Cougars and bears and bears OH MY! page 3
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The Similkameen
Volume 65 Issue 34
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Proudly serving the community since 1948 • www.similkameenspotlight.com
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Towns offer free houses, cars, to lure new docs Spotlight Staff
Andrea DeMeer
Dr. Tim VanDerheide says being a doctor in a town like Princeton offers great opportunities for a broad scope of practice.
Medicine with a dose of ranching Andrea DeMeer Spotlight Staff
Princeton’s newest family doctor is living out a childhood ambition. “I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, probably from the age of seven or eight. It’s probably because I admired my family doctor and decided that’s what I wanted to do.” Dr. Tim VanDerheide moved to Princeton last month with his wife Krystal and ten-month-old son Theo, after working for two years in Chetwynd, a small community in BC’s north. “The weather is nice and you have great access to fruit,” he
Weather Watch Wednesday
High29/Low10
Thursday
High28/Low11
Friday
High25/Low14
Saturday
High22/Low14
Sunday
High22/Low14
grinned, when asked about his first impressions of the community. Krystal VanDerheide holds a degree in public administration and community planning, and is looking for work here in her field. The couple has purchased a 43-acre farm on Highway 3 east of town, and in the next year VanDerheide wants to try his hand at hobby ranching. As his own farm experience extends only to working on a dairy farm as a youngster, he said: “I’m going to need some advice… we’ll see how it goes.” Princeton General Hospital is a bit larger than what VanDerheide continued page 12
Despite the arrival of a new doctor in Princeton, the community remains underserved by family physicians, according to Ed Staples, president of the Princeton Health Care Sustainability Society. Dr. Tim VanDerheide replaces Dr. Devinder Sandhu, who recently fulfilled her two-year commitment to work in a rural community, a requirement of physicians entering the country. “We are scheduled and approved for five doctors,” said Staples. “We are still two short and we are still recruiting to fill those last two positions.” According to Staples the recruitment process for physicians is highly competitive, with some communities offering incentives like free cars and housing for doctors who are willing to relocate. “We don’t think that is an appropriate way to go,” said Staples. “It’s our position that there are some moral issues involved. Our position is that if we were to offer incentives and another community might not be in a position to do that that it is really unfair,” he said. “We are aware of some communities that have done that. I know one community in the Kootenays offered a free house for any doctor that would come into their community and that it was provided by a wealthy benefactor. It does take place.” While the Princeton Health Care Sustainability Society does not offer “active incentives,” Staples said that by working with the business community it was able to provide “reactive assistance” to help VanDerheide and his family make the move to Princeton. Staples stressed the town’s doctor shortage is not an isolated problem. “It’s important for people to understand that this isn’t Princeton’s problem. It is a BC problem and I suppose a Canadian problem and continued page 12
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Fall Fair Sept. 12 & 13