Francis John Blatherwick

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Dr. Francis John Blatherwick, CM, OBC, CD, FRCP(C) (born September 11, 1944) was one of Canada's trailblazing leaders in public health and was the longest-serving Medical officer of health in Canada when he retired in 2007. [1]

Contents

Entry into public health

Prior to coming to Vancouver, he was the Medical Health Officer in the Simon Fraser Health Unit for nine years. He received his MD from the University of Alberta in 1969. He then started in public health when he left a residency in Internal Medicine at Vancouver General Hospital in 1971 to set up the Pine Street Youth Clinic. He received his Diploma in Public Health at the University of Toronto in 1975 and completed his Fellowship in Public Health at University of British Columbia in 1976. [1]

Public health leadership

Dr. Blatherwick served as the Medical Health Officer or Chief Medical Health Officer in Vancouver, British Columbia from 1984 to 2007. As the medical health officer for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, he was instrumental in implementing a number of important programs, particularly those involving youth, people with disabilities, individuals living with AIDS, combating drug addictions, and the initiative to ban smoking in the workplace. [2]

Dr. Blatherwick was adept at media relations and gained recognition for expressing independent, authoritative views on contentious health matters, including his activism during the AIDS pandemic. In the mid-1980s, Premier Bill Vander Zalm publicly threatened to dismiss him – twice – due to his advocacy for the inclusion of condoms and sex education in schools. [3] In September 1997, Dr. Blatherwick declared a public health emergency in the Downtown Eastside due to the escalating rate of HIV infections, largely attributed to the high rates of injection drug use. [4] Insite, the first legal supervised safe injection site in North America, opened during his tenure. [5] [6]

He also led Vancouver's public health response to the 2003 SARS epidemic. [7]

Armed forces

Blatherwick served in the Canadian Forces reserves for 39 years, retiring in 2000 with the rank of Commander and the position of Senior Naval Reserve Medical Advisor. He served in the Air Force, Army, and the Naval reserves, and was Canada's representative to the NATO Reserve Medical Officers’ Congress from 1989 to 1995. [8]

He is currently the Honorary Colonel for 12 (Vancouver) Field Ambulance (2006 to 2012). [9]

Books authored

Blatherwick has written more than 20 books, mostly on medals and flying:

Honours

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References

  1. 1 2 Kendall, Perry (December 2007). "Dr John Blatherwick—An appreciation". BC Medical Journal. 49 (10): 578. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  2. ↑ "Honorary Degree Citation" (PDF). Simon Fraser University. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  3. ↑ "Dr. John Blatherwick's Advocacy During the Early Days of the AIDS Epidemic". 30 30 AIDS Vancouver on YouTube. 24 March 2014. Event occurs at 0m25s. Retrieved 10 February 2024. I got to battle the AIDS epidemic from the front pages of the newspaper, on the evening news, radio and television, and all the talk shows.
  4. ↑ "PHS Community Services Society v. Attorney General of Canada". Supreme Court of British Columbia. 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  5. ↑ Bardsley, J.; Turvey, J.; Blatherwick, J. (February 1990). "Vancouver's needle exchange program". Can J Public Health. 81 (1): 39–45. PMID   2311049.
  6. ↑ Wainberg, Mark A. (November 2006). "The need to promote public health in the field of illicit drug use". CMAJ. 175 (11): 1395. doi:10.1503/cmaj.061404. PMC   1635773 .
  7. ↑ Pamela Fayerman (8 April 2003). "Global Virus SARS under control in B.C." The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  8. ↑ Naval Association of Canada (24 Feb 2021). "A History of Honours in Canada" . Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  9. ↑ John MacFarlane (2011). "John Blatherwick - Expert in Medals and Decorations" . Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  10. ↑ "Francis John Blatherwick's Order of Canada Citation". Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  11. ↑ "2007 Recipient: Dr. Francis John Blatherwick – New Westminster". Government of British Columbia. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  12. ↑ "Francis John Blatherwick's Golden Jubilee Medal Citation". Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Francis John Blatherwick's Diamond Jubilee Medal Citation". Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
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