Board Member Profile – Dr. Pat Craig

Introducing Dr. Patricia Craig, sure to be a familiar face to many residents of Pictou County. Dr. Craig began her medical career in St. John’s, Newfoundland before moving to Pictou County in 1990, when her husband was hired at Sobey’s head office. She spent 29 years as a family doctor in New Glasgow, primarily at the Westside Clinic, until giving up family medicine in 2019 to begin working as a general practitioner in oncology.

In 2021, her interest in population health drew Dr. Craig to join the Foundation as board member. “Thirty-one years of family medicine taught me the truth behind the old saying, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’. The opportunity to work on the Population Health Committee, and hopefully create lasting impact on the health of our community, is what motivates me.”

Improving health through prevention isn’t just something Dr. Craig preaches to her patients, she lives it every day. She stays physically active through biking, regular exercise and maintains social and community connections playing a musical instrument in two different bands.

Having grown up less than an hour from Montreal, Dr. Craig has loved living in a rural community setting. “Pictou County is the perfect size – big enough to have most services but small enough that it’s easy to get involved. I love that our beaches and hiking trails are so close together. I appreciate how little time I spend travelling to work or activities, which frees up time for things that I enjoy. I love the people.”

Moving the needle forward in community health is not without effort, though, and progress can seem slow with results measured over long periods of time. Dr. Craig helps keep the board motivated with her ability to contextualize the long-term impacts of upstream investments. “Upstream investments in community health can have huge impacts – not only on health care costs but on quality of life for everyone. I hope that by working on the Population Health Committee, I can help to focus the board on the big picture and help keep up the enthusiasm and momentum for this important work.”