We thank our community leaders, CTV Ottawa, the Ottawa Hospital Group, the Champlain Local Health Integration Network, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the University of Ottawa's medical school, and the Ottawa Health Research Institute, for advancing the cause of FM & CFS in Ottawa. Indeed, there is a growing team of leaders, thank you all.
"Our understanding of these problems is rudimentary, yet the financial toll on the medical system and the economy is enormous. In the immediate future, as we unravel the etiology and develop specific diagnostic tools and appropriate treatments, our priorities should be awareness, compassion, and quality care."
Dr. Robert Cushman, CEO, Champlain Regional Health Integration Network
The Ottawa Community Support Coalition is a new service grouping local home-based resources and is not FM/CFS specific.
In 2006 and 2007, with the generous financial support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the research and moral leadership support of the Ottawa Hospital Group, FM-CFS Canada delivered diagnostic and treatment information to the Ottawa region's 1,000 doctors.
FM-CFS Canada has long been actively reaching out to Ottawa's community health centers by presenting free educational sessions, but with this financial support, we were able to provide new, free, printed materials and a free CD of resources.
FM-CFS Canada thanks the University of Ottawa's medical school for agreeing in 2008 to double the teaching time devoted to these illnesses.
"I support the FM-CFS Canada initiative to educate phsysicians.
The neuropathic pain of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome afflict more than one million Canadians, more than 40,000 in Ottawa. Beyond the good news on pain research, the research on CFS is also promising.
Join us in sharing the lessons learned, connect with FM-CFS Canada."
Dr. Linda Wynne, Director, Ottawa Hospital Chronic Pain Unit
Another objective is to educate the public, and thanks to the strong media presence of CTV Ottawa and their donated advertising campaign, our years of media interviews and events received their biggest boost ever. About 40,000 - 50,000 people in the Ottawa area have FM or CFS, and given that it affects their families on a daily basis, a significant portion of Ottawa's population will benefit from greater cooperation among community leaders.
Business leader and FM-CFS Canada Chairman David Mann, sharing the story, one of nearly 100 presentations over the years.
Local events, local photos, click to enlarge
Public awareness events, presentations with Dr. Jon Russell, and the marking of May 12th in the Senate.
