Making a Change

Training prepares policy analyst for front line battle

In 2005, Barbara Johne was working as a health care fundraiser at a Toronto hospital, but she knew she needed a change.

“I was working in a hospital during the SARS outbreak and it made me want to do something else,” Barbara says. “It made me want to get into public health emergency management so I could help protect Ontarians.”

She wouldn’t have to wait very long. In November of that same year, Barbara got her wish when she joined the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care, Agency Implementation Unit, Public Health Division. She supported the development of the Agency for Health Protection and Promotion and its mission to protect and promote the health of Ontarians, including providing support in public health emergencies.

Back to School
In the fall of 2006, after just under a year on the job, Johne and a colleague enrolled in the Public Health Emergency Management Certificate program at George Brown’s School of Emergency Management. The five-course certificate offers instruction in command-post operations, crisis communication and surveillance and assessment.

“I enjoyed the program immensely and learned a great deal,” Barbara says. “The skills I learned and the tools I obtained have assisted me in my career and will ultimately protect and promote the health of the individuals and population that I serve now and in the future.”

Barbara attributes much of the success of the program to her classmates and her instructors, but also acknowledges that the certificate’s focus on real-world applications and simulations prepared her for life in the field.

“Real Life Experience”
“I worked with, and dealt with, all kinds of people at George Brown, which has a real-life practical application; during an emergency you must deal with the needs and interests of a variety of people,” she says. “The quality of instructors and materials provided were extremely high and I also enjoyed the opportunity to meet and learn new skills with colleagues, both instructors and students, in emergency management.”

While with the Agency Implementation Unit, Barbara supported the development of the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, which was enacted by legislation in June 2007 – cementing their position as an important public health initiative for Ontario.

Barbara would get a first-hand view of that same initiative when she joined the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion in 2008 – and would hit the ground running. Working in strategy and external relations, she worked through both the H1N1 outbreak and the G20 Summit in Toronto. In addition, Barbara gave back to the field that has given her so much in her role supporting the launch of the Sheela Basrur Centre – whose mission is to strengthen the capabilities, knowledge and expertise of public health professionals and to educate the public on key strategies to promote health.

"It was something I was certainly happy to be a part of," she says. "In fact, everybody who worked on the centre was honoured to do it because Dr. Basrur was such an important, and influential, leader in the field of public health."

Since July of 2010, Barbara has been employed as a performance improvement analyst with the Performance Improvement and Compliance Branch at the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care. Her duties include working on the development and implementation of quality improvement initiatives and programs to support sustainable health systems in the province, maintaining contact with partners, consulting with stakeholders and analyzing and identifying new opportunities and trends in health system performance improvement.

Thankfully, Barbara has her George Brown certificate to draw on at work.

“Public health emergencies are not like other emergencies and George Brown recognizes that,” she says. “The combination of in-class and self-study enhanced the educational experience and has given me the confidence I needed to advance in my career.”

Making a Change

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