SPIN Volume 17 Issue 7

YOURS FREE TO TAKE HOME

VOLUME 17 ISSUE 07 JULY 12 — AUGUST 9, 2019

NEW CRYSTAL CHAIRLIFT PAGE 2

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BC CUP WIN ON HOME TURF PAGE 18

FIRST YEAR RESIDENT DR. THOMAS CANALE, DR. CHIP BANTOCK, DR. SHANE BARCLAY, LAURA BANTOCK, AND SECOND YEAR RESIDENT DR. SIGNY FRANK IN A TREATMENT ROOM. Photo SPIN

Two years on, Health Centre continues to grow Future is bright with Bantock at the helm JEAN STRONG

SEPTEMBER 2019 WILL MARK TWO YEARS SINCE LAURA BANTOCK WAS HIRED AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SUN PEAKS COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE. After arriving in the fall of 2017 she was tasked with setting up the clinic and recruiting at least one doctor to serve Sun Peaks and the surrounding area. Now the clinic features two doctors, four University of British Columbia family practice residents, a mental health worker, seasonal

locum doctors, and sexual health clinics. Dr. Shane Barclay also teaches countless medical students. As the bustling office welcomes and treats patients each day it’s being recognized behind the scenes as an example for other clinics and Barclay is receiving accolades for his teaching and patient care from the Royal Inland Hospital Physician Association. Bantock had set up medical clinics in B.C. before, and used that experience to get to work. She started with recruiting Barclay. “With Dr. Barclay I knew right away we’d have a great partnership. I see us as a very strong base team,” she said.

With a doctor on board they needed patients. Of course Sun Peaks and valley residents would register as patients, but with a year round population of around 1,000, and an average panel size for a doctor of 1,200, Bantock knew they would need to take on more. With this in mind she worked alongside the Ministry of Health to develop a process which would see the clinic take patients off of the provincial 811 list (a list for those without a family doctor to register their need). “Because we’re rural we wanted to provide those prospective patients with information,” she said. “For example, there’s no

public transit to get here, there are winter road conditions...I felt to be efficient for the patient and everybody concerned we wanted people to know.” Working with ministry executives she helped design a process to contact patients who fit the centre’s attachment criteria, give them information about the clinic and community and attach them to a doctor. The process they created is now being used by other clinics to take patients from the 811 list, something that was previously difficult. “We shared the workload between the ministry and us. Supporting each other to get the job done.” The project resulted in the ministry’s nomination for a

Premier’s Award which they will learn the result of in the fall. Now most patients are coming from word of mouth or from other doctors retiring. As the panel nears 2,500 patients Bantock said they’re getting close to full. Around 1,000 patients are from Sun Peaks or nearby, the remainder from Kamloops. “It works for people because they’re so deeply thankful to have a family doctor,” she said. “And in the winter another 1,000 seasonal workers arrive. They’re people (who have health concerns) and they need healthcare.