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Wednesday, August 13, 2014
THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE www.lakecowichangazette.com www.lakecowichangazette.com THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE
Wednesday, August 13, 2013
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Lake Cowichan Fire Department is accepting APPLICATIONS FOR FIREFIGHTERS. Pick up and drop off applications at Lake Cowichan Town office. If you require further information contact the firehall at
250-749-3522. • Must be 19 years of age • Must reside within fire-protection boundary
FAITH DIRECTORY ANGLICAN
St. Christopher and St. Aidan 70 Cowichan Ave. W Lake Cowichan
250-749-3466 Sunday Service 10:30 a.m.
Rev. David Peterson
BAPTIST
Cowichan Lake Baptist Church 8259 Beaver Road Lake Cowichan
250-749-3211 Sunday Service 10:30 a.m. Sunday School 10:30 a.m.
Pastor Dale Winters
PENTECOSTAL
ROMAN CATHOLIC
57 King George St. South Lake Cowichan
60 Fern Road Lake Cowichan
St. Louis de Montfort Lake Cowichan Christian Fellowship 250-749-6492
250-749-4103
Sunday Service 10:30 a.m.
Mass Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
Pastor Terry Hale
Fr. Alfredo Monacelli
Call for Auditions! KLPS is thrilled to announce upcoming auditions for two productions: The Creative Edge talent show, and “A DICKENS’ CHRISTMAS CAROL: A TRAVELLING TRAVESTY IN TWO TUMULTUOUS ACTS” by Mark Landon Smith The auditions will be held at Centennial Hall in Lake Cowichan. The Creative Edge auditions for the play will take place at 6:30 pm on August 28th, and at 6:30 pm on September 9th. The Creative Edge will feature talented local performers competing for a total of $750 in prize money as follows: 1st place - $400 | 2nd place - $150 3rd place - $50 | People’s Choice: $150 Tickets are $7 ($5 for members/youth/senior) at the door, and will serve as your ballot for the People’s choice award. Doors at 6:30, curtain at 7 pm on Sept. 5th at Centennial Hall in Lake Cowichan. A performance fee of $20 will be charged for each act. Director Barbara Simkins is looking for a diverse group of four females and three males ranging in age from 18 - 70ish. Auditioners should come prepared to read from the script which will be provided on the night. The play is scheduled for seven performances from November 19 - 23. Rehearsals will be held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings starting in September.
Photo submitted Pictured above are the two Lakeside Medical Clinic walk-in service providers. On the left is Dr. Dave Froese and on the right is Dr. Vincent Rossouw.
Lakeside Medical Clinic Your walk-in service providers When the citizens of the Cowichan Lake community heard that their final two doctors were moving their practices to Duncan, there was a lot of concern and worry. Luckily Dr. Vincent Rossouw, owner of the Beverly Walk-in Clinic in Duncan, was already looking into the possibility of opening a walk-in clinic in Lake Cowichan. As a result we only went for one month without any doctors at all! Lakeside Medical Clinic opened on Sept. 23, 2013, providing walk-in medical services for the first time in Lake Cowichan. The clinic is located at 138 South Shore Rd., in the same building as the drugstore, and is open from Mon. to Fri. Hours are 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mon. and Fri., 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tues. to Thurs. Patients are welcome during those hours without an appointment and usually without a long wait. On Mondays Dr. Rossouw is the doctor. From Tuesday to Thursday it is Dr. David Froese, who is also accepting family practice patients, and on Fridays Dr. Andre DeWit. Check out Lakeside Medical Clinic on Facebook for regular updates of operating hours, closures etc. When I met with Dr. Rossouw he explained that both of his walk-in clinics are different from those in big cities because they combine walk-in and regular family practice, offering both of these services to their clients. The standard big city walk-in there is little continuity of care, whereas patients at Lakeside have the option of becoming long term patients of Dr. Froese and therefore having follow-up and all the advantages of a regular family doctor if they wish. I asked both Dr. Russouw and Dr. Froese why a walk-in clinic is a positive addition to the medical services in Lake Cowichan, and they gave several reasons: 1. A walk-in clinic is convenient for busy people with erratic work schedules who can’t schedule doctor appointments a week or more in advance to renew a prescription or deal with some other simple matter. 2. It works well for semi-acute medical emergencies. Maybe a person needing stitches after a cut or to have something removed from an eye. Without a walk-in clinic these people would be going to the emergency room in Duncan for treatment. 3. Tourists and visitors who have a family doctor elsewhere but get injured or ill, develop a rash or some other problem while here, can access a doctor at the walk-in clinic. 4. Many people in Lake Cowichan now have doctors in Duncan but, especially for the frail elderly, transportation can be a real challenge. If they can’t get to Duncan to see their own doctor they can see a doctor at the walk-in clinic. 5. Then of course there are the people who don’t have, or don’t want, a family doctor. For those people if a medical issue arises their only choice is the walk-in clinic or the hospital. So a walk-in clinic provides a valuable and unique service that is different from a family practice and also reduces traf-
fic to the hospital. Walk-in clinic doctors are not in competition with family practice doctors. They are always willing to share information about patient visits with the family doctor if the patient wishes, and this is easily done since all the medical records at Lakeside are electronic. Dr. Froese admits that at first he was unsure about taking on both roles as a family practice doctor and a walk-in clinic doctor, but he is glad that he did and now feels he has the best of both worlds. He has some patients that he has known over a long time and has a great ongoing relationship with them. But he also likes to do office procedures that can solve simple medical problems quickly and efficiently, so he enjoys the variety that walk-in patients provide. Because he accepts both kinds of patients on his three days at the clinic he schedules his day so that he can deal with walk-ins throughout the day too. It is a system that seems to be working well. Dr. Rossouw agrees that it is the diversity that he loves about his job. He has family practice patients in Duncan and he has walk-in patients in both locations. He describes a walk-in clinic as a bit like a mini-Emergency room because you never know what is going to come through the door, and that can be both exciting and challenging. He’s up to the challenge though! Dr. Rossouw did his initial medical training in South Africa and then worked in Britain for two years before coming to Canada. He spent six years in rural areas of Northern Saskatchewan with a group of other general practice physicians and no real back-up emergency services. There the doctors were required to deal with every possible medical emergency themselves. He found the work to be exhilarating and never boring! That is why, when he moved here seven years ago, he chose to set up a walk-in clinic rather than simply a regular family practice. The walk-in/family practice combination keeps him on his toes professionally and keeps him interested in his work. He says that he really loves his job, and especially the opportunity to talk with his patients and hear their stories. Both doctors made a point of saying how warmly they have been welcomed to this community. They like the town and are very attached to their patients. Also there is increasing interaction between Lakeside Medical Clinic and the Primary Health Care team as they refer patients back and forth to each other’s services. They definitely see themselves as part of the larger primary health care community in Lake Cowichan. New patients are always welcome at Lakeside Medical Clinic, so feel free to phone for an appointment, 250-9329011, or drop by the office Monday to Friday. ~ Submitted by Marg Davis for the Choose Cowichan Lake Committee