On October 7th, 2010, a memorandum of understand (MOU) was signed between the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Saskatchewan (HSFS) and the University of Saskatchewan School of Public Health. The signing of the MOU will provide greater opportunity for collaboration on joint initiatives that inform Saskatchewan people about the importance of healthy living.
"The Heart and Stroke Foundation is putting new energy behind community-based initiatives that link good science with local programs to make positive healthy lifestyle changes happen at the individual and community level," said Lucy Buller, CEO, HSFS. "With the support of the School of Public Health, we will be well-positioned to stretch our resources further and really make a difference towards reducing the impact of heart disease and stroke in Saskatchewan."
The agreement encourages collaboration in areas like health promotion, health education and experiential learning and applied public health research. Examples of activities that students may participate in include delivering workplace wellness presentations to organizations in the city, promoting healthy living to community groups, and researching and developing grant proposals for the HSFS. "Partnerships like this one provide valuable opportunities for our students to gain practical experience in the public health field, and serve an important role in our communities," said Robert Buckingham, executive director, SPH. "By being involved in the community, students get a firsthand sense of how their work makes a difference in people's lives. This improves their academic experience at the U of S."
This new partnership has been seen as a giant stride in the short history of the School of Public Health and is aimed at fostering the relationship between the two organisations. Megan McCreary, SPH Student Association President, believes that this partnership is an excellent foundation and will be a great opportunity that will expose students to working with the community and have experiential knowledge of the materials taught in class.
MPH student, Jasmine Dhillon asserts that "this is a crucial step in creating linkages between community and the School of Public Health, so that students have the ability not only to learn but also to teach, to experience, as well as to develop. Given that 1 in 2 people will experience some type of cardiovascular disease at some point in our life, we will all be affected in some way. Therefore, it is important that we know and understand the epidemiology of disease and the basic community factors that impact the severity of illness. The more we understand, the better we are able to fight".
Click here for the media release.
Photo Gallery
Login