When it comes to providing the best possible care for her diverse patient population, Prince George physician Dr Susie Butow relies on the support of the primary care team in her practice. In fact, she’s never worked any other way.

“I have the fortune to have never been in practice without being integrated into an interprofessional primary care team,” explains Dr Butow. “With my team, I can spend more time focusing on and addressing the social determinants of health, which not only improves the health of my patients—it creates healthier communities overall.”

Divisions wishing to create a publically accessible local database of community health and social services now have two options: Fetch, and a new public version of Pathways called the Pathways Community Service Directory.

Residents of Gabriola Island banded together to build a leading-edge community health facility through volunteer efforts, fundraising, and collaborating with local partners and stakeholders when a lack of available clinic space began to impact the island’s ability to recruit new doctors and health care providers.

The Maple Ridge Youth Wellness Centre will soon be able to expand its range of services following support from the provincial Foundry program.

As doctors around the province move toward evolving their practices into Patient Medical Homes (PMH), many divisions are fielding questions from members about how this work will unfold, what these changes mean, and, ultimately, what it will be like to work within a Primary Care Network (PCN).

After hearing speakers from Alberta talk about PMH/PCN at the 2018 GPSC Spring Summit, physician leads in Abbotsford wanted to know more. The division decided to bring Dr Brad Bahler—a speaker from the Summit—to present at a local session.

The Campbell River and District Division of Family Practice is working with Island Health, the First Nations Health Authority, and the Campbell River Hospital Foundation to improve access to care for maternity patients through the Campbell River Maternity Clinic. The clinic’s collaborative, team-based approach to maternity care has filled gaps in care for many vulnerable patients in Campbell River and remote communities on the North Island.

A panel of new grads and residents at the recent GPSC Spring Summit was asked about their hopes, aspirations, and concerns for their future careers during a session entitled “Recruitment and Retention: A Conversation with the Next Generation of Family Doctors.” Participants were asked to describe what they are seeking in a practice and a community – what do they want? What don’t they want?

Family doctors in communities around BC are working with nurses to provide patient care in both family practice and community settings. Different team-based approaches are improving patient care in various communities around the province. This includes an innovative model piloted by Fraser Northwest Division to improve care for homebound frail elderly patients that has expanded to other Fraser Health communities.