COWICHAN VALLEY
The Division of Family Practice in the Cowichan Valley region has partnered with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, local first nations, the Cowichan District Hospital Foundation and the Cowichan Communities Health Network. Together, they have found primary care providers for 1,100 patients who did not previously have doctors.
Here are some of the ways they’ve made local health care easier to access:
- Hospital Care Program - provides care for patients admitted to hospital without a family doctor
- Physician Recruitment - Formed a Physician Recruitment, Retention and Locum committee that has so far recruited one new doctor to the community, and helped find locums to fill in for doctors who need to take a break. Members of this committee are working to address the acute shortage of GPs in Lake Cowichan in a variety of ways: Participating in a Lake Cowichan Physician Recruitment Advisory committee; providing financial incentive information to potential new recruits; and promoting local opportunities for GPs at a variety of events, meetings and conferences.
- Maternity clinic - opened the new Cowichan Maternity Clinic in the Cowichan District Hospital in March 2011. The clinic provides pre- and immediate post-natal care to women who do not have a family doctor or whose doctor does not provide maternity care. As of January 2013, the team at the clinic has cared for 1444 mothers and babies; delivered 438 babies; and found family doctors for 222 patients who previously did not have one.
- GP Support Services - when a local GP was suddenly and unexpectedly unable to practice, the Division found capacity for over 600 patients in our member GP practices
The Cowichan Maternity Clinic was opened in March 2011 to help care for local mothers without a family physician. Pictured at the clinic are (left-right) Dr. Luc Beaudet (obstetrician), Dr. Tom Rimmer, Dr. Deana Robertson, Dr. Nicolette Pearce, Dr. Anne Thompson, Dr. Karen McIntyre, CDH maternity nurse Janet Mercer, MOA Sadie Thomas, MOA Denise MacDonald, Dr. Angie Szabo, clinic patient and her children, Kathryn Coopsie, RN, Dr. Maggie Watt and Dr. Susan Barr.
Dr. Thomas Rimmer, Cowichan Valley Division of Family Practice Chair Lead.