Health Innovation Awards

Manitobans’ innovative ideas about health care are making positive changes for all of us.  To recognize these important contributions, the ministers of health and healthy living have created two new annual awards to recognize the people who have found new ways to improve our health care system and promote healthy living.

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The Enid Thompson Award for Health Care Innovation is named in honour of a lifelong civil servant responsible for several innovative changes that have had lasting impacts in Manitoba including the introduction of the first comprehensive, universal home-care program in North America. The award recognizes an outstanding change that has had a positive effect on patient care in the publicly funded health-care system.

Chad Harris, a medical devices technologist, and Richard Driedger, a nuclear electronics technologist, both from CancerCare Manitoba, will receive the first Enid Thompson Award for Health Care Innovation. They designed and installed a specially shielded DVD player, protected from the radiation, and an adjustable mobile stand to give children something else to focus on during their radiation therapy treatments. The project has since been expanded to the burn and nuclear medicine units at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg.

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The Mino Bimaadiziwin Innovation Award for Healthy Living recognizes an innovative change or project that has enhanced healthy living activities among Manitobans. Mino Bimaadiziwin is an Ojibway phrase meaning "the good life". The award honours the youth at Southeast Collegiate who have joined the Mino Bimaadiziwin Program - this program seeks to promote a balance of spirit, body and mind. These youth represent many First Nations communities.

This year, two projects will be recognized: the Blue Light project, operated by Eugennie and Reginald Mercredi in Cross Lake, and Resource Assistance for Youth (RaY) in Winnipeg.

The Blue Light project is an innovative tobacco-reduction program in Cross Lake. Since 2007, every non-smoking home in the community receives a blue light bulb to put outside their door to indicate they are smoke-free. The project has been a success in their community and other communities are interested in adopting the project.

Resource Assistance for Youth (RaY) will be awarded for its 'wrap-around' approach to supporting the physical, mental and spiritual health of at-risk youth. Programs include a food program to teach youth healthy and simple recipes, a mental-health and addictions services co-ordinator to advocate for youth and co-ordinate the services they need, and a health clinic with a nurse practitioner to meet the health-care needs of area youth.

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For more information about the Health Innovation Awards and the nomination process, please contact (204) 788-6663 or healthinnovation@gov.mb.ca.