Fresh off her recognition as Bowen's Citizen of the Year, Colleen O’Neil is once again being honoured for her tireless work in the world of island healthcare with a nomination for the YWCA Women of Distinction Award.
A release from YWCA Metro Vancouver said O’Neil was being recognized for her more than three decades of work on Bowen including at Family Place, the Caring Circle, and of course her tireless efforts to bring the Bowen Island Community Health Centre to life, a keystone facility in the community where O’Neil continues her work as the community health coordinator.
We asked Colleen about her nomination, and also to reflect on her career which has seen health care access on Bowen leap forward by many magnitudes.
Q: How did you find out about the nomination and how did it feel?
A: I knew the application was in the works because the person being nominated has to be a willing participant. And Megan Smith (one of our Community Health Workers) spent quite a bit of time interviewing me and then writing what was a pretty long application. Then after a month or two… I got a personal call from one of the Chairs of the Women of Distinction Award Team to let me know I was selected as one of the nominees in the Community Champion category.
I was touched and proud and then later frankly a little embarrassed. The imposter syndrome kicked in because of course all of the projects I’ve been involved in on Bowen wouldn’t have come to fruition without a team of others making it happen. Then I re-read the category criteria and the sentence “harness the time, talent and capacity of others.” I was then able to comfortably sit and be proud to be acknowledged in this area.
Q: Could you talk about the importance of founding both Family Place and Caring Circle?
A: Family Place – When I moved here in 1987 there weren’t a lot of opportunities to meet other young parents who were at home with their children. Family Place brought together all of the new young families and a network of dynamic women and men who stated constructing a community for themselves when I think previously we felt a little isolated. I know that the husbands of the women who met at Family Place also found their social networks expanding. It really was all about building a sense of community, a sense of belonging. Family Place on Bowen has been where so many decades long friendships started.
Caring Circle - I think having had breast cancer alerted me to the many gaps in health services at least in 2005. It was a frustrating time when there didn’t seem to be a coordinated response to my diagnosis. I was having to do lots of research myself and be on high alert when things got missed. So once I was healthy again it occurred to me that health navigation might be a service that people need on Bowen.
Given that I worked as a registered nurse on Bowen, and at Lions Gate Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital, and having gone through a year long breast cancer ordeal, I thought I might have something to offer the Community. Especially given we were so underserved with regard to primary care given we only had one general practitioner for quite a number of years. So I volunteered for a year and then we found funds to pay for a health navigator. That work over 10 years informed the work of the Health Centre Foundation.
Q: How did those two groups grow over the years and how important were they to the community?
A: I think Family Place continues to connect families on Bowen and is where so many friendships start in that space at the Children’s Centre. And how the health of our little ones get the care they need with the education Family Place provides. Family Place is pivotal to the health of this community, both the health of the parents and the health of the children. I consider it one of the most important organizations on Bowen.
I think Caring Circle was incredibly important to the Community as reflected in our yearly stats. We offered one to one support to hundreds for requests for support, we sponsored many educational opportunities over the years and took a leadership role in health related concerns on Bowen. Caring Circle was the catalyst for the creation of a Board to look at building a Health Centre on Bowen. And that turned out pretty well for Bowen.
Q: How did it feel to see the Health Centre reach completion and what has it meant to this island?
I organized the first meeting in 2013 to discuss the possibility of building a health centre on Bowen so it’s been a long haul and a lot of volunteer hours. So when you ask me how it felt to see it reach completion… I was thrilled and I’ve been excited every day since opening when I walk into work. I walk in the front door and continue to be gobsmacked that we did this as a community. I was skeptical from the start (unlike Tim Rhodes) as it was a road with a lot of bumps along the way.
When I’m at work I get to hear all day long… “Thank you so much Doctor / thank you for your care / I’m so grateful you’re here / thank you again / I’m so relieved.” The things that I love to hear the most are situations that would take all day in town for a family. Now they’re in and out of the Health Centre in 30 minutes and back home with the antibiotics that were needed for their little one.
The Community Champion category searches for people who “have personally identified a local community need or issue and initiated meaningful change, dedicating their own time and resources to champion their cause... They have made a significant and sustained difference in Metro Vancouver while being recognized as a source of strength and heart in their communities and are able to harness the time, talent and capacity of others.”
The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards Gala takes place in Vancouver on April 28. A Community Champion Award, where a nominee is chosen by votes from the public, will also be awarded with $10,000 going to the winner’s home community. People can vote at ywcavan.org/CCA-vote
