Interview with NB Lung
Can you tell me a little bit about how and why your organization began?
One of New Brunswick’s oldest charities, NB Lung was founded in 1933 in response to the tuberculosis pandemic as a provincial chapter of the Canadian Lung Association. In 2023, NB Lung separated from the federated model; this independence enables us to dedicate our focus exclusively to New Brunswick lung health priorities.
Has the organization grown significantly since it began? Are there chapters across the province, across Canada, across the world? Or what about the size of the local office?
With over 90 years of history, the size of our organization has ebbed and flowed in response to lung health needs. With the increasing concerns of respiratory infections like COVID and RSV, air quality impacts with our changing climate and wildfire frequency, and the uptick in concerns with youth vaping, our team has grown and now employs 12 full time staff.
What is your role in the organization and what is the structure? Staff? Board? Committees? etc
I am Melanie Langille, the President and CEO, serving as the public face of the organization and key connection between the 12 staff and 10-member volunteer board of directors. Our staff include program leaders and coordinators working in the areas of patient support and illness prevention, indoor and outdoor air quality, and healthy transportation.
What types of services does your organization offer and who are the people who use or take advantage of your services?
Our work is based on four main pillars: public education, health promotion, program delivery, and policy advocacy.
Our programs can be divided into two buckets:
- Patient & caregiver support: counselling, health system navigation, and access to breathing equipment, with emphasis on patients requiring life-saving lung transplant surgery which is only offered out of province.
- Educational/advocacy campaigns aimed at preventing illness and protecting the air we breathe: these include radon awareness (leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers), respiratory illness immunization, harm reduction in cannabis use, healthy transportation, and air quality monitoring.
As a not-for-profit, what are your major fundraisers?
Since COVID, we have relied on online and direct mail donation solicitation and corporate sponsorships to run impactful programming, but we are in the process of rekindling in-person fundraisers. Stay tuned!
What are the best ways to help your organization? (i.e. donations, volunteering, sharing on social media, etc.)
We rely on donations from the public; please consider corporate giving and joining in on / sharing the impacts of our important programs. We value every dollar donated. Please view our Impact Report to see our work.
Can you tell me about one of the most rewarding experiences you’ve had while working for this organization?
I’ve had the honour of working to share the voice of lung health advocates in our province. One remarkable individual was Angela Stief Lea. Angela was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer in October 2023 due to radon exposure in her home. With her consent, NB Lung coordinated a community testing drive and generated media interest in the naturally occurring, odourless, colourless radioactive gas present at high levels in many New Brunswick homes. Since then, we’ve established Angela’s Allies fund to help overcome financial barriers to radon testing, tested hundreds of New Brunswick homes and are advocating to government for financial supports to facilitate the relatively inexpensive repairs that remove dangerous levels of radon from homes.
What kind of challenges has your organization encountered and how did you adapt to overcome them?
As a charity, members of the public turn to us in time of need. However, due to limited resources, we cannot always meet that need. For example, an increasing number of New Brunswickers are living with sleep apnea, where they stop breathing several times each night. CPAP machines are effective in keeping breathing going all night long, however for those without insurance, the $3,000+ machine is out of reach. For low income New Brunswickers, public programs may provide support, however the criteria are strict, and many are denied.
To adapt to this need, NB Lung launched a Sleep Apnea Support Program. Relying on donated second-hand CPAP machines, and volunteer technicians to clean and refurbish them, NB Lung has provided dozens of New Brunswickers with breathing equipment that they could not otherwise afford.
We envision a future where personal finances do not come between New Brunswickers and breathing their best. Our goal is sufficient donated funds to bridge the gap for individuals now, while advocating for stronger public programming to ensure no one is left behind going forward.
Identifying the gaps in public programming and developing cost-effective ways to meet those needs continues to be a mainstay of our programming.
If I were thinking about volunteering for a not-for-profit organization, what would you say to sway my decision to join your organization? What kind of impact can volunteers have within your organization?
Volunteers play an integral role in our organization. Our volunteer board of directors has the impactful task of oversight of the financial management of the organization and setting the strategic direction to meet the needs of respiratory health in our province. Other volunteer opportunities include helping around the office which enables us to keep our overhead low and direct the majority of our funding into programming.
What sets you apart from other not-for-profits?
Over our 91-year history, NB Lung has continually adapted to new and emerging lung health concerns. While we’re proud that the risk of tuberculosis is practically eradicated in New Brunswick and smoking rates have dropped substantially, there remain many threats to lung health and we’re at the cutting edge of them: vaping, indoor and outdoor air quality, cannabis use, and climate change.
Our multidisciplinary team are experts in the continuum of lung health, from promoting healthy lung development in children, to preventing disease through proactive actions at the individual level and within the environment, to supporting those who live with lung disease.
What is something that you wish more people knew about your organization?
A large focus of our organization is indoor and outdoor air quality, as these have direct impacts on lung health and exacerbations on existing lung disease. In fact, we are leaders in the realm of national air quality policy, having played a key role in the development of the Air Quality Health Index, and continuing to serve on a number of technical and multi-stakeholder committees promoting the integration of health in air quality policy making at the provincial and federal levels.
Has your organization won any awards?
In recent years we’ve been recognized for excellence in zero emission vehicle education by TakeCharge! Newfoundland and Electric Mobility Canada.
What are you most proud of about your organization?
In 2023, we separated from the Canadian Lung Association to bring autonomy to our organization and to focus on New Brunswick lung health priorities. Our team rallied around the transition, and together we launched a new brand identity to reflect our values and commitment to New Brunswickers. Now over a year later, the team is stronger than ever!
Any final remarks? Is there any other information that you would like for me to add to your article?
NB Lung is a registered charity (No. 107 769 044 RR0001) and is no longer associated with the Canadian Lung Association.