Real-Time Virtual Support

Relational Work Is the Work: Virtual Healthcare Transformation for Rural, Remote, and First Nations Communities in British Columbia The healthcare crisis across unceded First Nations territories in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in British Columbia (BC) is marked by persistent barriers to accessing care and support close to home. This commentary describes an exceptional story…

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StrongerBC for everyone – Investing in Rural Communities

The B.C. government has released StrongerBC: Good Lives in Strong Communities, a new vision that outlines investments to help build a brighter future for rural communities and the people who call them home. “If you’re looking for people to help cut through the noise and get a job done, my bet will always be on…

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BC Doctor Develops National Guide for the Greening of Health Care

The healthcare sector is among the most polluting, contributing 5 per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas. A Kimberley-based physician, Dr. Ilona Hale, and a team of health care professionals have produced a new resource, specifically aimed at clinicians called ‘Planetary Health for Primary Care’. “It’s an online guide for healthcare providers meant to make…

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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…

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Keeping 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…

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Drug 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…

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BC 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…

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How 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…

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Rural-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…

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