Presented by the Alliance for Healthier Communities Social Prescribing team.
In 2018, the Alliance for Healthier Communities brought Social Prescribing to Canada. Our version of the model was always a little different: Alliance members worked with their clients and communities to develop programs that were tailored to local assets, values, and needs. This meant embedding system navigation, health promotion, and supports for the social and structural determinants of health. Many of our social prescribing programs address food security, digital equity, and other sources of inequity in addition to social connectedness. Over the last five years, the model has evolved to include special population health focuses such as Black health, mental wellness, and active living for seniors.
In this webinar, we'll celebrate the successes and share what we have learned over the past six years. We will also look to the future of social prescribing and its potential role in advancing health system transformation and integration. For example, we'll talk about the crucial role of Link Workers in connecting to the right supports at the right time and ensuring that health and social care are seamlessly woven together. We'll share our observations about how Social Prescribing can help keep people out of hospital beds and emergency departments, and reduce their need for clinical care. And we'll talk about the incredible potential of culturally tailored Social Prescribing.
Panelists include:
- Heather Klein Gebbinck, Executive Director of South Georgian Bay CHC, Wasaga Beach, ON, speaking about the Green Prescribing Pilot project and its successes
- Stéphanie Hemmerick, Manager of Community Programs, Seaway Valley CHC, Cornwall ON, speaking about a team-based approach to social prescribing and its successes
- Beth Kominek, Health Promoter, Chatham-Kent Community Health Centres, Chatham , ON, speaking about social prescribing successes with Older Adults