In the News

Vernon Morning Star: The South Okanagan Similkameen Division of Family Practice is urging residents to continue with their regular health care appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Care is still available at family medicine and walk-in clinics, with patients being booked for telephone, video and in-person appointments where approriate. Information on virtual care is available online at Pathways, www.pathwaysbcvirtualcare.ca.

Business in Vancouver: At his practice in Surrey, Dr. Lawrence Yang has at times wondered how other physicians in his community have been handling cases such as diabetes, cancer, and addiction.

“We were never really able to put anonymized data — but data that’s relevant to the community — altogether in one visualization,” he said.

That’s changing as of late April, when the Victoria-based Health Data Coalition expanded its data-sharing application allowing BC family doctors to compare electronic medical records (EMR).

Burnaby Now: Growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, masks and gloves were donned by my favourite heroes: Batman, Robin and the Lone Ranger. (I’ll include the Green Hornet and Kato for fans of ‘60s TV and Bruce Lee.) Like every other boy, I imagined being a hero, but I never imagined that one day, there would be a pandemic and a surgical mask and rubber gloves would be part of my everyday garb.

Coast Reporter: Sunshine Coast Community Services, in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health, School District No. 46 and Sunshine Coast Division of Family Practice, has launched a campaign aimed at strengthening social connectedness in the community. Dear Coastal Neighbour is a one-way letter-writing initiative that will provide a small, but personal gesture of non-digital connection to those on the Sunshine Coast, many of whom are facing increased isolation, stress, and uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coast residents of all ages are invited to put pen to paper and share their stories, pictures, poems, and support. 

Tri-City News: A Port Coquitlam clinic has expanded its practice, taking on extra shifts in an effort to become a stop-gap for mothers and their newborns turned away by clinics shuttered due to COVID-19. As family doctors started seeing more and more patients with COVID-19-like symptoms, many have shut their doors because of a lack of personal protective equipment. Without a place to see patients, several doctors have pooled resources at two hubs: one at a COVID-19 testing clinic opposite Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) and another at the Burke Mountain Medical Centre where a parallel practice sees new patients falling through the cracks of a strained medical system.

Burnaby Now: Burnaby resident Zarif Akbarian was nine years old when he decided he wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. Many of the family members he lived with in his native Afghanistan were sick but had limited access to health care, he said.

Vernon Morning Star: A Chinese high school has stepped up to help Okanagan health-care workers in the fight against COVID-19. Sino-Canada High School in Luxu, Jiangsu, China, recently shipped 250 N95 masks to the South Okanagan Similkameen (SOS) Division of Family Practice. Doctors and nurses across the province are struggling with the shortage of suitable PPE. The shipment arrived today (May 6) and local practioner Dr. Tim Phillips said it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Comox Valley Record: While the novel coronavirus COVID-19 is at the top of everyone’s mind of late, it is not the only health concern for people. Dr. Adam Thompson, COVID-19 physician lead for the Comox Valley Division of Family Practice, says there is concern in the medical community that some people are not staying in touch with their family doctors, even if they are not feeling well, out of concern over COVID-19, or perhaps out of a misunderstanding about the availability of their family doctors. This, he says, is a situation in which patients can be risking harm to themselves.

The Nelson Daily: In seven years, the Divisions of Family Practice initiative has become a cornerstone of BC’s primary health care system. In a field as large and complex as health care, the speed and growth of change that has been achieved through divisions is revolutionary. The Kootenay Boundary Division of Family Practice is a community-based non-profit group that bring family doctors together and provide the infrastructure to support them in addressing common needs and health care priorities in the region.

The Nelson Daily: As our pale blue dot spins away in the solar system, not that long ago, the thought of feeling insignificant in the vastness of space and the universe didn’t feel so out of touch. The perception of being a single grain of sand in the wholeness of the desert seemed intrinsically real. This is now a fleeting thought in time. Our perception of our world has shifted, the family portrait looks different, our entire way of life has been altered and the winds of change are sculpting a new social paradigm. We are no longer feeling insignificant in the world, we are now feeling deeply empowered. We are in essence all in the desert together, as this crisis unfolds unlike anything we have experienced in our lifetime.

