The jacket I painted and that I’m wearing in this picture is part of The Walking Gallery of Healthcare.
The movement was started by Regina Holliday – a patient advocate and artist. Patients and healthcare professionals wear the jackets painted with their health story at healthcare conferences. Regina taught us how to bring the patient in the room with these eye catching uniforms. We’re proudly wearing them whenever we participate in any health conference. Here’s a video where you can see more jackets and hear more stories.
My jacket is about primary healthcare, the one that happens at home and with our primary care doctor. There’s a wood bridge and a river. The river represents the Internet that helps us keep in touch and learn from others. The shores represent the Woodbridge Township.
Each medallion represents something that we can do for health. We have medallions for:
- Exercise
- Food
- Friends and family
- Doctors, clinics and other clinicians
- Learning – The Woodbridge Public Library
- Peer support groups
- Parks
As online resources, we have medallions for:
- Apps
- Online courses
- Online patient forums.
Part of the jacket is gratitude for things I did in Woodbridge to keep me healthy and part of the jacket is a roadmap of where we need to go to get the community get or keep healthy.
