Ever since she was young, Marlene Miranda knew that she wanted to help people.
Born in Portugal, Miranda grew up in Simcoe, moving here with her family when she was just 1.
Though she knew that she wanted to help people, she wasn’t necessarily sure how.
But, in high school, Miranda decided to go into nursing, receiving her diploma from Mohawk College and her Bachelor’s Degree from Ryerson University.
Following several other opportunities in her career, Miranda is now the General Manager of the Health and Social Services Department.
She explains that both nurses and the Health and Social Services team focus on helping people, they just do it in different ways.
The Health side of the Department focuses on nursing and medicine, emphasizing prevention and promotion from a community perspective.
One of their biggest tasks right now is obviously COVID-19.
Miranda says that the global disease is taking up a lot of public health resources, but they do have other projects they’re involved in.
The Health Team runs the infectious disease and vaccine program.
They also take care of Environmental health, doing a lot of inspections in the community.
Miranda explains that some of their other big projects include maternal and child care, Smoke-Free Ontario, care for school-age children and working to manage the opioid crisis.
When it comes to the Social Services side of the Department, Miranda says they focus on the social determinants of health and helping people through their journey.
From a social services perspective, Miranda says they provide the Ontario Works program as well as housing for supportive housing and affordable housing programs.
Miranda continues, adding that they have a focus on reducing homelessness in the community and providing support for licensed daycares and home-licensed care.
Along with their programs, Miranda says they also have the Norview long-term care home.
There, they provide nursing and medical care to over 170 residents in our community.
Miranda says it’s the diversity of the work they do that she appreciates.
Miranda is proud that she can work with a fantastic team, building programs to help people in the community.
Her full interview can be heard below: