PHAM - Just 21 Days Out: The Ripple Effect of an Idea That Refused to Stay Small
In just three weeks, 21 days, we will officially launch Preventative Health Awareness Month 2026 (PHAM).
And as I write that, I feel both grounded and awestruck.
Because four years ago, this movement was not a strategy, a brand, or a polished plan.
It was an idea.
A deep pull.
A quiet but relentless knowing
It started with one person, me, standing at the edge of a major life transition, having just sold Wallis for Wellness after 30 years in business, and asking myself a simple but confronting question
“What’s next… and how do I make it matter?”
I had spent three decades reaching beyond the treatment room walls, building community, mentoring practitioners, advocating for prevention, and helping people learn how to become the CEO of their own health. But I felt called to do something bigger. Something that reached further. Something that could shift not just individual lives, but the legacy of healthcare itself.
I didn’t know exactly how.
But my why was deep.
And my conviction was strong.
That’s how PHAM was born.
From One Application… to a National Movement
I still remember writing that impassioned application to Health Canada, sharing my personal health story from 40 years ago, my journey of learning to advocate for myself, my ongoing path of prevention and self-leadership (because that journey never ends), and the lessons I carried from 30 years of clinical practice and connection at Wallis for Wellness.
What Wallis for Wellness taught me and what I didn’t fully appreciate until I stepped back — was the power of an umbrella.
An umbrella that allowed other healthcare professionals to shine.
To share their stories.
To bring forward their knowledge, passion, and areas of genius.
Together, we learned from one another.
Together, we challenged norms.
Together, we moved a preventative and integrative health mission forward.
For 30 years, I did that in a bricks-and-mortar space.
PHAM is that philosophy — expanded.
Call it Wallis for Wellness 2.0.
A Bigger Table. A Louder Voice. A Shared Mission.
PHAM has become a platform.
A voice.
A table.
It brings together healthcare professionals across disciplines, businesses, municipalities, community leaders, and everyday people — not to dilute individuality, but to honour it.
To challenge limiting beliefs.
To change perspectives.
To give people agency and give practitioners permission to expand their toolboxes, rethink “how it’s always been done,” and lead with courage.
One of my proudest achievements at Wallis for Wellness was watching practitioners thrive under that umbrella, some going on to open their own clinics, others building full, meaningful careers and retiring there. Both paths mattered. Both were success.
Now, I’m watching that same thing happen with PHAM.
Amplifying the Conversation: Education Without Gatekeeping
One of the most powerful extensions of this movement has been PHAMCAST — our podcast and TV show, which continues to grow thanks to an incredible and deeply committed collaboration with TV Cogeco and YourTV.
PHAMCAST has become a space where world-class leaders, clinicians, advocates, innovators and change-makers come to the table to have honest conversations about prevention, empowerment, leadership, and the future of healthcare. These are conversations designed to inform, inspire, and create real change.
Alongside PHAMCAST, our PHAM Blog is free and accessible to the public and continues to grow. New articles are added regularly by PHAMbassadors across disciplines, covering a wide range of health topics. This is shared knowledge, without gatekeeping. Be sure to subscribe to help stock your preventative health toolbox.
Breaking Silos: The PHAM Integrative Health Directory
One of the initiatives I am most proud of is the creation of the PHAM Integrative Health Directory, the first of its kind.
This directory was built to break down silos and help everyday people intentionally build their integrative health team.
Yes, you can search by practitioner.
But what makes this directory truly different is that you can also search by condition.
Because no one condition is best supported by just one professional.
Health is a team effort and YOU are the most important member of that team.
The PHAM Directory empowers people to find a range of healthcare professionals who can work with them, collaboratively, to support their health journey
My hope is that as this directory grows, it will become a go-to resource for family health teams. Our healthcare system is strained. Family doctors are doing incredible work, often under immense pressure. They want to refer, support, and empower patients to take a more active role in their health
The PHAM Directory is one meaningful way to help make that possible.
The Rise of Micro-Movements & Courageous Leadership
As we enter our fourth year, something powerful is happening.
I’m witnessing micro-movements take shape — led by PHAMbassadors who are using the momentum of PHAM to amplify their passions, their communities, and their lived experience.
They’re not losing their individuality.
They’re gaining strength by recognizing that we are better together.
One powerful example is the Real Lives Touched by Addiction initiative — a micro-movement now being led through the inspired and courageous leadership of Jennifer McCutcheon, whose lived experience, advocacy, and commitment to community continue to shape and grow this important work.
What began in Barrie at The Vintage Throne with just a few PHAMbassadors, Leslie Spicer, Jeff Martin, and myself — evolved into multi-year events at North Bramlea United Church and has now grown into a collaboration with Loyalist College, bringing together vendors, speakers, and media attention.
That growth didn’t come from chasing trends.
It came from staying the course.
From passion.
From perseverance.
From refusing to give up.
Municipal Momentum Is Growing
I am also grateful for the growing municipal leadership supporting PHAM. Communities including Niagara Falls, Brampton, Exeter, Ottawa and Amica Erin Mills have committed to proclaiming February as Preventative Health Awareness Month, thanks to the leadership of their mayors and city councillors. Many of these communities are also hosting ceremonial PHAM flag raisings and local events, with media invited to help amplify the message that prevention matters.PHAM 2026: A New Level of Impact
In 2025, PHAM took a bold and symbolic step forward with its launch in Niagara Falls — inspired by the leadership of Dr. Dave Harper, one of our PHAMbassadors who continues to be actively involved in the movement this year. Positioned at the border, this location was chosen intentionally. It represented what we were beginning to see in real time: a movement that started in Canada was now crossing borders.
PHAM had welcomed PHAMbassadors from the United States, including surgeons like Dr. Stefano Sinicropi and nurse practitioners like Mandi Dickey into the PHAM-ily.
Launching at the border sent a clear message: prevention, advocacy, and integrative health are not confined by geography.
This year, that ripple brings PHAM 2026 to Canada’s capital - Ottawa Ontario
PHAM 2026 will officially launch in Ottawa, at Canada’s largest tech hub called HUB350, with a launch event called Stronger Through Midlife, led by PHAMbassadors Renee Groulx, Tatianna Graham, Sarah Gagnon, and Lori Preshing.
And a flag raising.
And a bold declaration that prevention matters — locally, nationally, and beyond.
With excitement, I look forward each year to seeing where PHAM will launch next. And at the same time, it’s important to say this clearly:
PHAM is not just a month-long advocacy campaign.
PHAM is a year-long movement.
When March 1st arrives, the work does not stop. We take what we’ve learned, the insights, tools, and lived wisdom generously shared by PHAMbassadors and we continue to stock our preventative health toolboxes and implement them all year long.
Because legacy change in healthcare doesn’t happen in one month. A healthy tomorrow begins with collaboration, innovation and prevention today!
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