About us here at Open Arms

    Rick Lundy


Rick Lundy is the Chairperson of Open Arms Patient Advocacy Society.

He is married to Rose Lundy and has twin seven year old boys named Jared and Jordan.

Rick has been employed with the Inglewood Golf & Curling Club for the past 23 years serving as their Club Manager for the past 13 years.

Rick is a graduate from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Business Administration in 1990.

He has served on several Boards including the Alberta Restaurant and Foodservices Association, Food Link Advisory Committee and the Calgary Tourism and Education Consortium.

Rick’s wife Rose had a miscarriage in the Peter Lougheed waiting room in July of 2006 which prompted Rick to organize a patient advocacy group to assist families/patients when they experience an adverse medical ordeal.

Through his experience and gained knowledge of health care regions, Rick has become a passionate advocate assisting individuals to navigate through the health care system and to lobby government and health regions to ensure optimal heath care for the citizens of Alberta.

    Rose Lundy

Rose Lundy is the Secretary of the Board for Open Arms Patient Advocacy Society. She is also involved with the Fundraising Committee of our organization. Rose’s educational background is in Biological Sciences furthered with Environmental Technology and Water Pollution Studies. She has work experience with a variety of companies inclusive of several Environmental Companies, quality control (laboratory microbiology), Canada Post as well as a Partner in her own landscaping company.

Rose is quite involved in many volunteer endeavors aside from Open Arms. In the past, she did some counseling for Birthright in Calgary and has undertaken training in the Ministry as well. Currently, Rose is involved in a discipleship/mentoring program with Centre Street Church.

On July 18th of 2006 Rose Lundy had the unfortunate experience of miscarrying in the Emergency Room of a Calgary Hospital. The trauma caused her to walk in as one person and leave as a changed person in many aspects. Rose has always been passionate about making a difference and, as a result of her trauma, is seeing herself do so by being a part of Open Arms. As a group we have touched and helped many patients and families and this makes one feel less of a victim and more of a victor. Rose is passionate about being a part of making changes to prevent others from going through what she had to endure or other adverse medical ordeals.

Even more specifically, both because of her life experiences and what happened in 2006, Rose has a keen interest in mental/emotional health and areas of Psychiatric care. This is only one of the many areas we are working on lobbying for systemic change. She is grateful to be a part of Open Arms and feels blessed to use her gifts to assist others however she can.

   
    Linda O'Donoghue

Linda O’Donoghue is currently the co-chairperson for Open Arms Patient Advocates Society. Linda’s educational background is a Diploma in Early Childhood Education, a Bachelor degree in Child and Youth Care studies and she is currently working towards a Master’s degree in Education. Linda has worked with children and families for over 15 years and is now the Program Lead Instructor for the Early Learning and Child Care Department at Bow Valley College in Calgary.

In April 2006 an incident occurred that changed Linda’s life forever. She was 18 weeks pregnant; however at the 18 week routine ultrasound, it was discovered that the baby had died at 15 weeks. A D & C procedure was required.

Linda waited for 6 days at home for her call from the hospital for the D and C procedure. After the procedure took place, she then experienced severe complications and nearly lost her life. She was stabilized and placed on a respirator in ICU.

The physical and psychological harm experienced from the miscarriage was extremely traumatic. The trauma Linda experienced is what compelled her to join Rick and Rose Lundy in creating Open Arms. Supporting patients who experience adverse medical events and working towards systemic changes in health regions across Alberta is of the utmost importance to Linda. Her hope is for positive change, for individuals, health care professionals and health regions.

    Laura Schultz
 
Laura Schultz is a native Calgarian committed to the pursuit of quality public health care for all Albertans and Canadians. She is a recent graduate of both the University of Calgary (BA, Communication Studies) and Simon Fraser University (Master of Public Policy). Laura's graduate work concentrated on health policy with a particular focus on community care and occupational health and safety for both patients and workers. Currently, Laura is embarking on a professional career as a policy analyst.

In addition to a strong background in public policy, Laura been involved in the Calgary community in a number of roles including Vice President Academic for the Students' Union, University of Calgary, Spruce Meadows volunteer, Calgary's Youth Canada's Future Conference Committee member, and as a Calgary Stampede Next Generation Council member. In her spare time she enjoys drawing, playing the piano, spending time with her horse, and playing sports.

    Joe O'Donoghue

Joe is one of the Directors of the Open Arms Patient Advocacy Society and brings to the table a number of years of experience on other boards and years of management in various roles from his career. Raised in Calgary and lived the better part of his adult life on west coast, Joe is the father of 2 boys, and enjoys the outdoor life here in and around Calgary. 

Joe and his wife Linda experienced the loss of two babies. First hand observation on irregularities on the procedure his wife went through, almost losing her life, and in the witnessing of some protocols practised in the medical system prompted Joe to happily join the Group and help out others who have had similar experiences. Joe's goal is to see some changes in the practices and procedures in the medical system that could potentially curb the potential problems that can and will stem from the current practices in the system.

    Tianna Melnyk

Tianna Melnyk is a Calgary teacher and community volunteer. She was born in Manitoba and grew up in Medicine Hat as the youngest of four girls.  Her post-secondary education includes a Bachelor of Education and Masters level studies at the University of Calgary.

At seventeen, Tianna was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and experienced first hand the consequences of a system lacking the resources to provide for individuals with chronic illness.  After a one-year wait to see a specialist, Tianna turned her attention to advocating for improvement in the health care system. As Co-Chair of the Speakers Bureau for The Arthritis Society’s Consumer Advocates Team she worked to secure appropriate funding for specialists.  Tianna was also part of the creation of a unique support group (YAP) for young people affected by arthritis.  Tianna has advocated to provide a voice to individuals under-represented in health care.

Tianna believes in the importance of a strong, publicly funded health care system that meets the needs of all individuals in our society and has joined Open Arms in the hopes of improving health care. 

    Penny Thiessen

Penny Thiessen is the Treasurer of Open Arms Patient Advocacy Society and has over twenty years of experience in the accounting field. Aside from her position as Accounting Manager with the Inglewood Golf and Curling Club Penny does bookkeeping for two other companies i.e. her own and a family owned business.

Penny is originally from Winnipeg; she moved to Calgary in 1988. Penny has been married thirty three years, is a mother of two children and has two grandchildren. Penny joined Open Arms because she has a desire to utilize her skills in helping to make a difference within the health care system.