HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.1 Alek GolijaninDelegation
Name:Alek Golijanin
Summary of main points for the issue/ concern:
I wrote to the Board about a healthtech tool I co-created with Algonquin College and health
inequities that can be addressed at the high school level is what I wanted to discuss at the
Board meeting in January. The tool is specifically designed for high school guidance
counselors so that they can help adolescents that are identified as being without a
designated family doctor.
Just to go over DocConnectCA, his healthtech tool is a social enterprise that is aimed at the
inherited outcome of a child not having a designated family doctor, and thus a systemic
inequity. In today's Canadian society, the key commonalities between adolescents that lack
a designated family physician are that they tend to live in lower-income communities, and
they tend to be members of racialized groups, and it is an issue that tends to
disproportionately affect early-generation Canadians. We are not looking to make any
money off of this tool, but we do hope for it to become a great equalizer for health inequities
among adolescents. With our tool, a high school guidance counselor can change an
adolescent's life with a few clicks and in less than a minute. There is a report that was also
put together and sent out to various stakeholders across Canada including the
Provincial/Federal government and public health agencies that I can reshare with the
Board.
Recommendation(s) for resolution of issue:
Following the "Blueprint for Action" model recently discussed by Canada's Chief Public
Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tham, there is a need for greater partnerships in order to
address the health inequities that adolescents are faced with. One of the best ways to
address these challenges is directly through schools, where there is the greatest access to
a multitude of students. As such, I am asking the board to consider my recommendation to
do more for students that are without designated family doctors, by implementing our
proposed solution.