The Georgia Straight: Two BCIT alumni are using 3-D printers at home to manufacture thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) for local frontline health-care workers. Keisha Go amd Jamie Haakons—graduates of BCIT's interior-design and mechanical-engineering programs, respectively—started thinking about making PPE after a pre-lockdown trip to the Philippines. After designing prototypes and turning out the first batches of face shields and ear savers (used to prevent skin irritation from face-mask straps) to be sent from their Coquitlam residence to the Philippines, they learned that international shipments to that country had been halted.

Tri-City News: Ray Croteau is a pandemic regular at the clinic, but he’s got no choice. Without a weekly visit to the Burke Mountain Medical Centre in Port Coquitlam, he wouldn’t have his shot to stimulate the production of red blood cells through his body and help him get through another day.

CTV News: Victoria’s new urgent and primary care centre (UPCC) had a soft opening in James Bay Tuesday with eager patients lined up to receive medical attention. The James Bay Urgent and Primary Care Centre will provide the community with urgent and primary care as well as rapid access to mental health treatment. Once fully staffed, the clinic expects to see 50 to 60 patients a day. Island health is working to have the clinic fully staffed within a few months, and plans to attach up to 5000 patients for longitudinal care.

CTV News: As B.C. aims to increase COVID-19 testing, some doctors are worried about whether community clinics are properly equipped. The province recently broadened its criteria so that patients experiencing mild cold and flu symptoms can get tested. And a family physician told CTV News local clinics are taking appropriate safety measures.

Penticton Herald: After a nearly two-decade push for a new gym at Summerland Secondary School, the ball has finally started bouncing on a replacement, which is already being eyed for much more than just recreational activity. School District 67 trustees heard at their meeting Monday the Ministry of Education has given the go-ahead to prepare a business case for the project. “Unfortunately, the ministry is not committing any money towards our project at this point, but they are allowing us to go do a business case and look at what the cost would be and then compare that to our local and restricted capital funds to see if we have enough to move forward with this project,” explained facilities director Doug Gorcak.

Burnaby Now: Once thought of as the potential future of medicine, virtual healthcare has quickly become the present reality during the pandemic. Telehealth is here to stay – as the major method of delivering medical care for family physicians and other specialists for the next year – and as an important part of care delivery in the future. To reduce the risk of spreading infections, all physicians have been directed to suspend non-urgent nonessential procedures, investigations and in person consultations.

Global News: Testing for the novel coronavirus is now being conducted at the McLaren Park arena in Penticton. Initially established as an outdoor assessment centre spearheaded by the South Okanagan Similkameen Division of Family Practice, services are being expanded to include COVID-19 testing. The testing site, at 1350 King St., is operational by appointment-only from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Previously, testing was being conducted at the local health centre.

Burnaby Now: A global pandemic is no time to waste the medical knowledge of internationally trained doctors who haven’t been able to get their Canadian credentials, so an innovative new program operating in Burnaby is putting them to work. The Burnaby Division of Family Practice has partnered with MOSAIC, a Lower Mainland settlement organization, on a program that links recent immigrants and refugees who don't speak English or don’t have access to computers or the internet to medically trained staff and volunteers who can help them navigate the city’s online COVID-19 screening portal at www.burnabycoronavirus.com.

Penticton Herald: A pop-up medical office established in the parking lot of a Penticton arena can now test patients for COVID-19. “The public living or travelling nearby McLaren Park Arena continue to be at no greater risk, as the site allows for all the safety protocols and social distancing measures set out by the BC Centre for Disease Control,” the operator said in a press release this week.

Ricochet: As physical distancing shutters non-essential services like nail salons and restaurants, many members of the Vietnamese diaspora community are bearing the brunt of COVID-19’s economic fallout. The federal government has rolled out support programs, but some people face difficulties accessing them due to language barriers.