David Jeffery, health equity, community health champion for Midland and North Simcoe areas, celebrated for career leading

Chigamik Community Health Centre

David Jeffery, who has led the Centre de santé communautaire Chigamik Community Health Centre (CSC Chigamik CHC) based in Midland, Ontario, for 11 years, was one of two recipients of the 2021 Alliance for Healthier Communities’ Joe Leonard Award, presented at the Alliance for Healthier Communities’ AGM on June 15, 2021.

Jeffery is the public face of CSC Chigamik CHC and well-known in the community as a champion of health equity. Over the last decade, Jeffery has helped build Chigamik into an accessible, fully-functioning, bilingual Community Health Centre serving three distinct cultural communities in North Simcoe Muskoka – the Francophone, Indigenous and Open communities.

Nomination letters highlighted Jeffery’s commitment to educating people about the Community Health Centre model and championing numerous community initiatives over the years including the Situation Table, Health Links, food security and climate change – all with the goal of reducing health barriers for the most vulnerable people living in our community. As co-chair of many community initiatives, including the formation of the North Simcoe Ontario Health Team, Jeffery’s positive impact on the North Simcoe community will be felt for years to come.

“We are so pleased to have nominated David for this prestigious award,” said Élise Robitaille, board of directors president, CSC Chigamik CHC. “During the nomination process and while compiling the letters of support from various partners, David’s ability to turn vision into reality was a key theme that was highlighted throughout the letters. Already highly respected in our community, this nomination process made me realize how deserving he is of this recognition and the tremendous impact he’s had on our community. It has been a privilege to work alongside him.”

Under Jeffery’s strong leadership and through his ability to forge healthy partnerships, CSC Chigamik CHC is now housed in a brand-new, easily accessible Community Health Hub in downtown Midland – the product of a collaborative effort with Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the County of Simcoe, the Town of Midland, and other community organizations.

“I met Joe Leonard a couple of times earlier in my career and at the end of his. I interviewed him for his thoughts on the Building Healthy Organizations project, which later became the CHC accreditation process. He was welcoming, thoughtful and interested but what grabbed me most about him was his sense of stewardship – a concept and practice that places service over self-interest as a basic working premise. I am truly honoured and humbled to be the recipient of this year’s Joe Leonard award,” said David Jeffery, Executive Director, CSC Chigamik CHC.

The Joe Leonard Award is given annually to leader(s) who exemplify exceptional leadership throughout their careers in community health, and for the impacts they’ve made to advance health equity and system transformation that reduces barriers to health and wellbeing. The award is named for Joseph Patrick Leonard, a longtime Executive Director at LAMP Community Health Centre in Toronto.

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About The Alliance for Healthier Communities
The Alliance for Healthier Communities is the voice of a vibrant network of more than 100 community-governed primary health care organizations across Ontario. Alliance members serve diverse communities across the province, and they are rooted in and governed by the communities they serve. They share a commitment to advancing health equity through the delivery of comprehensive primary health care. Learn more at AllianceON.org.

About CSC Chigamik CHC
Centre de santé communautaire Chigmaik Community Health Centre is a not-for-profit health care service funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, through the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network. It offers bilingual and culturally sensitive care. It encourages persons who identify as First Nations, Francophone, Inuit, Métis or Aboriginal and live in North Simcoe Muskoka to register. For more information please visit www.chigamik.ca.

Media Contact:
Louise Picot
Communications
CSC Chigamik CHC
705-606-1549
louise.picot@chigamik.ca

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Source:
NEWS RELEASE
CSC Chigamik CHC
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