Tuesday July 13, 2021 | COLWOOD, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc, Cert PR, Editor | Island Social Trends
This evening BC Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry shared her thoughts in a short presentation plus question-and-answer session with Royal Roads University President Dr Philip Steenkamp, as part of the university’s Changemaker leadership series.
The livestreamed presentation suffered badly from multiple and lengthy transmission interruptions but nonetheless Dr Henry’s trademark calm and inspired beliefs about people and public health shone through.
Apparently a recording of the transmission will be made available on the RRU Facebook page.
Dr. Bonnie Henry Provincial Health Officer of British Columbia, is an RRU Honourary Degree recipient. Her 15-minute talk tonight was titled ‘Pandemic Perseverance’.
The well-known PHO who has become a household name said that the COVID-19 pandemic has been “one of the biggest challenges in living memory” for everyone. Perseverance became “more than a professional skill, it’s a life skill” that will “stay with us as we move through our lives”.
Ironically, the skill of perseverance — if it does in fact stay with people — could counteract the mental health strains that were talked about so prominently during the pandemic. People have learned to just muscle-through. “Perseverance is a skill we need to harness and use,” the top doctor said tonight.
Dr Henry said she maintained herself through the pandemic with running (along with her security contingent), yoa-style meditation, and the support of her “many sisters” (both in her family and her wide network of women in her adult life).
What COVID has taught us:
The pandemic highlighted the inequities that “existed long before the pandemic”, said Dr Henry this evening. She noted women, racialized communities, Indigenous communities and youth as among those groups whose plight was brought more clearly to light.
For some people the COVID pandemic — particularly in the early phase (before vaccines) — was “a reprieve for many us”, in that many people stayed home and were not engaged in their usual busy lives. But that was “for a while”, and then people became impatient and wanted to get back to things.
“Change is a source of hope and fear,” said Dr Henry. Some people became angry or even paralyzed with fear, she articulated.
She hopes that the people who are challenged in society — as became uncovered by the pandemic — will not “go back to walking unseen through the world”.
We now have “the power of hope and healing”, she said in her trademark calm tone.
Leadership & courage:
The qualities of “patience, compassion, love and kindness don’t necessarily equate with leadership (in our modern culture),” Dr Henry admitted in her comments during the discussion with President Steenkamp after her formal remarks. “But those are core values that help you make the right decisions in those kinds of situations.”
She feels that many people showed courage during the pandemic. For some, “being brave was just getting up in the morning”.
Background:
Thrust into the spotlight at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Henry’s daily briefings connected her to people in BC and around the world. Her mantra of “be kind, be calm and be safe” has served as a constant reminder that we’re all in this global crisis together. Dr Henry’s leadership and support continue to inspire British Columbians to persevere as we plan for a new way of life at the end of the pandemic.
Technically speaking, the pandemic is not yet over. (Twitter hashtags: #COVIDnotoveryet | #notoveryet ). As of today still only 46.0% of British Columbians age 12 years and older have received their second dose of COVID vaccine, which is a vaccination status thought to offer reliable immunity. So far 80.2% of the age 12+ population has received their first dose. Health Canada has not yet approved any of the COVID vaccines for use in children under the age of 12 years.
The COVID-19 pandemic started ramping up in January 2020 and was officially declared in BC on March 17, 2020. There have since between three waves of the COVID-19 infection in BC (and across Canada); even now with immunization there is the possibility of a fourth wave in the fall-winter of 2021-2022, as COVID will be part of the annual respiratory season.
About Royal Roads:
The Changemakers Speakers Series at Royal Roads explores the complex challenges facing humanity and innovative ideas about how we might solve them. These ideas are even more relevant as we consider living with, and looking beyond, COVID-19. These talks are for students, professionals, alumni and concerned citizens.
Located in Colwood, BC (within the south Vancouver Island area), the Royal Roads University calls themselves “a different kind of school, for a different kind of world”. For the most-part their programs are for people who already hold degrees, but they are looking at adding undergraduate studies to their curriculum. Each faculty contains several schools and each school offers a number of programs.
