THURSDAYNOVEMBER 27, 2014
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Expand OHC role Gov’t gets a plan that could also help economy JOHN HARDING
editor@pqbnews.com
The Oceanside Health Centre (OHC) could be used as a training and research hub for students and medical professionals who want to focus on issues related to seniors, according to a paper submitted to a provincial government committee. That kind of activity at the OHC could also attract much-talked-about young families to the region, creating a positive economic spinoff, said Federation of Oceanside Residents Association (FORA) president Tom Davies. “There are so many win-win combinations you can put to this,” said Davies. FORA has made a seven-page submission to the provincial government’s Select Committee on Health, which counts Parksville-Qualicum MLA Michelle Stilwell as one of its members. “Oceanside communities with a large senior population are an ideal location for a community-centric primary care multidisciplinary model of health-care delivery,” states the submission. Davies said the submission centres around the OHC being the “hub of a multi-spoked wheel that would bring services specifically for seniors and end-of-life to the community.” He said medical students from UBC could come to the OHC to be mentored. “This, in my view, would be an absolute natural,” said Davies, who added that young medical professionals who come here for a short time could learn they love the area like locals do and choose to locate their professional life here. See MAKING THIS ‘A BIG DEAL’, page A9
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PETER MCCULLY PHOTO
BREAKFAST AND TOYS: An estimated 1,750 breakfasts were served at Tigh-Na-Mara on Wednesday morning during this year’s edition of the annual Toy Drive Breakfast. More than 1,600 toys were collected and the Society of Organized Services will ensure they get into the hands of needy children this Christmas. There was also more than $6,300 in cheques and cash donated by people who came to the resort and enjoyed a full breakfast supplied by Tigh-Na-Mara and prepared by the resort’s talented kitchen staff. Above at the event Wednesday were, from left, Tigh-Na-Mara general manager Paul Drummond, Santa Claus (holding a football in anticipation of Grey Cup weekend) and SOS executive director Renate Sutherland. For more photos from the event, visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/PQBNews.
HOUSING INDEX DATA SHOWS . . .
Rental scene tight in Parksville CANDACE WU
news@pqbnews.com
The average cost of rent in Parksville is $871 per month and residents are spending nearly one-third of their income just to keep a roof above their head. If they are fortunate enough to have found a place to rent. Those are among the findings in the Rental Housing Index, released
earlier this month by the B.C. Non Profit Housing Association who measured average rental prices around the province based on numbers from Statistics Canada. The research is “the first of its kind” according to the association’s senior policy analyst James Roy, who said despite a common misconception that young people are more likely the
rent, their client-base consists mostly of independent seniors. “Renters are definitely not just kids,” said Roy, adding the association represents more than 700 non profit housing societies. “Our number one client is independent seniors.” Parksville Qualicum Beach is known around the country for its high percentage of seniors. See CITY-OWNED SITE, page A9
COMPUTER & NETWORK SPECIALS
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