At first glance, Pemberton’s health-care seems stable.
Any resident who needs a family doctor can get one, the Village successfully attracts new physicians, and the hospital and health clinic operate within the same building, providing a team-based care model which benefits patients and employees.
Despite this, the Pemberton & District Health Care Foundation and a local physician say they are “bursting at the seams,” and if the town doesn’t get an expanded facility, the high-quality health-care will buckle under the weight of increasing population and adventure tourism.
Pemberton's health-care facility
Jim Fuller is a family doctor who has worked in Pemberton for 10 years, joining the health foundation a year ago. He explained how the health-care system currently runs in Pemberton.
The Pemberton Health Centre is run by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), and it holds an emergency department with five beds and operates 24/7. There’s a mental health unit, community nursing and public health nursing, while a section of the space is rented by VCH to general practitioners (GPs) and nurse practitioners (known as the Pemberton Medical Clinic). GPs take shifts in the emergency room as a condition of their employment, which Fuller said helps serve the community and support fellow physicians to be sustainable.
“There are a lot of other small communities in rural B.C. which are losing doctors and having to close health facilities, and that's very, very sad," Fuller said. "But in the last 10 years, we've been very lucky, and we've done well, and we've managed to grow our numbers of doctors and practitioners, and we're all still friends with each other."
However, the space for GPs was designed for two doctors, according to Anne Crowley, foundation director.
Currently, eight doctors, three nurse practitioners and two trainee physicians use the office. Add in a rotating roster of specialists from Vancouver who come up once a month for services like neurology, endocrinology, geriatrics and OBGYNs, and it is tight quarters.
“Space is super tight, we have to be very creative with our roster," Fuller said. "Occasionally, one of the practitioners has to work from home doing phone consults because there’s no office available."
The solution, according to the foundation and physicians, is an expanded health centre which keeps everyone working under the same roof.
“I see a need for a new, significantly enlarged medical centre, not only for the family practice clinic, but also for a bigger emergency department, a bigger mental-health department, a bigger community nursing space and a bigger public-health space," Fuller explained. "That's what I see as the boots on the ground, and all of my colleagues agree."
However, that can’t happen without the support of VCH.
Sea to Sky health-care plans
VCH is currently working on a health-care master plan for the Sea to Sky. Pique previously reported on the first phase, which included a report focusing on “critical gaps and challenges around current health services in the Sea to Sky corridor, as well as future priorities and opportunities.”
The health authority couldn’t speak yet to which community would get what type of facility.
Pemberton health-care practitioners hope their community is chosen for expanded services.
“I believe all the physicians have said to the Sea to Sky master plan consultants that, A) we need a new building that's twice the size, at least, and B), we all want to be under the same roof to preserve … communication,” Fuller said. “The frequency of these interactions really helps to bind teams together, share information more effectively, and it just allows the health-care team to function effectively.”
Pemberton’s population is expected to hit 5,000 soon enough, and in the next 20 years, it is anticipated the village (which won’t be a village by then) will need 1,076 more units of housing.
“It's not just Pemberton. Some of the surrounding communities are also growing strongly," Fuller said. "We’ve got to try to anticipate what those needs are going to be and grow our number of providers and, crucially, facilities, because we are maxed out right now in our current medical centre. It's really bursting at the seams, and it is time to plan for a much larger health-care facility."
Crowley said a short-term goal includes a temporary new space for a walk-in clinic, which could provide IV infusions for patients who currently must travel to Vancouver or Squamish for the service, or provide space for visiting specialists.
“These services really can be delivered very simply. We just don't have the space,” she said.
Fundraising for awareness
To increase attention to the growing need, the Foundation is throwing a fundraiser gala Oct. 19 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Pemberton Community Church.
The evening includes live music, food and refreshments, as well as speakers. Tickets cost $50 and are available on Eventbrite, and while there is no set fundraising goal, Crowley hopes the evening can raise awareness.
“We are going to be in a crisis if we don’t do something about it,” she said.
