YWCA makes Dr. Bonnie Henry an icon

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — As if Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry wasn’t already an icon, the YWCA of Metro Vancouver is making her one.

Henry will receive the 2020 Icon Award, part of the annual Metro Vancouver Women of Distinction program.

“The Icon Award recognizes an extraordinary woman for her achievements throughout her lifetime,” says a release from the YWCA.

Henry is the third recipient of the Icon Award, following May Brown and former prime minister Kim Campbell.

“As a leader, role model and mentor, the Icon Award recipient has made a significant and sustained difference over the span of her lifetime in the community on a local, provincial and/or national level. She demonstrates a track record of excellence and is an inspiration to others in her field. She encapsulates the spirit of women’s equality and her actions exemplify resilience, passion, determination, honour, loyalty, kindness, grace and generosity,” according to the YWCA.

.@YWCAVAN is awarding its 2020 Icon Award to Dr. Bonnie Henry. "I am humbled to be included amongst the previous recipients; women who have overcome adversity, challenged convention, and shown unwavering passion, commitment and leadership." pic.twitter.com/TNYVoH9lch

— Sonia Aslam (@SoniaSAslam) July 28, 2020

Henry has led B.C.’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The province, under her leadership, has recorded among the world’s lowest coronavirus case numbers, and she is renowned for promoting a calm and measured response to COVID-19.

She was also the first woman to hold the post of B.C. health officer.

“She has been praised for her calm and informative approach in mitigating the transmission of the virus and her ‘Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe’ message has guided citizens of B.C. to work together in the face of the pandemic,” says the YWCA.

Henry has been recognized previously with a Fluevog shoe named after her, while a bee pendant was created in her honour to assist a charity helping women in the Downtown Eastside. She was also featured on a mural in Gastown, and a petition seeks to rename the fountain in Stanley Park after her.

Henry is an associate professor at UBC, faculty of medicine. She is the past chair of Immunize Canada and a member of the Canadian National Advisory Committee on Immunization and the National Infection Control Guidelines Steering Committee.

She previously worked in a wide variety of large-scale public health crises both in Canada and internationally, including the WHO/UNICEF polio eradication program in Pakistan in 2000 and Ebola outbreak in Uganda in 2001. She led the operational response to the SARS outbreak in Toronto in 2003 and in responding to pandemic H1N1 influenza in 2009.

She is also the author of Soap and Water and Common Sense, a guide to staying healthy in a microbe-filled world.

During the pandemic, Henry has also renewed her call for the decriminalization of people who use illegal drugs.

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“Under her supervision, B.C. is taking the lead on new approaches to prevention, treatment and harm reduction services, addressing underlying causes of drug use, promoting supervised consumption and encouraging drug checking of unregulated, highly toxic drug supplies,” says the YWCA.

“It is an honour to be the recipient of this unusual year’s Icon Award,” Henry said.

“I am humbled to be included amongst the previous recipients; women who have overcome adversity, challenged convention, and shown unwavering passion, commitment and leadership. I am committed to continuing to do my best to have a positive impact.”

The awards event honours extraordinary women leaders and workplaces, while raising much-needed funds for YWCA programs and services that improve the lives of thousands of people each year across Metro Vancouver.

A virtual ceremony will be held on Sept. 23.