The Bowdish lab has been working with the Ontario Lung Association to encourage politicians to support Bill #41 – The Lung Health Act. You may not be aware that of all the common chronic diseases (e.g. cardiovascular, diabetes), lung disease is the only one that doesn’t have a dedicated action plan. Because of this rates of lung disease are higher then they need to be and many “best practices” for treating or preventing lung disease are not in place, compromising the health of many Ontarians and increasing health care costs. For this reason MPP Kathryn McGarry put forth a private members bill to create a Lung Health Act for Ontario. Bill 41 would entail establishing a Lung Health Advisory Council to make recommendations to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care on lung health issues; and requiring the Minister to develop and implement an Ontario Lung Health Action Plan respecting research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lung disease. In Novemver our lab attended a provincial lobby day where we discussed the importance of this bill with politicians. On June 6th Dawn gave a deputation to the Committee on Social Policy on why this Bill would be of particular importance to older adults.
To see the entire 4 hours of deputations (ouch!) click here.
To read more of the FAQ around the Lung Health Act click here.
To read more about the Ontario Lung Association’s draft Lung Health Action Plan, click here. (Bonus – you can donate to the Lung Association to support this work via that link too!).
Tammy Villeneuve (OLA), Andrea Kellner, Justin Boyle, MPP Dave Levac, Kyle Novakowski, Dessi Loukov and Dr. Dawn Bowdish meet to discuss the Lung Health Act.
The Bowdish lab attends lobby day in November 2015 to discuss the importance of the Lung Health Act with MPPs.
Walter Gretzky supports the Lung Health Act – you should too! (with Justin Boyle & Dessi Loukov)
Dawn at Queen’s Park after her deputation on Bill 41- The Lung Health Act. The Bowdish lab participates in democracy!
Bowdish Lab attended Queen’s Park Lobby Day with the Ontario Lung Association!
On Monday November 30th, the last day of Lung Month, members of the Bowdish Lab joined the Ontario Lung Association to lobby for the Lung Health Act at Queen´s Park. PI Dawn Bowdish and four lab members, Andrea Kellner (visiting PhD candidate), Dessi Loukov (PhD candidate), Kyle Novakowski (PhD candidate) and Justin Boyle (undergraduate), advocated for increased funding for lung research through support of Bill 41: The Lung Health Act. It was a great honour to meet the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, David Levac and talk to him about the importance of lung health. This aim was well received and he encouraged the junior researchers to never stop pursuing their scientific goals. Afterwards the team had the opportunity to explore the stunning architecture and history of Queen´s Park, which first opened in 1860. Later the reception afforded the Bowdish lab the privilege to meet MPPs and organizing members of the Lung Association. One exceptional guest and supporter of the Lung Association is Walter Gretzky, who welcomed people warmly and never tired of giving autographs. Especially inspiring was the prospect of meeting people affected by lung diseases as well as people engaged to directly help them as respiratory educators. This emphasized the importance of research performed in the Bowdish Lab and for whom it is done for. In summary, the day highlighted how research and politics can work together to improve the lives of Ontarians and how democracy works in the context of health.
George Habib from the Ontario Lung Association discusses the importance of the Lung Health Act.
Tammy Villeneuve (OLA), Andrea Kellner, Justin Boyle, MPP Dave Levac, Kyle Novakowski, Dessi Loukov and Dr. Dawn Bowdish meet to discuss the Lung Health Act.
