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:

• provide support for people who are disadvantaged by mental, social, or physical disability
• recruit and coordinate health care volunteers in our community
• work in cooperation with Princeton Community Services and other organizations dedicated to providing a safe and healthy environment in our community
• continue to be a supportive member of the BC Health Coalition and the Rural Health Services Research Network of BC
• support the work of the Princeton Health Care Steering Committee
• work in collaboration with UBCO team of researchers in the study of chronic illness and end of life care in Princeton and Area
• establish an Artists for Life program, based on the Eden Alternative philosophy and initiated by the Sherbrooke Community Centre and artist Jeff Nachtigall

As the President of SOHC, I am very optimistic that the year ahead will see many important, positive changes in our community. I look forward to your support as we work together to achieve our goals.

To your health,

Edward Staples