Date: 2007
Location: Edmonton
Profile: Lisa Dubbeldam began working in home care in Edmonton’s Northeast while she was a third year Nursing student at the University of Alberta from which she graduated in 2001. Working with a vulnerable population as a community nurse, Dubbeldam became an advocate for adequate staffing to support the needs of her patients and to protect the safety of staff. Many patients have no fixed address, and her ability to locate their whereabouts and then complete an accurate assessment of their physical and mental health needs with recommendations for follow-up are key to protecting those individuals along with the larger community.
Dubbeldam began attending union meetings at the encouragement of a co-worker. She soon became an activist recognized by her co-workers as a resource regarding union activities. As part of her advocacy for patients, she encourages UNA’s activism beyond the nursing profession, emphasizing social determinants of health such as decent housing.
Keywords: Community Nursing, Home Care, Homelessness, Housing, Safe Staffing.
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See also: Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta; United Nurses of Alberta; Women and Work in Alberta