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Thursday, February 20, 2014
The Agassiz Y Harrison
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Sunny outlook
BC WINTER GAMES Hemlock ready to host ski events
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JESSICA PETERS / OBSERVER
A lone golfer took advantage of the dry weather at Sandpiper Golf Course on a sunny winter day in January. This week’s soggy weather is expecting to end, with temperatures up to 15 C, by Sunday and Monday.
Doctors looking for efficiencies
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Public being asked for opinion on health care needs Jessica Peters THE OBSERVER
Family doctors in Chilliwack and Agassiz have a busy workload, seeing patients in their private offices, in clinics, and in their rounds at CGH. But local family physicians have also working hard behind the scenes recently, looking at ways to provide even better care to their patients. The Chilliwack Division of Family Practice is conducting a health care improvement initiative called A GP For Me. They hope to connect more people with family doctors, while streamlining workloads to improve efficiency. A recent survey that ran in this newspaper and online garnered 3,059
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responses from community members. Questions covered off topics ranging from a patient's needs, to availability of care. "We were overwhelmed with the level of engagement we received," said Katrina Bepple, program manager. They were aiming to find 'unattachment' rates, the percentage of residents without a consistent family doctor. Of those who responded, 93% indicated they had a family physician. Of those seven per cent who do not have a doctor, five per cent said they would want one. In the aboriginal community, the unattachment rate jumps to 15%. The results of the survey were discussed at a recent press conference held at UFV Chilliwack,
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one of the community partners involved with A GP For Me. The CDFP will be putting forth a proposal to the General Practices Services Committee about the community's needs in mid-May, said Ken Becotte, the division's executive director. The whole process has opened up discussion among local doctors, he said, and has already resulted in changes. "We've got them thinking about what's working," he said. Following the presentation to the GPSC, they hope to implement some new strategies. Currenlty, two nurse practitioners and two physicians work out of
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the Agassiz Community Health Centre. In Hope, there are seven physicians working with a team of nurse practitioners in the hospital to provide care. Dr. Melanie Madill is a lead physician with the initiative. She said they are working to close the gap, because all research shows that continuity of care can improve your health. She sees about 30 patients a day, and the limit for physicians to treat patients is 52 a day. Madill said there are inefficiencies built into the daily life of a physician, including tasks that could be delegated to other health care staff, such as Continued on 2
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