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PHANS believes that public health is the product of a healthy community, a healthy environment, and a healthy economy. We envision a society which offers supportive and rewarding social and educational structures, which enable its members to live together harmoniously as a group and interact constructively as individuals. We all have a role to play in advocating for health equity in Nova Scotia and it's communities.
PHANS formed
PHANS registered as a society
PHANS became credible independent voice for health system reform. During this period, PHANS was represented on nearly every health system reform Task Force, Committee, and Commission, and provided multiple critiques and presentations to government.
Organized a major intersectoral conference, "Sickness, Health and the Economy " with over 100 participants from federal, provincial, regional, and local governments
Website and list serve launched
Accountability Framework
Participated on Chronic Disease Prevention Strategy committees
Developed Election Primer
Participated in Public Health Roundtable
Provided comments on the provincial gaming strategy and the tobacco strategy
VOICES Grant with Micmac Friendship Centre
(Now called Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre)
Developed initial Public Health Capacity Framework
Worked with Doctors Nova Scotia and Health Charities to push for and participate in the Independent Review of Public Health
Contributed to Public Health Capacity Framework and presentation at CPHA conference
Participated in Health Literacy Consultation
Participated in development of National Health Goals
Partnered with Circle Time for Child Care to advocate for restoration of national daycare program
Participation with Renewal of Public Health in Nova Scotia
Conducted survey of PHANS members’ expectations, involvement, and satisfaction
Developed Election Primer
Passed resolution to support Prevent Violence Canada
Passed resolutions to support Skills Enhancement for
Public Health and the Core Competencies for Public Health
Met with Provincial NDP, PC and Liberal Caucuses to raise awareness of PHANS and key public health issues
Offered Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada: Release 1.0 workshop to 166 Nova Scotian Public Health Practitioners
By-Laws updated and approved, and Memorandum of Association certified
Collaborated with Smoke Free Nova Scotia to implement and complete survey on public health and tobacco control
Approved 2010-2014 Strategic Plan
Key priority areas:
1. Early child development
2. Reduction of health inequity and poverty
3. Enhancing capacity of public health workforce
Met with Provincial NDP, PC and Liberal Caucuses to raise awareness of PHANS and key public health issues
Presented "Health Equity Conference" in Moncton, NB along with Public Health Association of NB/PEI
Developed Election Primer
Collaborated with NS Department of Health and Wellness, NS Health Authority, and National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health to offer, "Upstream Action for Health Equity and Social Justice: Practices for Creating Change"
Provided financial donation to Prevention of Violence Canada to support their ongoing work and Town Hall meeting in Vancouver
Met with NS Health and Wellness Minister Leo Glavine and established plan for ongoing communication
Conducted membership survey
Established Member’s Forum
Established Student Award
Advocated with NS Health and Wellness Minister for Social Responsibility in Marketing to Children and Youth
Website renewal
Brian is a graduate of the Dalhousie School of Health and Human Performance, and Mount Saint Vincent University. A life long resident of Nova Scotia, his work and volunteer activities focus on supporting collaborative research and activism within public health.
Cheryl MacNeil BScN, RN
Cheryl graduated from Cape Breton University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and BSc in Biology. Her passion for working with children and families led her to the IWK following graduation, and then to Public Health Services, Nova Scotia Health Authority (Sydney) in 2005. Cheryl is currently working as a Public Health Nurse on the Early Years team, focused on the Enhanced Home Visiting program. She is pursuing a Master of Public Health (nursing specialization) through Lakehead University.
Cheryl is an active volunteer in her community, with a keen interest in healthy child development and the impact of social and physical environments on health. At her children’s school, she has successfully coordinated the development of a natural playground and is an advocate for outdoor play and learning. She is a facilitator with Hike Nova Scotia Re-Connecting with Nature program, a member of Health Providers Against Poverty-NS, and the PHANS Membership & Communication working group.
Taryn is a recent graduate from Dalhousie University where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Health Studies and Sociology, and previously completed undergraduate work in Human Nutrition at St. Francis Xavier University. In the near future she plans to continue her education in the Master of Public Health program. Taryn currently works for Atlantic PATH; a non-profit population health research organization based in Halifax. Taryn’s interests lie in health promotion and social determinants of health; social and economic factors that contribute to the health of a population, and how to educate, implement and advocate for policy to ensure health equity.
