In the News

Powell River Peak: A new COVID-19 assessment centre has officially opened on the North Shore. The new centre is located in the parking lot of Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver and can accommodate both walk-in and drive-through visitors, according to Vancouver Coastal Health.

Delta Optimist: In response to increased demand for COVID-19 assessment and testing across the region, Fraser Health has expanded access to these services, and is planning further enhancements over the coming days and weeks to help ensure people experiencing COVID-19 symptoms can quickly receive a COVID-19 assessment and test if they need one.

Delta Optimist: In response to increased demand for COVID-19 assessment and testing across the region, Fraser Health has expanded access to these services, and is planning further enhancements over the coming days and weeks to help ensure people experiencing COVID-19 symptoms can quickly receive a COVID-19 assessment and test if they need one.

e-know.ca: The EK Division of Family Practice, led by community physicians, established the Cranbrook Virtual Walk-in clinic for patients without a family physician, in response to the new virus threats in April. The goal was to support patients without a family physician with their primary care needs, including possible COVID-19 symptoms, which prevented patients from going to the Emergency Department unnecessarily.

Powell River Peak: A Burnaby homeless advocate says she’s seen exceptional levels of cooperation between service providers, as the coronavirus pandemic adds more and more pressure on the organizations. Carol-Ann Flanagan, coordinator of the city’s task force to end homelessness, said she’s been seeing more people seeking services during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has locked down or significantly hampered large chunks of the economy.

Voiceonline.ca: Patients can register on Monday, August 10 to be attached to a new nurse practitioner primary care clinic that will open in Surrey on September 8. The Province is launching Axis Primary Care Clinic, in collaboration with the Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC, Fraser Health and the Surrey-North Delta Division of Family Practice, to provide team-based primary care services to residents.

North Shore News: The North Shore’s healthcare apparatus is staffing up, big time. Health Minister Adrian Dix was at Lions Gate Hospital Wednesday to announced $11.5 million in annual funding to hire doctors, nurses and other health professionals to service North Shore residents who don’t have access to a family physician.

CBC News: The B.C. government is expanding primary care services on the North Shore, with 62 full-time equivalent positions being added, and about $11 million invested over five years. Health Minister Adrian Dix made the announcement in North Vancouver on Wednesday. "Health professionals work in teams. They'll build out from the network of health care and primary care we have today to improve primary care in every part of the North Shore," said Dix. There are currently 27,975 people living in North and West Vancouver, Bowen Island and Lions Bay who do not have family physicians. They'll be served by this expansion within the next five years, according to Dix, who said there were 33,000 people in the area unattached to primary care when he took office in 2017.

Penticton Herald: What’s in a community hub? Tell the district. Public consultation will begin later this month to help figure out what should go into a new Summerland community recreation and health centre. Outreach conducted by a consulting firm will begin with stakeholder questionnaires and workshop in late August, followed by a public survey and workshop in September.

Vernon Morning Star: The municipality of Summerland is beginning its community consultation for the proposed Summerland Community Recreation and Health Centre. On Monday, July 27, Summerland council was presented the proposed Public Engagement Strategy for the Summerland Community Recreation and Health Centre by the project consultants from Carscadden and Lees. The municipality had earlier identified the need for replacing the existing Summerland Aquatic and Fitness Centre and exploring the inclusion of a primary care health centre.

Times Colonist: A new urgent and primary care centre is coming to Esquimalt, where there’s just one medical clinic and 65 per cent of residents say they don’t have a family doctor. B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix will announce plans Friday for the fifth such health centre on Vancouver Island. It’s expected to open by spring.

Trail Times: Kootenay Boundary Division of Family Practice announced that it has launched a new set of tools to support patients living with chronic pain. Patients and their healthcare providers can now easily access information on referrals, services, education, self-management support, and more. These have been developed as part of the Kootenay Boundary Shared Care Chronic Pain Project, with the input and guidance of local physicians, allied health care practitioners, and patient partners living with chronic pain.

Coast Reporter: A group of doctors on the Sunshine Coast has launched a task force to address the opioid overdose epidemic that’s grown deadlier because of COVID-19. The new Overdose Prevention Task Force had its first meeting June 30 and is overseen by Dr. Joerg Jaschinski, the clinical lead at Sechelt Hospital’s substance use disorder clinic.

Tri-City News: Family doctors from across the Tri-Cities and New Westminster have launched a new virtual hub for maternity care after concerns around the transmission of COVID-19 was delaying vaccinations. The new virtual portal acts as a local guide for maternity care in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as Anmore, Belcarra and New Westminster, and offers information on care providers, clinics, and vaccinations. 

Penticton Herald: Dear Editor: As we reflect on the past three months, we owe a shout out to our community for rallying behind primary-care providers to set up a Primary Care Assessment Centre in Penticton. The Assessment Centre allows us to care for patients across the South Okanagan Similkameen who still needed in-person appointments. It remains a vital part of our local preventative approach which is helping to lower transmission rates during the pandemic. And it protects our supplies of personal protective equipment.

CTV News: Vancouver Island’s first nurse practitioner primary care clinic is opening in Nanaimo on Tuesday. The health facility will be operated by a team of nurse practitioners who can respond to a range of medical needs, including “diagnosing and treating illnesses, ordering and interpreting tests, prescribing medications and performing medical procedures,” according to the B.C. government.

CTV News: For the first time in years, if you ask a family doctor in Metro Vancouver if they can take you on as a patient you actually have a good chance of hearing "yes." Several general practitioners and the professional association Doctors of BC all tell CTV News that patient rosters are opening up for the first time in years due to two factors: a slowdown in visits to doctors overall, and the efficiencies found in virtual health-care services that expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chemainus Valley Courier: Scholarships and bursaries weren’t presented in the same manner to Chemainus Secondary School 2020 grads, but the money still got into the right hands and will be put to good use for post-secondary education. Representatives of the various donor groups couldn’t be present for the grad ceremony due to COVID-19 restrictions. But all were pleased to provide students with the much-needed funding for their efforts, even if it was done in spirit only.

Coast Reporter: An unsanctioned pop-up safe consumption site has been operating on and off out of an empty lot across from the Hightide Supportive Housing complex in Sechelt since last Saturday. The makeshift site on Hightide Avenue is covered with a blue tarp. On a folding table inside, syringes, gloves and tourniquets are arranged on paper towels. Sharps containers rest behind them. Pipes are available, so are masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, and the opioid overdose-reversing agent Naloxone.

Rocky Mountain Goat: Dr. Terri Aldred doesn’t recall her time in medical school altogether fondly. “I grew up in a very remote place. I was very poor. I’m indigenous and I’m a woman,” said the member of Tl’Azt’En Nation who practices primary care medicine in Indigenous communities in northern B.C. “I didn’t have an easy go of it.” Particularly demoralizing was the so-called ‘soft racism’ or microaggressions. “It was kind of from all angles, in a lot of ways.”