Now I’m in Canada as a visiting 2024-25 Research Chair in Health Law, Policy and Ethics at the University of Ottawa’s Center for Health Law. This is my second career opportunity to “visit away” under the auspices of a Fulbright Fellowship program and it is wonderful to experience new places, new ideas, and new people.
My start on the Fulbright was a little delayed — because of a late summer horseback riding accident (although, thankfully that accident did NOT take place in Ireland), as I managed to break my arm and bruise a few ribs when my horse fell unexpectedly, sending us both to the ground from a canter.
I must admit — after a lifetime of riding both horses and bicycles for long distances in new places with a few tumbles along the way — you would think I “knew” better than to jump at the chance to ride one more “new” horse who had arrived in the barn just a few days before my original planned departure for Canada. Whoops! The ER, a cast, a bit of surgery and lots of physical therapy and I’m back on a good path. This is my first time blogging with both hands on the keys since the tumble.
I’ve been fascinated by the University of Ottawa programming I’m witnessing. I chose Canada — and specifically Ottawa — because I wanted to take time to experience the nation’s capital, and take a close look at Canada’s health care program and approaches to aging issues. So far, I’ve already sat in on presentations on a range of health-related subjects, including a book launch on September 25 of Pandemics, Public Health, and the Regulation of Borders.
The multi-author approach provided important contrasts on the question of what does it mean to keep vulnerable populations safe in the face of a global health care crisis, while still being “good national citizens” of the world. Colleen Flood, recent Director of UOttawa’s Center for Health Law and now the Dean of Queen’s University Faculty of Law and a co-editor of the Routledge Press (open access) book, led off the discussion that centered on COVID-19, by comparing New Zealand’s locked border approach with the attempts of both Canada and the United States to limit travel (and thereby reduce transmission of disease) while still permitting open borders to facilitate economic transactions, including movement of needed supplies. I was especially interested in the presentation of Kumanan Wilson, a physician and scientific leader with the Bruyère Research Institute, who provided a brief history of the science of “vaccine passports,” including the need for stable, reliable sites for digital information. (Did you lose track of your paper vaccine card(s))?
Stay tuned! More reports to come!