In the News

The Chilliwack Progress: A new online directory for residents of Chilliwack and points east will help everyone navigate the complex world of community services. The Pathways team and the Chilliwack Division of Family Practice partnered with Fraser Health and local organizations to roll out the new community services directory for Chilliwack and Fraser Health Rural.

The Chilliwack Progress: Getting outside during this ongoing pandemic is more important than ever. The Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku refers to forest bathing, the act of healing and growing by being out in nature. Chilliwack General Hospital emergency room physician Dr. Marc Greidanus explains the importance of this for our mental health in the latest YouTube videos created in partnership with the Chilliwack Division of Family Practice and the Chilliwack Economic Recovery Network.

Voiceonline.ca: Transmission of COVID-19 continues in our communities, and on Tuesday, Fraser Health called on its communities to continue to follow the COVID-19 public health measures. “At this critical time, it is imperative that British Columbians work together to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in our communities. We are working hard to ensure vulnerable populations receive the COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible, but immunizations are only one part of the equation: we must all follow the public health measures that are in place to keep our communities safe,” said Minister of Health Adrian Dix.

New Westminster Record: While the pandemic remains a topic of daily concern, we’ve witnessed the more silent epidemics of social isolation, mental illness and drug poisonings. I also fear a tsunami of preventable cancers and diseases. Most of us haven’t seen our family doctors since the start of the pandemic. Most telehealth calls are reactive - in response to acute symptoms - as opposed to the foundational preventive and proactive approaches to your health.

The Chilliwack Progress: People are dying of COVID-19 in Chilliwack and it’s not just older people. That’s part of the message from emergency room physician Dr. Marc Greidanus in the second of two YouTube videos created in partnership with the Chilliwack Division of Family Practice and the Chilliwack Economic Recovery Network.

Vernon Morning Star: The South Okanagan Similkameen needs doctors and one way to attract them is to give them support for providing the best care they can give. That is the thought driving the development of team-based primary care clinics like the Ponderosa Primary Care Centre in Penticton. “The goal of Ponderosa is to attract physicians, nurse practitioners and other healthcare professionals to the region. Physicians and nurse practitioners are looking for clinics with multiple providers working in a team with other healthcare professionals,” said Tracy St. Claire, the executive director of the South Okanagan Similkameen Division of Family Practice (SOS DFP). “They also want meaningful involvement in decision-making, but without responsibility for day-to-day business management.”

CBC News: Fraser Health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the Surrey Emergency Response Centre after two staff members and 24 clients tested positive for the virus. The unused rec centre was set up as an emergency space last April able to shelter up to 110 homeless people needing to self-isolate during the pandemic. Staff and clients are now being screened for symptoms while those who tested positive and their close contacts have been instructed to self-isolate.

The Chilliwack Progress: One of Chilliwack’s ER doctors has been tapped to explain the pros and cons of different masks. Dr. Marc Greidanus is featured in a short, upbeat video where he tries on and quickly explains each style, from cloth masks to full face shields. He also reminds viewers that the topic is serious. “COVID is real and it’s here,” he says. “We’ve been asked to wear a mask and it’s not that hard.”

Vernon Morning Star: One of Chilliwack’s ER doctors has been tapped to explain the pros and cons of different masks. Dr. Marc Greidanus is featured in a short, upbeat video where he tries on and quickly explains each style, from cloth masks to full face shields. He also reminds viewers that the topic is serious. “COVID is real and it’s here,” he says. “We’ve been asked to wear a mask and it’s not that hard.”

Voiceonline.ca: People living in northeast Vancouver will soon have better access to team-based everyday health care with the opening of a new urgent and primary care centre (UPCC) on February 16 located at 102-2788 East Hastings Street. “The northeast Vancouver UPCC will help connect more people in Hastings Sunrise, Renfrew Collingwood and Cedar Cottage with the health care they need, when they need it,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “This means tens of thousands of area residents, including those living in poverty, families and seniors with complex care needs, who currently lack a primary care provider, will benefit from increased access to same day and ongoing primary care closer to home.”

Vancouver is Awesome: Fraser Health has declared the COVID-19 outbreak over at AgeCare Harmony Court in Burnaby.  The outbreak has been one of the city’s deadliest. According to data posted by the BC Centre for Disease Control, the outbreak began on Nov. 19, 2020 and resulted in a total of 116 cases, with 73 involving residents of the long-term care centre and 43 cases involving staff. Out of the 73 residents who tested positive, 30 died, said the BCCDC.

Yahoo News: Oliver Mayor Martin Johansen is disappointed in a recent decision by the Okanagan Similkameen Regional Hospital District to not fund primary care clinics and physician recruitment with property taxes. Johansen supported the hospital district helping fund primary care clinics, however after a discussion spanning nearly two years the district voted for their funding model to stay the same at their Jan. 7 meeting.

Vernon Morning Star: For years there has been a need for more doctors in the region, but on Jan. 9, the South Okanagan Similkameen Hospital District board voted to maintain their current financial model instead of budgeting for recruitment. The staff recommendation that was presented included a line that specifically noted the model does not include funding clinics to facilitate physician recruitment, a line that was removed from the motion the board ended up passing.

Castanet: It seems South Okanagan communities will have to continue to work on their own to attract physicians and construct primary care centres after the Okanagan Similkameen Regional Hospital District voted not to provide funding for them. When the RDOS met on Thursday, many of the board members were still on opposing sides of the decision. 

Global News: Lynne Karch moved to the Penticton area from Calgary a few months ago to care for her aging mother and enjoy an enhanced quality of life. But she had a rude awakening when trying to find a family doctor. “It is very frightening for me, I am actually scared,” she said.

Castanet: After over a year of ongoing discussions, staff at the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional Hospital District are recommending that the board decline to get involved with funding new primary care clinics in the region or recruiting new family physicians. The board has vacillated in the past over whether to change their funding model and get involved, on the one hand noting a dire shortage of family doctors in South Okanagan communities, but on the other reluctant to hike local taxes to pay for helping provide primary care facilities. 

New Westminster Record: If you made New Year's Resolutions for 2020, you had the best excuse for not keeping them up beyond March. The pandemic – and the continuous upheaval to our healthiest routines – sabotaged our plans, rearranged our goals and restricted the many joys of daily life. With any other year, I would sit down with my family to review the old calendar. We would be surprised with what has happened in the span of just one year. The media recapitulates the big world events with retrospective spins, but what matters most to you and me are our personal experiences.

Times Colonist: COVID-19 has changed the way we work, live and connect with each other in ways we never would have imagined just one year ago. Island Health has risen to the challenge by continuing to provide health and care, while responding to a pandemic and an incredibly challenging opioid overdose crisis. As we look back at the past year — and look ahead to the year to come — we must pause to remember those we lost — the grandparents, parents, children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and friends — from these two public health emergencies.