and well-being services on Gabriola and communicate with various service providers, working groups, external partners and residents, the release noted.
Through feedback and consultation from the public, the RDN identified Gabriolans’ desire for the service. People from Gabriola are more likely to experience poverty or ill health when compared to their peers from across Nanaimo harbour, the RDN stated.
“There is a complicated layering of service delivery on Gabriola Island by multiple agencies without formal co-ordination between organizations, making it challenging for organizations to collaborate and ensure that residents’ needs are met,” noted the press release.
Vanessa Craig, Gabriola Island area director and RDN board chairperson, said she looks forward to the development of the new service and its benefit to the community.
“We heard from many organizations on Gabriola that work to provide health and well-being services, many of which rely on volunteer boards or extensive volunteer participation, that they would like assistance in organizing and coordinating programs to benefit the community,” she said in the press release.
The coordinator position will be part-time initially, with the potential to evolve to full-time.
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