February 2019

Dr. Ray Markham — a Conversation

Dr. Ray Markham is a Valemount, BC-based doctor, and the Executive Director of the Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc). The RCCbc is focused on improving rural health education in British Columbia, and generally working to advocate for rural health in the province. This conversation with Dr. Markham was recorded on January 29, 2019, in…

A Conversation with Dr. Granger Avery

Dr. Granger Avery is one of Canada’s most distinguished rural health advocates. A past president of both the Canadian and BC medical associations, Dr. Granger is a clinical professor at the University of British Columbia, and serves as an associate director with the Rural Coordination Centre of BC. He resides in the small Vancouver Island…

Gabriola Islanders Make a Healthy Choice!

The community of Gabriola Island was selected for the Rural Coordination Centre of BC’s 2018 BC Rural Community Award at the BC Rural Health Conference in Nanaimo, BC, on May 12, 2018. The community was honoured for its innovation and resiliency in recovering from a healthcare crisis in 2006, when one of the island’s…

Rural Coordination Centre Tackles Rural Health Issues

Health care is a complicated business at the best of times. Effective, appropriate health care delivery in rural and remote places can be particularly challenging. Scattered populations, vast distances, sketchy infrastructure, and often unique socio-economic circumstances all contribute to making adequate health care for rural and First Nations citizens complicated. In rural British Columbia, the…

Gabriola Island DIY Health Centre

Gabriola Island (pop. 4,000) is a remote community just off of Nanaimo, British Columbia. After years of patch-work health care, community members determined the need for reliable medical care that wouldn’t require helicopters or ferries to transport patients off the island to doctors situated in larger metropolitan centres. They banded together to build a state-of-the-art…