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RCMP officer shortage By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today
CURLING Fun
Jackie Lieuwen/Houston Today
A new Junior Curling league started up this month with 22 kids ages nine to thirteen. The league meets every Thursday 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. and will play until March.
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Houston RCMP is short on officers and is struggling to recruit to Houston. RCMP Sergeant Stephen Rose says the officer shortage is Canada-wide, but Houston has extra challenges to recruit. Houston officers take on a four-year post and have to buy a house because there is no RCMP housing. “Most officers that are going to come to this part of B.C. are looking for a quick-turn around… or they’re coming up here to save money,” Sgt. Rose said. The four-year post turns away those wanting to serve two or three years and return to the Lower Mainland; having to
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“Houston has extra challenges to recruit.” - RCMP Sgt. Rose
buy a house turns away those who want to save money. Sgt. Rose says the surrounding communities offer shorter posts and/or RCMP housing, so officers looking to move into northern B.C. tend to choose those places first. “We usually have to wait until later in the year for those places to get taken up first,” he said. See RCMP on Page 2
Nurses could expand scope of health care in Houston By Jackie Lieuwen
they expand to Remote Nursing Certified. A 15-week online course would enable nurses to independently carry out some activities that normally require a doctor order, the review said. They would be able to diagnose and treat sexually transmitted diseases, offer birth control and treat some fairly straightforward
Houston Today
Northern Health is looking to expand nurse services to offer a wider scope of care. It was one of five recommendations in the Houston Health Services Review released by Northern Health February 6. Right now Houston nurses are RN First Call Certified, but the review recommends
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symptoms of breathing or skin conditions. Northern Health will also consider offering Houston nurses education for Primary Care Nursing. This goes hand in hand with transforming the Health Centre into a Primary Care Home, a long term plan that may take up to six years, said Cormac
Northern Health may hire a Nurse Practitioner for Houston.
Hikisch, Health Service Administrator for Northern Health. In a Primary Care Home, doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, p hy s i o t h e r ap i s t s and other health
professionals work as a team to address a patient’s health concerns. The biggest benefit will be for those with complex health concerns, said Penny
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Anguish, Northwest Chief Operating Officer with Northern Health. Primary Care Nurses would be a valuable part of that professional team, working to address health concerns and support a patient in managing their health. Finally, Northern Health may hire a Nurse Practitioner to strengthen the professional team at
the Health Centre. That will be decided with future doctors working in the health centre, said Jonathon Dyck, Public Affairs Officer with Northern Health. Since the review was just released February 6, Dyck says they’re just starting the process of implementing plans, and have no specific timeline for nurse training.
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