Lynn Langille is currently the Health Equity Consultant for Public Health in the Eastern Zone of the Nova Scotia Health Authority. She previously worked as Coordinator (Health Disparities) for the NS Department of Health and Wellness, and as a Research Consultant with the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre (now the Healthy Populations Institute) at Dalhousie University. Her academic background is in Anthropology and Sociology, and she applies social justice principles and approaches to her work in advancing health equity, food security, and the social determinants of health.
Kate Watts RN,BScN,MPH,IBCLC.
Kate is employed as a Public Health Nurse in Inverness, Nova Scotia. She has been working in the field of Public Health Nursing since 2001. Kate earned her Diploma in Nursing,RN from St. Martha’s School of Nursing, Antigonish, Nova Scotia in 1984. She worked in many areas of acute care nursing in Alberta and Nova Scotia. Kate continued her education and earned her BScN from STFX University in 2001 and her Masters of Public Health specializing in Nursing in 2008 from Lakehead University in Thunderbay, Ontario. Kate enjoys every aspect of her career to advocate and promote health in her community. Kate continued her studies and became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 2016.
Kate resides in Port Hood, Nova Scotia. She loves rural coastal living, music and travel.
Kim Wempe BScN, RN
Kim is passionate about creating upstream change with a focus on reducing health inequities and shifting the emphasis of health from an individual illness focus, to a broader state of understanding the persistent, interweaving barriers to health that exist on social, cultural, political, and environmental levels.
For the past three years, Kim has been part of Arts Health Antigonish, using her past experience as a touring musician and current experience as a nurse to combine art and health through ‘Songwriting as an Outlet’ workshops. Kim's focus and passion through using arts and health informed workshops is to help inform policy, education, and practice in addressing mental wellness, resiliency and coping, addiction, social inclusion, and healthy sexuality with a focus on 2SLGBTQ+ and consent.
Currently, Kim works rurally as an RN on the Eastern Shore and is focused on helping and improving access to health services in rural and isolated communities.
Michelle Hébert Boyd is passionate about helping people share their stories in order to create meaningful, community-led change. She has consulted for and presented to Canadian and international organizations on patient engagement, digital health, community development, and mental health. With a unique skill set as a journalist and social worker, she combines keen interpersonal skills, social research methods, and a critical analysis of the social determinants of health. She’s held senior positions with the federal government and the government of Nova Scotia in the areas of health system planning, policy analysis and development, and public health. She owns her own consulting firm in Halifax, offering research, writing, and community engagement services.
Becca is a Master of Public Health graduate from the University of Saskatchewan in addition to completing her undergraduate degree in Biology from St. Francis Xavier University. Having recently moved to Cape Breton, she is currently working for Health Canada under the Corporate Service Branch but aims to work towards a position relating to health policy within the federal government in the future. For now, she is excited to participate in the public health sector by being a board member of PHANS.
Becca is particularly passionate about minimizing health inequities among communities by addressing upstream social determinants of health and by advocating for equitable and socially acceptable policies.
Sionnach Lukeman is an Assistant Professor in the Elizabeth & Thomas Rankin School of Nursing at St Francis Xavier University. She graduated with first class honours from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at St. FX in 2005. After two years in medical/surgical nursing at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, she was sponsored to do a perinatal nursing specialty course at the British Columbia Institute for Technology. After moving back to Nova Scotia, she started a Master’s of Science in Nursing at the University of Ottawa. In 2012, she began working in Public Health as the Healthy Development Team Lead, and finished her masters at U of O in 2013.
Her research program involves three disciplines: Public health services and systems, political economy of health, and building supportive environments for health. Teaching focuses on the following areas of expertise: Perinatal and family nursing, and population and public health.
David graduated from Mount Allison University with a B.Sc in Biology, and the University of Otago where he completed his DPH and MPH. A recent transplant to Nova Scotia, David has worked on public health initiatives in Gambia, New Zealand, and Mozambique, and is excited to continue the trend in his new home. He is passionate about preventative medicine, infectious diseases, and outbreak management. Some of his recent work within Nova Scotia includes using mapping software to depict social determinants of health across the province, and supporting emergency disaster relief efforts
