Health Care
Innovative Approach to Medical Training
A visionary Canadian physician believes three new medical schools opening in Canada will flip the country’s medical training model on its head to focus more on family medicine. “It takes a community to raise a physician,” said Dr. Roger Strasser, interim dean of the new Simon Fraser University Medical School and founding dean of the Northern Ontario School of…
Read MoreKeeping It Rural 2023
June 1st and 2nd, 2023 in Kelowna, BC at the Hampton Inn We are planning to cover many of the challenges and opportunities facing rural BC right now. From mill closures, and mega-projects to innovation in agriculture and rural health updates. The tickets will go on sale in mid-March and due to limited seating we…
Read MoreDrug Use Study Conducted in qathet Region
A study of people who use drugs conducted in the qathet region found a variety of negative consequences, likening the situation for drug users to living in a goldfish bowl. Dr. Geoff Bardwell, the study’s lead, who is affiliated with BC Centre on Substance Use, and is also an assistant professor in the school of…
Read MoreRural Patients and Doctors Worry about Lengthy Wait Times and Level of Care as Workload Rises
Bob Storey is waiting to be put on a waiting list. Bob Storey grips his cane outside the community health centre in Fraser Lake, B.C. He’s waiting for a doctor’s appointment in January that will get him on a waiting list for a hip replacement. In the Northern Health authority where he lives, the average…
Read MoreBC Town Fighting to Recruit Family Doctors
Kootenay community of Creston has its own professional headhunter to find physicians Dr. Nerine Kleinhans came to Creston, B.C., from Saskatchewan. She says the town has had a successful recruiting push, but there are still too few family physicians to go around. (Dan Caverly/CBC News) Whoever said an apple a day keeps the doctor away…
Read MoreHow to Encourage More Family Doctors
A commentary by a family doctor in Saanich: Never, in my 20 years of practice in B.C., have I seen family medicine in crisis as it is now. Trust me, it is not a new issue. Dr. Jennifer Lush I am beginning to think I know how the dinosaurs felt, watching the comet hurtle towards…
Read MoreRural-Urban Inequities in Palliative Care
Many rural communities have few or no palliative care beds. And as financial burdens increase, some health authorities are agreeing to staff new beds only if the local community pays for the design and building costs of new palliative care facilities. When built, residential hospice palliative care programs have often been at least 50% funded…
Read MoreVirtual care innovations in rural BC
Dr. John Pawlovich, UBC Rural Health Chair and a leading advocate of creating innovative, tech-driven solutions to some of the most vexing health & wellness challenges facing rural, remote, and First Nations British Columbians, describes some breakthrough applications in this informative video.
Read MoreCDC Report on Rural Communities & Covid
While there are many distinct differences between the circumstances of rural Canadians and Americans, this overview from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention contains some useful information for rural British Columbians. About 46 million Americans live in rural areas, which face distinctive challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Long-standing systemic health and social…
Read MoreBC Rural Health Hub Pilot Is a Go
If Covid has taught us anything, it’s that we’re all in this together. And that what we know — and think we know — matters. This places a tremendous importance on communications. Not simply top-down, with information flowing from leaders and decision makers to citizens, but the other way ’round as well. This is called civic…
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