It was only a few short years ago that one of the biggest challenges to quality health care in Princeton was a lack of doctors.
Today the town has five doctors - each has full roster of patients - and the community is allowed one more practitioner.
But the new problem is there is no place to put another doctor, should we attract one.
The issue was discussed recently at a meeting of the Princeton Health Care Steering Committee.
“Interior Health has determined that for everyone to be attached to a practitioner, Princeton needs six doctors,” said spokesman Ed Staples.
Related: Princeton residents await arrival of another new doctor
“The addition of one more doctor would bring us up to our full complement. However, our facilities will not support a sixth doctor. There’s not enough room to accommodate more than what we presently have. So, until we address our infrastructure issues, recruitment is out of the question.”
The community needs a long term plan for health care space, said Staples.
“The two issues with infrastructure are currency and capacity. The present building housing our clinic, hospital, and health centre was opened in 1970. If a structure has a ‘stale date”, we have gone past that.’ To keep up with advancements in medicine, the infrastructure needs upgrading. The capacity issue is simply that there’s not enough space to provide the services we need. The clinic is at full capacity and we can’t add more personnel until more space is provided. What that looks like will require a discussion on what our community needs, not just for the near future but for the long term. We need to be building something that looks at what our community needs 25 years from now.”
All patients currently on a waiting list go through an assessment and are attached to a practitioner in a process similar to an ER triage system. Patients with the highest needs and requiring the most attention are assigned first, said Staples.
The meeting also include numerous updates from stakeholders. Cherie Whittaker, Princeton General Hospital Manager, reported on staff updates at PGH and Ridgewood Lodge. Michelle Duchesne is the new Mental Health and Substance Use Clinician. She comes to the Similkameen Valley from Manitoba and has experience in a range of areas including probations, child welfare, addictions, private practice, palliative care and as a session instructor. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work, a Diploma in Business Adminstration, and a Certificate in Applied Counselling. She began her work in Princeton in January. Laura Raycraft is the new Manager at Ridgewood Lodge. She began her career as a healthcare professional in the 1990s, working as a care aide and nurse. Her past experience includes work as a care coordinator, manager of a home support company, and most recently as General Manager of the Haven Hill Care Centre. Raycraft began her new job at Ridgewood in January. She “looks forward to settling into life in Princeton as a stable face in the community.”
Karen Reader, Unit Chief for Princeton Ambulance Services, provided the Committee with an update on the Community Paramedicine (CP) program. Princeton has two Community Paramedics that provide one-on-one patient visits, community outreach, and wellness clinics. Included in the mandate of the CP program is providing community education programs. The Committee made several suggestions for additional programs, including AED awareness training classes, car seat/child restraint information, and how to prepare in-home health information in the event of an emergency.
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