The Princeton Health Care Steering Committee held its fourth monthly meeting at Princeton General Hospital on December 17, 2014. The Committee has achieved many of its goals and continues to work on its mandate to develop and sustain an effective health care model for people living in and around Princeton. The following is a list of some of our achievements to date:

Automated External Defibrillators (AED)

An AED is a portable electronic device used in cases of life threatening cardiac arrhythmia, otherwise known as a heart attack. The device uses simple audio and visual commands to instruct the layman in the use of the AED. Rapid treatment by defibrillation can save the life of heart attack victim. Working in conjunction with the BC Ambulance Service, two AEDs have been installed in our community. With advice and assistance provided by Steering Committee member Paul Swain, it was decided to install one at the Princeton Curling Club (to be relocated to the Princeton Golf & Country Club during the summer months) and the other at Riverside Community Centre. These new devices are added to existing AEDs located at the Princeton Arena and in all smaller communities in rural Princeton (Area H).

Transportation

In cooperation with Dr. John Adams and Lynn Pelly of Princeton Community Services, the Steering Continue reading →

The telephone system at Princeton General Hospital and Cascade Clinic has been upgraded. Although they are still tweaking the system, it is now possible to leave messages on individual extensions of staff and administration and the switchboard will be manned during regular office hours. Cascade Clinic has added more phone lines which should make it easier to get through to make appointments. If you have any comments regarding your experience with the system (either positive or negative) please feel free to contact the Steering Committee at comments@princetonhealth.ca

SOHC would like to wish all our supporters a Happy and Healthy New Year. 2013 has been a very positive and productive year for healthcare in our community. Most notably, we were blessed with the addition of three new doctors to the team of health care practitioners at the Cascade Clinic. The past year also saw the formation of the Princeton Health Care Steering Committee, charged with the responsibility of implementing the Health Care Action Plan.

As we look to the year ahead, we see many exciting projects and several important challenges. SOHC will be continuing its work with Dr. Barbara Pesut and her team of researchers from UBC Okanagan, as we develop a framework to study chronic illness and end of life care in Princeton. As part of this important work, we will be conducting a Community Asset Mapping project that will provide our team with a complete list of the valuable assets available to the residents of Princeton and Area H.

SOHC will continue its work on the Steering Committee as it develops an improved and sustainable health care model for our community. The Committee has achieved many of the goals identified in the Action Plan, including the recruitment and retention of four family physicians and one nurse practitioner, the establishment of a tele-health station at Princeton General Hospital, the installation of AED’s at Riverside Community Centre and the Princeton Curling Club, and the development of a community plan to address health care transportation issues. Work is now in progress to upgrade and improve the facilities at Cascade Clinic, to meet the needs of the five practitioners and the resulting increase in patient volume. The Steering Committee is committed to achieving its goals by the end of its mandate in September of this year.

At the November meeting of the SOHC executive, it was felt that we had outgrown our old mission statement and needed a new one. Although it’s a “work in progress”, the following is what we came up with so far:

 Working together to develop a healthy community where all residents attain a safe and sustainable quality of life. 

We also established the following goals for the coming year:

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