Program to aid public health services

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Somewhere, the late Dr. Sheela Basrur is smiling.

Next week, a fundraiser held in her honour will launch a new outreach program aimed at renewing public health in Ontario.

Basrur was Toronto's first medical officer of health and became the human face of public health during the SARS outbreak of 2003.

The long-time Scarborough resident, who was inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame last month, died in June of leiomyosarcoma, a rare cancer she had been battling for the previous two years.

She had stepped down as Ontario's medical officer of health, a position she was appointed to following her admirable handling of the SARS crisis, just 18 months before so she could battle her disease.

Basrur was known as a champion of public health.

That's why she would have been pleased to know about the fundraiser being held Nov. 27 at the Carlu, at 444 Yonge St. at the southwest corner of College and Yonge streets at 5:30 p.m.

The event is hosted by the Sheela Basrur Centre, which act as Ontario's version of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The centre is looking to continue Basrur's legacy of public health renewal and leadership in Ontario. While the Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, housed in the centre, is developing a basic level of services, the fundraiser will help provide a world-class set of programs with a significant and lasting impact on public health and health services.

Tickets for the event are $200. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.sheelabasrurcentre.ca or call 416-978-8849.