Sarah Hewko is a newly hired head nutritionist at the Akureyri Hospital. Sarah is from Canada, born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, but has also lived in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, which is best known for being "home" of Anne of Green Gables.

After her first visit to Iceland ten years ago, Sarah has been looking for ways to move to Iceland. The opportunity came when she became a head nutritionist at SAk. “It’s hard to sum up my reasons for wanting to move to Iceland, but they have a lot to do with the welfare system. I feel pained to see the changes that have taken place in Canada, where the gap between the rich and the poor has increased and basic needs such as housing, healthcare and education have not been met,” says Sarah.

Nutritionists play a key role

“Clinical nutritionists do an important job in hospitals. Research shows that good nutrition is a very important part of the recovery of patients with serious illnesses and after surgery.

Many patients are therefore very dependent on careful consideration of these factors. It is no wonder that almost all professions are involved in these matters. Nurses, doctors, nursing assistants, chefs and kitchen staff. Nutritionists play a key role with their knowledge. It is therefore extremely important if this is to be done well, that hospitals like ours have good and well-educated clinical nutritionists. For many years we have been trying to build a nutrition team that does this, monitors and teaches. Nutritionists have been leading this work. In the last few years we have had help from Reykjavík to help us out. There is a shortage of this knowledge in Iceland, but there is a great demand for the knowledge and skills in relation to the care and treatment of patients’ nutritional needs in all areas. To have someone with experience and knowledge of Sarah is great and will strengthen us greatly in all work in nutrition at SAk,” says Guðjón Kristjánsson, chief physician of the internal medicine ward.

Hard to find suitable housing

The biggest challenge for Sarah is finding a suitable place to live in Akureyri for her children and her dog. She says that moving a dog to Iceland is a complicated process and she can’t start the process until she has found a home for her family. “I desperately need a place with two bedrooms and good transportation to the hospital. It also has to be allowed to have a dog,” says Sarah, who also envisions helping a landlord or neighbor with food purchases or snow removal.

Academic and researcher

Sarah is very interested in reading both fiction and literature. She listens to podcasts regularly, most of them with a distinctly feminist bent. “I also work as a researcher in the field of health human resources and spend a lot of time following research and news in that field. I hope to have time to write this summer, as I have yet to publish the results of my research,” says Sarah.

Sarah says she likes the scenery in Akureyri and says the mountain view rival those in expensive resort towns like Whistler, BC and Aspen, Colorado. She would have liked better bus service, especially on weekends and during holidays. “As a Canadian, I believe I am well prepared for the Icelandic winter. I think my biggest challenge will be the short hours of daylight. Maybe I will invest in a simulated sunlight lamp.”

Learns Icelandic and recommends moving to Akureyri

Although Sarah has never worked outside of Canada before, Canada is a very large country and she has worked in four of the country’s ten provinces. “My main goal in my work is to provide evidence-based, patient-centered care to anyone who makes their way to Akureyri Hospital for health care. To achieve this goal, This won´t be possible without my having built strong, collaborative relationships with members of the multidisciplinary health team, so I will be working to foster these relationships.”

Sara was well received by the colleagues at SAk and she practices Icelandic every day. She has been learning Icelandic since 2020 with an Icelandic tutor and thinks the best tactic to become fluent will be to practice speaking with other people and once she is settled in, plans to dedicate significant time and energy to that.

“I highly recommend that healthcare professionals consider moving to Akureyri to work at the Akureyri Hospital. Here, the quality of life is good and a good balance between work and private life. Of course, moving abroad is always a challenge, especially if you are moving with a family or pets.”

The Akureyri Hospital accepts all tips for housing for Sarah and her dog. Please contact bokun@sak.is.