In addition to all the medical equipment we can purchase with the help of donors like you, TB Vets also proudly supports education and research. Your generosity allows us to make a tremendous difference beyond acquiring the latest critical technology for our frontline medical heroes. We support initiatives that have a far-reaching impact on the ability to provide respiratory care.
Nash Dhalla and Linette McElroy are great examples of this. Both received financial support from TB Vets early in their careers and have gone on to become leaders in the field of TB education and nursing and are internationally recognized TB Champions.
A refugee from Uganda, Nash started in 1996 as an outreach worker in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a position initially funded by the BC Lung Association and then by TB Vets.
With the encouragement of colleagues and family, Nash pursued a nursing degree at the University of British Columbia. During her studies, she spearheaded a fundraising campaign so she and another nursing student could study with the FERE Hospital TB/HIV program in South Africa.
Within 2 years of completing her degree, Nash was back working with the TB program at the BC Centre for Disease Control, alongside her former mentors. She has been a driving force behind the revitalization of STOP TB Canada, where she currently leads the Communication and Community Engagement Work Group.
Linette found her niche in TB soon after starting as a TB screening nurse in 1992. At the encouragement of Dr. Stuart Kenning, long-time Director of the outpatient TB clinic in Victoria BC, Linette applied to attend the only speciality course on TB available in North America at the time, the Denver TB Course.
After being accepted there, Linette successfully reached out to TB Vets for funding to help with travel costs and registration fees.
In 2004, Linette transferred her skills from the TB clinic in Victoria to the role of Nurse Manager for BC’s provincial TB Control program. Since then, she has created or updated TB policy and procedure manuals for the Correctional Service of Canada and most of the provinces and territories across Canada, developed online learning modules about TB for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and worked for Canada’s Inuit representative group, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) to finalize the Inuit-specific Tuberculosis Strategy. Linette has also volunteered countless hours with the TB Education and Training Network, the International Union against TB and Lung Disease, and currently leads STOP TB Canada’s TB Education and Resource Work Group.
Between Nash’s boundless energy and enthusiasm, and Linette’s creativity and expansive network, the two have been taking the TB world by storm.*
