The Douglas Institute, a proud member of the Réseau Universitaire Intégré de Santé (RUIS) McGill, has received the 2013 internal communications award bestowed by the Association québécoise d'établissements de santé et de services sociaux (AQESSS) for its “Healthy eating: Taking Action!” campaign. The award was announced at the Malades de com conference held on April 9, 2013 at the Centre Mont-Royal.

Over twenty health care institutions entered the competition for this award, and the jury chose the Douglas for the quality of its promotional tools developed specifically for the “Healthy eating: Taking Action!” campaign: which included a loyalty card, posters, the Nutri Quiz, and more.

This wellness program to encourage healthy diets took place during April and May 2012 and was the result of exceptional teamwork between the Food and Nutrition Department and the Communications and Public Affairs Directorate, which also relied on the assistance of social enterprise Acti-Menu as well as the Health and wellness committee for their financial support.

Our sincere thanks to all employees who made this initiative a success, to campaign ambassadors Lynne McVey, Donald Collins, Patricia Puyau, Micheline Chammaa, Francine Duquette, Lucie Urbain and Michael Fira, and to participants Camillo Zacchia, Chrystelle Betty, Josée Giguère and Nada Akrah. We would also like to acknowledge the administrative support of Geneviève Dumont, Carole Leclerc Guérin and Annie Bouchard and the involvement of Alexandra Kelso-Gravel, who coordinated this internal communications campaign.

Malades de com conference
Over the past five years, the AQESSS has organized this event for communicators in the health and social services network. This conference is a unique opportunity to discuss and share innovative ideas for internal and external communications.

The Douglas Institute's Communications and Public Affairs Directorate received the 2009 Prix Coup de coeur from the AQESSS for its Public Education Program. At the 2012 conference, the Douglas Institute also presented two projects: its on-line promotional campaign for the PREVENT-Alzheimer study along with the “color chart” for its 2011-2014 strategic plan.