Celebrated Vancouver Street Nurses Come to NYC; Events Explore Harm Reduction Practices & Policies
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Tristin Aaron,
Director of Communications
Center for Health, Media & Policy at Hunter College
(718) 938 4078
Celebrated Vancouver Street Nurses Come to NYC;
Events Explore Harm Reduction Practices & Policies
October 1, 2010 – (New York, NY) The Center for Health, Media & Policy at Hunter College (CHMP) is proud to bring two women at the vanguard of harm reduction practice to New York for a series of events October 25, 26, and 28, 2010.
Juanita Maginley and Fiona Gold are from the British Columbia Street Nursing Program. Their work is the subject of the award-winning documentary, “Bevel Up: Drugs, Users and Outreach Nursing.” Earlier this month, they were the recipients of the prestigious Human Rights Award from the International Centre for Nursing Ethics for their compassionate, courageous work. Ms. Maginley and Ms. Gold’s full bios are below.
“We are thrilled to bring Juanita and Fiona to New York – a city for which drug overdoses are the leading cause of death among young adults,” said CHMP Co-Director and Hunter College Rudin Professor of Nursing Dr. Diana J. Mason, RN, PhD. “The Center for Health, Media & Policy at Hunter College is hosting these events with the Vancouver nurses in order to advance conversations about harm reduction in this country.” Center Co-Director Barbara Glickstein, RN, MPH, adds, “It’s our hope that both policy makers and media will be inspired by “Bevel Up” to take a more compassionate and realistic look at harm reduction.”
Juanita Maginley and Fiona Gold will be participating in the following events:
Monday, October 25:
“Media, Policy and Harm Reduction”
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
This intimate panel discussion at Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute of harm reduction practice will include the Vancouver nurses showing highlights of “Bevel Up” and making remarks. The panel will also include an expert on NYC harm reduction policy, a health care provider specializing in harm reduction and a person currently struggling with addiction. For guest list or media requests, contact tristinaaron@gmail.com. This event is not open to the public.
Tuesday, October 26:
Screening of “Bevel Up” with Q&A
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
This event screens the entire “Bevel Up” documentary, with discussion by the Vancouver nurses. Designed for students of medicine and nursing, public policy, public health, and other related fields, the screening also includes a discussion of using “Bevel Up” as a teaching tool. For guest list or media requests, contact tristinaaron@gmail.com. This event is not open to the public.
Thursday, October 28:
Juanita Maginley and Fiona Gold at the New York Academy of Medicine’s Ninth International Conference on Urban Health
5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
The nurses’ only event which is open to the public, this prestigious conference brings together international experts for a partial screening and short discussion of harm reduction in varying urban settings. (1216 Fifth Avenue, at 103rd Street)
The Center for Health, Media & Policy at Hunter College (CHMP) wishes to thank the Open Society Foundations for their generous grant which makes this programming possible.
For more information, to obtain a media pass or interview with Ms. Maginley or Ms. Gold, please contact Tristin Aaron, tristinaaron@gmail.com, (718) 938 4078.
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About CHMP:
The Hunter College Center for Health, Media and Policy is an interdisciplinary initiative for advancing the health of the public and healthy public policies through the use of new and traditional media. The Center will be a catalyst for shaping professional and public conversations about health and health care by focusing on the intersection between policy and media.
The Center will work with public health advocates and health care professionals to raise their voices to influence policies that will create a more equitable, cost-effective health care system through research and strategic use of media.
Juanita Maginley and Fiona Gold bios:
Juanita Maginley, RN, BSN, MA, The Street Nurse Program, Producer (BC Centre for Disease Control) Juanita received a BSN from the University of Victoria and an MA from Royal Roads University. She has a background in acute care, community health, women’s health and sexual health. She has worked internationally in developing outreach programs in Vietnam. She is the Outreach/Street Nurse Program Leader.
Fiona Gold completed her RN diploma in 1989 and worked for 7 years in medicine, ob/gyne and palliative care at St. Pauls Hospital in Vancouver. She has also worked in rural health care settings in
northern British Columbia and the Yukon since 1989.
For the past 11 years she has worked with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Street Nurse Program in various capacities. From 2000 to 2003 she worked together with many other community members/activists to realize supervised injection sites in Vancouver, British Columbia. Recently Fiona coordinated the creation of Bevel Up, Drugs, Users and Outreach Nursing (2007), a teaching tool to assist health care professionals in their work with people who use drugs (produced by the BC Centre for Disease Control’s Outreach Nursing Program together with the National Film Board and in collaboration with Canada Wild Productions).
More about Street Nursing and “Bevel Up”:
Street Nurses work to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS, other morbidities, and mortality in people who are homeless, substance users, and sex workers in Vancouver. Based upon a harm reduction model, it provides outreach and frontline services to clients who eschew traditional health care services. In Canada, the program is publicly funded by the British Columbia Center for Disease Control.
“Bevel Up” is an educational documentary with supplemental material that was developed by and about Street Nursing. The video showcases the work of Street Nursing and provides opportunities for crucial conversations about harm reduction, addictions, at-risk women, HIV/AIDs, community nursing, and outreach.
For Immediate Release: Contact: Tristin Aaron, Director of Communications Center
