Public health, in general and at all levels, focus on health promotion, disease and injury prevention, primary health care, and population health. Two primary distinguishing factors of public health from other components of the health system are the focus on populations as a whole, and health promotion, prevention, and control of disease and injury rather than treatment of diseases. Listen as Laura describes how public health nurses were able to do what they do best in the most challenging of times, creating change and making history during the worldwide health emergency, called a pandemic.
Laura Hoyseth is a Registered Nurse of mixed settler ancestry living in the traditional and unceded territory of the K’omoks First Nation, where she’s had the privilege to raise her family for 26 years. Laura began her career as a Community Health Nurse for the Wuikinuxv, Dzawada'enuxw and Homalco Nations, providing nursing care and community development support in Indigenous led health care systems. Alongside this work, Laura worked in Community and Acute Care Mental Health and Primary Health Care Nursing with a focus on Chronic Pain Management. These rich community experiences and teachings fed her passion for Health Promotion and Prevention, eventually leading to a focus on Public Health Nursing with a scope including perinatal, infant, school aged and adult health with a specialization in reproductive health certified practice. During the COVID 19 Pandemic, Laura was a front line Public Health Nursing Clinical Coordinator responding to the Pandemic as it unfolded and leading teams to roll out the COVID 19 Immunization program. Laura is currently a Regional Immunization Operations Clinical Coordinator within the Population and Public Health portfolio at Island Health. Laura’s work is focused on translating overarching global, national and provincial health promotion and prevention goals to front line Public Health services within communities across the region. Laura is passionate about the profession and discipline of nursing, and its place in healthcare transformation.
Public Health Agency of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health.html
BC Centre for Disease Control: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info
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