December 14, 2007

The former Premier of Alberta will be the keynote speaker at afundraising event next month in support of the Prince George CommunityFoundation and the Northern Medical Programs Trust.

Ralph Klein will be speaking at the 2008 Dr. Bob Ewert MemorialLecture, Dinner, and Dance, an annual event that highlights majorhealth issues and celebrates health services in the North. The title ofMr. Klein’s presentation will be Facing North: The Anatomy ofHealthcare and the Economy.

“Mr. Klein has been at the front lines of the debate in Canada overwhether our health care system should be able to accommodate privatehealth clinics,” says Dr. Bert Kelly, one of the organizers of theEwert lecture. “Regardless of my or anyone else’s stand on the issue ofprivatization, one thing is certain: costs of health care are rising.Our responses to this challenge are vital to the continued viability ofhealth services throughout the North. This isn’t just a health issue;it’s a community sustainability issue. Mr. Klein will certainlychallenge us and maybe even change some opinions on what the futureshould hold.”

The inaugural Ewert lecture was held in 2004 and includes the lectureas well as annual inductions into the Northern Medical Society Hall ofFame. The inductee this year will be Dr. Alvin Mooney, who practicedmedicine for 40 years in Vanderhoof before passing away earlier thisyear.

The Ewert Lecture, Dinner, and Dance will be held on January 19.Tickets are $100 each and are available from the Office of UniversityAdvancement at UNBC. Attendees also have the option of purchasingentire tables of ten. Proceeds will support a Nursing Program fund inthe Northern Medical Programs Trust and the Dr. Bob Ewert MemorialLecture Endowment, which is held by the Prince George CommunityFoundation.

The Dr. Bob Ewert Memorial Lecture, Dinner, and Dance is presented bythe Northern Medical Society, the Prince George Community Foundation,the Northern Medical Programs Trust, and UNBC.  

Contact:
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC – 250.960.5622