Inside
◆ Fire rescue practice P. 6 ◆ Relay P. 12
◆ Editorial P. 4 ◆ Nurses P. 5
Published by Black Press Ltd at 150 West Columbia Street, Vanderhoof, BC V0J 3A0 Publications Mail Contract #: 40007759
PHONE: 996-8482 www.caledoniacourier.com
WEDNESDAY, May 20, 2015
NEWS BRIEFS Set your coordinates to fun Treasure hunters get prepared; geocaching is coming to Fort St. James. On June 27, the UNBC Project Management Class will be hosting a Geocache Event with FSJ Geocaching. Geocaching - the marriage of treasure hunting and GPS - is a fun activity enjoyed by people around the world. Caches are hidden in various locations and co-ordinates are given as clues to where the treasures are hidden. Inside the cache are various objects left by people who have previously found the site. The idea is to take an object and leave an object for the next treasure seeker. These caches often contain unique or quirky items from people around Canada, North America and the World. Leon Erickson, organizer of the event, said the event will be for groups and will have a twist to the type of geocaching where there are word puzzles and clues to find the location of ten sites around town. “The coordinates give you a general (area) and the clue gives you a little bit more detail as to where the geocache is,” Erickson said. He added the event is open to all ages, but FSJ Geocaching are requesting that groups with participants under 19 have an adult regisPlease see, Country, page 5
VOL. 38 NO. 12 $1.30 inc. GST
Dr. Anthon Meyer: Changing the face of healthcare
Michele Taylor photo
The team at the Fort St. James Medical Clinic: From left, Marion Illerbrun, Kate Stent, Joanna Pierre, Dr. Anthon Meyer, Kathy Marchal, Indy Schamehorn, Lucia Deveau, Allison Eytcheson and Leah Erickson.
Physician to be honoured as one of best in province MICHELE TAYLOR Caledonia Courier
Dr. Anthon Meyer will be honoured with the My Family Doctor Award at the end of May; the patient nominated award celebrates the doctor-patient relationship. A relationship Meyer knows is an integral part of good health care, improved health outcomes and better patient satisfaction. Back in 2012 the district of Fort St. James was in desperate need - Dr. Paul Stent was the sole physician in the town caring for close to 5,000 people in the district - Northern Health, the Municipal District and First Nation groups were working to recruit and retain doctors for the community. That’s where Dr. Anthon Meyer
comes into the picture. Dr. Meyer - operating as a community health recruiter of under-serviced areas in Northern Ontario and Manitoba at the time - was approached to help with recruiting for the Fort St. James area. “The recruits from Northern Health were aware of my company,” he said. “They had conversations at times with me … could I begin to help them with recruitment in (the Fort St. James) area.” Meyer’s daughter and son-in-law were both looking to practise in British Columbia and as International Medical Graduates they would be required to start their practise somewhere in northern B.C.; it was the perfect combination for bringing a new care model to healthcare in the
Fort St. James region, he said. “When Northern Health expressed a need, they were accepting that we could start a new care model,” he said. “For me that’s the challenge in medicine is the chance to change outcomes.” Historically, Meyers said over time remote communities are neglected with fragmented approaches to chronic disease patients, rather than comprehensive care. With doctors not staying in the community there was a discontinuity in care for acute patients. “For me, to make a difference is to focus on population health, wellness and well-being,” he said. “To identify chronic disease that has been neglected over time, put programs in place that can address that adequately
and then put management systems in place that it becomes a uniform system approach and not an individual practitioner.” With the aid of a health record management system called the Medical Office Information System (MOIS), Meyer said setting up a program where all physicians can have access to set standards, and could be in tune to elevate the standard of care and how the team sees patients, was able to be put in place. This method sees a group of physicians working together as a care team that are partners in a patient’s care management plan. “We change the access to patients in the community,” Meyers said. Please see, ‘Revolutionary, page 3
Any 2008 vehicle or older is eligible! So get up $2500 rebate on your old car and get a new one! For remainder of May Westline will also kick in another $500.
TOLL FREE: 1-888-499-4029 250-567-4781 1473 HWY 16 EAST www.westlineford.com DL # 30423