Dr. Vivien Suttorp to receive U of L’s Friends of Health Sciences award

caroline.zentner — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 16:31:14 +0000

For her incredible and consistent commitment to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge public health students, the Faculty of Health Sciences is pleased to recognize Dr. Vivien Suttorp with this year’s Friends of Health Sciences award.

As lead medical officer of health for South Zone with Alberta Health Services, Suttorp’s role is a busy one. She’s also an occupational health consultant and medical lead for infection prevention and control in South Zone. In addition, she has supervised more than 16 U of L practicum students since 2011, alongside a bevy of graduate and medical students from other institutions.

“Dr. Vivien Suttorp is someone who fully exemplifies the values of her profession and who teaches the principle that everyone owns public health,” says Dr. Robert Wood, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences. “We are delighted to acknowledge the immense investments Dr. Suttorp has made in health care, to our public health students and to our faculty.”

“I am delighted and honoured to receive this award, but simultaneously, all the team efforts of those who supported students need to be acknowledged,” says Suttorp. “I will accept the award on behalf of all the great teams that I have the privilege to work with in public health and other programs who support our students in learning applied public health.”

The diversity that comes with working in public health appeals to many students. From emergency disaster management and disease and injury prevention to health promotion, health status and surveillance, students have opportunities to see the public health theory they learned in the classroom applied in real-world settings.

“South Zone is small as far as population goes, but it has great diversity,” says Suttorp. “We have some very unique populations and cultures and needs, even from a health equity perspective.”

When she arrived in southern Alberta in July of 2008, Suttorp worked for the Chinook Health Region. Less than a year later, Alberta Health Services was created and her territory expanded to include the southern swath of the province from British Columbia to Saskatchewan, with Granum, Brooks and Oyen defining the northernmost points.

“Because of the diversity of areas, I also have a diversity of undergraduate and master’s in public health students, as well as medical students and residents,” she says.

Suttorp is a regular guest lecturer at the U of L. She ensures students learn about how public health theory is applied by bringing actual scenarios into the classroom. She also provides lectures on risk assessment, risk management and risk communications. Then, in a subsequent lecture, students apply the theory to current scenarios.

“In medicine, we learn through case presentations,” she says. “That’s what’s exciting and what makes it stick. I think it creates energy and enthusiasm in the class and helps to apply basic theory into practice.”

Along with teaching and mentoring students, Suttorp is a member of the advisory committee for the U of L’s public health program and conducts research with faculty members. Beyond that, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is a key stakeholder in emergency planning and response from a community perspective.

Originally from Holland, Suttorp immigrated to Canada as a child. If medicine hadn’t won out as her career, she might well have become a teacher or professional musician, her two other loves. Her primary job throughout undergraduate studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia was teaching music and she also enjoyed playing in the university band. Now, she plays music with her twin girls.

The 2019 Friends of Health Sciences Award will be presented on Thursday, Oct. 10 at a reception and dinner in the U of L’s Markin Hall atrium. Tickets are $50 each or $400 for a table of eight. Tickets can be purchased online.

Health Sciences producing ready grads

trevor.kenney — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:17:15 +0000

The best testimony as to whether a program works or not is to see the end result. Christine Knaus, soon to be a graduate of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Faculty of Health Sciences Public Health program, is that end result – and yes, the program does work.

Knaus, who is set to convocate this spring, is already employed as an infection control practitioner with Alberta Health Services (AHS), having turned her practicum placement into a full-time job. The only downside is that she now has to finish her Registered Nurse designation online.

"I would have loved to finish my nursing training at the U of L too but because they did such a good job training me, I got a job right out of school and couldn't come back," laughs Knaus, the AHS infection control site lead for the southwestern portion of the province.

Infection control practitioner Christine Knaus assists Faculty of Health Sciences Dean Dr. Chris Hosgood in demonstrating proper gowning techniques.

Knaus started her post-secondary career at Lethbridge College, taking two years of nursing. Her interests however were in the public health portion of the program. When the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ debuted its public health degree, she jumped at the opportunity to pursue her passion.

"When this program opened, it was the right time to move into it," says Knaus, a native of Lanigan, Saskatchewan. "I enjoyed nursing but public health allowed me to help those people who are not yet in hospital to be healthy and prevent them from future visits to the hospital."

She and her classmates reveled in the opportunities afforded them with a brand new program, including the chance to shape how it would be delivered.

"Because there were so few of us we really got to give a lot of input into curriculum, what was working and what wasn't working," she says. "We were often referred to as the guinea pigs of the program. It was a trial but we got an amazing education because they did a great job of finding classes for us and even making classes that would help us as practitioners in the public health field."

Knaus credits the faculty for engaging its students in discussions about classes, the hiring of professors and the program's delivery. In fact, as the first group neared completion of the program, they lobbied for change to one of its most difficult, and what they deemed impractical, courses. It was subsequently changed to better serve future students.

"That's one of the aspects I give the Faculty of Health Sciences so much credit for," says Knaus. "When you give them feedback, they take it seriously and you always feel as though you're a part of the decision-making."

Knaus excels in such an environment. She grew up admiring her grandmother's efforts in changing the world through volunteerism in a family that championed the ideal of being an active part of your community and given the chance, grasped the opportunity to take control of her education. In 2010, she was the only undergraduate student who had an abstract accepted to the Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics Student Conference, and she developed a stroke resource guide for patients and caregivers that is now being implemented in facilities in both Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Her practicum placement allowed her the chance to work under Dr. Vivien Suttorp, the medical officer of health at Alberta Health Services.

"I learned so much in that role," says Knaus. "I was thrown right into the position, and got to go with environmental public health to see things such as hoarding houses, water leaks at various facilities, review environmental services cleaning at Chinook Regional Hospital, it really took me everywhere. And it was essentially my practicum that got me my current job with AHS."

As an infection control practitioner, Knaus says she is a resource for hospitals.

"Any time there is an outbreak in a hospital or an Alberta Health Services facility, we assist with that. Infection control is dedicated to the prevention of healthcare-associated infections. Practitioners use surveillance to improve patient outcomes. We focus on reducing the transmission of microbes through patient care practices, sterilization, disinfection cleaning, outbreak management and environmental design, and the most important being hand hygiene."

Knaus accepts her role as a pioneer of the program, and wants to continue to shape its future. She comes back to campus to speak to current students and eyes returning as a master's student and possible lecturer.

"I would like to end up teaching here at some point, maybe an evening class or two," she says. "My professors played such a big role impacting my life and inspiring me, I'd really like to give that back to the next generation of students."

GET THE FACTS

· In 2011, Knaus was nominated for the City of Lethbridge Leaders of Tomorrow Award

· She has two younger brothers (one who attends ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan and another in high school) as well as a younger sister

· Knaus does not want to single out any specific professors because, "They were all so good to me, and although they taught us a lot to do with school, they also taught us so much in terms of life lessons."

· Knaus was co-president of the Public Health Students Association and was co-Chair for the Health Sciences Haiti Benefit earthquake fundraiser that raised over $5,000

· She coaches pee wee and bantam level female hockey, and is currently working on developing a summer hockey school program designed to give access to those who could not otherwise afford to participate

This story first appeared in the February 2012 edition of The Legend. To view the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

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Dr. Vivien Suttorp to receive U of L’s Friends of Health Sciences award

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