In the News

  • New health centre opens in West Shore, caters to marginalized groups

    TIMES COLONIST: A new medical clinic that aims to provide primary care for 6,700 patients in Colwood, Langford, Highlands and Metchosin opened its doors this week. Three years in the making, the 5,400-square-foot Westshore Community Health Centre, located at the Pacific Centre Family Services Association on Goldstream Avenue in Colwood, is the third of its kind in Greater Victoria, along with Island Sexual Health and Luther Court in Saanich, which is expected to open in about a month. Open six days a week, the West Shore centre will be staffed by nine doctors along with nurse practitioners, registered nurses, a social worker and community health workers.

    A collaboration between the Health Ministry, Island Health, Pacific Centre Family Services Association and South Island Division of Family Practice, the Westshore Community Health Centre will be operated by the association and Island Health.

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  • Pregnancy care clinic opens in Cranbrook

    EAST KOOTENAY NEWS ONLINE WEEKLY: Expectant parents will benefit from improved access to comprehensive pregnancy care at the new Encompass Pregnancy Care clinic, which opened in March in Interior Health’s Urgent and Primary Care Centre in Cranbrook, located in the Baker Street Professional Centre at 1311 2nd St.

    “We are excited to welcome Encompass Pregnancy Care as part of our urgent care team. The Primary Care Network partnership between Interior Health, Ktunaxa Nation and the East Kootenay Division of Family Practice has made it possible to expand services available to people in Cranbrook and Kimberley,” said Shannon Statham, Interior Health’s primary care lead for the East Kootenay.

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  • Ucluelet clinic to see patients three days a week under new deal

    TIMES COLONIST: Island Health says it has reached a deal with doctors at the Ucluelet Medical Clinic and the landlord to keep the doors open for 18 months — rotating physicians for in-person and virtual appointments — until a long-term solution is established. Two physicians will provide in-person services on Mondays and one on Wednesdays, while patients will have access to online physician services Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The health authority is also working with the Long Beach Chapter of the Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice, local Indigenous communities, and the Health Ministry on longer-term solutions.

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  • Crowd supporting local docs welcomes commuters to Maple Ridge

    MAPLE RIDGE-PITT MEADOWS NEWS: People waving signs in support of family doctors greeted commuters to Maple Ridge Thursday morning. About 20 supporters took part in the event put on by the Division of Family Practice called Honk for your Doc in honour of BC Family Doctor Day on May 19. The event was held amid reports of a family physician shortage across Canada.

    Watch a one-minute video recap >

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  • Family doctors in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows accepting new patients

    MAPLE RIDGE-PITT MEADOWS NEWS: There is a doctor shortage across the province – but not in Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows where currently there are multiple doctors accepting patients. Eight doctors, according to the Ridge Meadows Division of Family Practice, are seeking patients, an exceptional amount given about 900,000 people across the province do not have a family doctor.

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  • Government investing in short-term measures to keep walk-in clinics open on south Vancouver Island

    CHEK NEWS: The B.C. government has announced it will be investing in short-term measures in an effort to support primary care and keep walk-in clinics open on south Vancouver Island. The Ministry of Health says these measures are based on local engagement over the last several months through the South Island Primary Care Network (PCN) Walk-in Clinic Task Force. 

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  • Opinion: As COVID-19 restrictions lift, stop putting off other health tests

    NEW WESTMINSTER RECORD: Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Hendry has announced an easing of pandemic health restrictions. Take this time to consider your total personal health. When did you last check in with your family doctor? Are you due for some screening tests? Do you have concerning symptoms that require medical attention? 

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  • Cranbrook’s Urgent and Primary Care Centre to extend hours

    MY EAST KOOTENAY NOW: Cranbrook’s new Urgent and Primary Care Centre will be able to extend its hours of operation thanks to additional staff. “This centre came together with great support from our partners with the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District, the East Kootenay Division of Family Practice and the Ktunaxa Nation. It’s rewarding to see it expanding, so that people in the community have more access to health-care services they need.”

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  • Fraser Northwest wins $100K for videos promoting COVID-19 vaccines

    NEW WESTMINSTER RECORD: The Fraser Northwest Division of Family Practice was named the grand prize winner in the Vaccine Community Innovation Challenge for its Physician on a Mission, a series of videos — in English, Korean, Farsi, Cantonese and Arabic — promoting the COVID-19 vaccine.

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