National appointment
Marlene Smadu, associate dean of the College of Nursing Saskatchewan Campus in Regina and of international student affairs, has been named co-chair of a national expert panel on health system improvement.
By Colleen MacPherson
On May 26, the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) launched The Health of Our Nation – The Future of Our Health System, a commission mandated to generate policy solutions for transforming the health-care system to better meet the changing needs of Canada's population. Smadu will co-chair the commission with Maureen A. McTeer, a health law expert and author as well as adjunct professor of common law at the University of Ottawa. Their role will be to lead a team representing nursing, medicine, business, government, academia and the public in a review of research and broad consultation.
The commission is charged with presenting innovations and solutions that will move Canada's health-care system beyond the hospital-focused acute care model to include community-based services like home care. Particularly, it is interested in solutions that pertain to healthy aging across the lifespan, preventing illness or injury, and managing chronic disease.
A CNA release said the commission is expected to table its final recommendations in June 2012.