Gazette NORTH ISLAND
Publications Mail Agreement No. 391275
50th Year No. 5
January 29, 2015
www.northislandgazette.com
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• CERTIFIED
Marsh Bay salmon farm attains certification. Page 2
• CONTRIBUTION
Campbell River contributes to Mayor Gerry Furney Tribute. Page 3
• PEEWEE VICTORY...
Eagles down Alberni Bulldogs in play-off action. Page 7 HOT SPOTS Page 4 COMMENTARY Page 6 SPORTS Page 7-8 CLASSIFIEDS Page 9-11
From left: Island Health medical director Jeff Beselt, Kwakiutl Chief George Hunt Sr., Island Health’s Sarah Kowalenko, Harry Webber of the Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw bands, Alison Mitchell, senior manager for rural health, Mount Waddington, Kwakiutl Chief Thomas Wilson, Port Hardy Mayor Hank Bood, Island Health board chair Don Hubbard, and Quatsino Band Councillor James Nelson, with help from Cynthia Dickey, front, cut the ribbon on Port Hardy’s new Primary Health Centre last Thursday, Jan. 22. Below, Chief George Hunt, at left, welcomes the audience. For more photos, see page 12. J.R. Rardon
Island Health unveils health centre J.R. Rardon Gazette staff PORT HARDY—With a flurry of eagle down, a blessing song and the snip of scissors on ribbon, the new Port Hardy Primary Health Care Centre opened its doors to the public Thursday morning. Under a large canopy in a cool, biting breeze, dignitaries from Island Health, local government and area First Nations extolled the promise the centre offers in increased access to and expanded options for health care. “This is really indicative of where we’re going, as far as partnerships with the health authority,” said Dean Wilson of the Gwa’sala’Nakwaxda’xw Health Clinic. “We’re in a different place than we were 10, 15 years ago.” The ceremony marked the completion of the $2.6 million, 482-square metre facility, which was built by Norkan Construction of Port McNeill with the help of local subcontractors. The clinic is not yet operational, but will be officially opened this spring to offer primary
health care and some community services in a single location. “By providing services in a patientcentered primary setting, we’re helping reduce demands on Port Hardy Hospital’s emergency department and offering easily accessible care,” Health Minister Terry Lake, who did not attend the ceremony, said in a written release. The concept and construction of the health centre resulted from the formation more than three years ago of the Mount Waddington Health Services Stabilization local working group, which hoped to address chronic staffing shortages and rolling emergency room closures in Port Hardy.
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The group brought together concerned community members, the Mount Waddington Health Network, First Nations, the Regional District of Mount Waddington and Island Health Representatives, which submitted a report and recommendations that included the creation of integrated care facilities in Port Hardy and Port McNeill. Following a renovation late last year, the Port McNeill Medical Clinic recently re-opened as an integrated care centre, and the opening this spring of the new Port Hardy facility will mark the successful completion of that recommendation. A driving force in the creation and work of the local working group was then-Mayor Bev Parnham, who died last May. “She knew as a leader of Port Hardy she needed to collaborate with all communities on the North Island, so I want to pay her some See page 2
‘Parnham recognized’
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