Public health advocate and community builder named to the Order of Canada

Louis Hugo Francescutti.

This country’s highest honour — the Order of Canada — is being awarded to Louis Hugo Francescutti, University of Alberta School of Public Health professor, in recognition of a lifetime of achievement that makes a difference.

Francescutti earned his PhD in medical sciences (immunology) and MD from the U of A. He went on to receive a master of public health with a specialization in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland where he completed a preventive medicine residency, studied injury control and experienced the empowerment of a culture of excellence.

Some of Francescutti’s honours and awards include several prestigious research grants, five honorary fellowships from physician colleges around the world, an honorary colonel of the Canadian military 1 Health Services Group in Edmonton, a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, a Military Meritorious Medal of Service and one of Alberta’s Top 100 Physicians of the Century.

Francescutti’s many professional roles in his over-30-year career include emergency and preventive medicine physician, university professor and researcher, public health advocate, founder of worker health and safety initiatives, author, gifted international motivational speaker, and past president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Canadian Medical Association and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. 

To Francescutti, his roles are all connected. Working in emergency medicine, he sees firsthand the failures of our preventive system, whether it’s an injury, respiratory illness, infectious disease or homelessness due to drug addiction or mental illness. Being a professor in the School of Public Health allows him to create innovative programs to try to solve some of those problems, such as pushing for mandatory seat belts, banning riding in the back of pickup trucks, mandatory cycling helmets for children and bans on cellphone use while driving. 

Believing that prevention is always a better strategy than treatment, Francescutti helped found numerous injury prevention programs over the years, including the Injury Awareness and Prevention Centre, Alberta Centre for Injury Control & Research, HEROES, a multimedia head- and spinal cord-injury prevention project for teens and more recently, Aivia Health, an app for first responders to interact with physicians and wellness coaches and MySafetySurvey, a resource to help workers and organizations monitor their safety culture. 

Francescutti uses his advocacy, storytelling and motivational speaking skills, plus his many connections from leadership positions, to help raise awareness, support and funding for the projects that come out of the public health advocacy class he teaches with adjunct professors — currently Igor Zoric and previously Les Hagen. 

The Bridge Healing Transitional Accommodation Program — initially funded by generous private donors, the City of Edmonton, Lions Service Clubs and the Royal Alexandra Hospital and University Hospital Foundations — is one of those projects.

Instead of unhoused patients being discharged from the emergency department back onto the street, individuals are offered immediate temporary housing, where they can receive support for food security and mental health, employment and addiction counselling, banking and legal assistance, and then move towards permanent housing, all within a caring community setting.

“Bridge Healing is a pretty innovative program where we approach patients who are experiencing homelessness and we simply ask them two questions: Are you currently experiencing homelessness? Do you want a fresh start? If they say yes, we get a cab and bring them to one of our Bridge Healing units.”

Bridge Healing currently consists of three buildings in Edmonton, each with 12 housing units and indoor and outdoor communal living spaces. The approach uses Eden Alternative principles — care that supports the whole person, upholding their right to a life full of purpose, connection, empowerment and possibility, regardless of age or changing abilities. 

There is currently up to an 80 per cent reduction in health-care utilization for people once they’re stabilized says Francescutti. “That means fewer ambulance calls and fewer repeat visits to the emergency room.” John Cowell, the previous official administrator of Alberta Health Services, saw the positive impacts of the program and championed AHS to come on board with operational funding.

“But more importantly, it gives people an opportunity to get their life back on track. The program is called Asimina Koci in Cree, which means to try again. And that’s the biggest reward — to help an individual have a place to stay, to try and break that addiction to chaos in their lives so they can start contributing to society in a meaningful way.”

Francescutti’s next project examines the effects of loneliness and its impact on an individual’s health and corporate performance.

“You can be in the middle of a city and still be lonely. The impact we’re starting to find on an individual’s health is the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It’s a major health problem that has gone unrecognized for a long time.”

Francescutti believes there’s much more to be done and that the U of A, the College of Health Sciences and the School of Public Health are perfectly positioned to be more responsive to the needs of the community — to create opportunities for both students and faculty to work on solving society’s problems. 

“I think if we can start working on some real problems facing society and hold ourselves accountable to finding results, that will be a benefit, both to the university to show its value, and to the governments that are funding it.”

When asked what receiving the Order of Canada means to him, Francescutti replies, “Most, if not all, of the work has been done with other folks. It’s always nice to be acknowledged, but it’s unfortunate that other people who have played a big part in the success don’t receive recognition. But I’ll make sure I acknowledge them personally. That includes the incredible support my family has provided me over all these years.”

“I owe the Province of Alberta and especially the University of Alberta, the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, and the School of Public Health a big thank you for this incredible journey that brought me from Montreal back in 1980 with an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Student Scholarship in the lab of the late professor Thomas Wegmann.” 

He adds that this award is reflective of the meaning of the work. “You don’t get this for just publishing papers. You get it for doing something that makes a difference at the end of the day.”