It was 10 years ago that the South Peace Health Council was amalgamated into Northern Health, as the provincial government looked to streamline and standardize health services by creating regional health authorities across the province. Northern Health marked a decade of serving the communities of Dawson Creek and Pouce Coupe with a celebration at the Dawson Creek Art Gallery on Tuesday evening.

“I think a 10 year celebration is really about a coming-of-age, turning corners and getting to a place where we are able to have conversations about consistent healthcare, so that a person in a catchment area similar to Dawson Creek can assume to get the same care that somebody in Dawson Creek would get. That kind of consistency is the advantage of having a region all covered by a single health authority,” said Jaret Clay, health services administrator in the South Peace for Northern Health, who was the master of ceremonies for the celebration.

Northern Health can certainly point to some significant achievements over the last decade. For example, the health authority worked with the Peace River Regional District to purchase a new computed tomography (CT) scanner for the Dawson Creek and District Hospital in late 2009. At around the same time, the health authority and regional hospital district celebrated the opening of a new wing at Rotary Manor in Dawson Creek that added 71 new residential care beds to the facility, including 24 special care beds for residents living with dementia, two rooms for palliative care and two new respite care beds. Also, with the support of the community and through the efforts of the Dawson Creek and District Hospital Foundation, the hospital boasts a renovated cancer treatment centre completed in early 2010, as well as countless pieces of vital equipment throughout the facility.

Not withstanding those achievements, however, Northern Health will continue to be challenged going forward in delivering healthcare over such a large geographic area, and to a population that is changing rapidly with the influx of new workers.

Clay said the health authority acknowledges those challenges and hopes to address them through the creation of a Master Plan for Dawson Creek that will incorporate socio-economic trends, population and demographic information to assess how health services will be delivered over the next 20 years. However, Clay said specific plans for the Dawson Creek and District Hospital, a building that is over 50 years old, have not been laid as of yet.

“The reality is, we just don’t know at this point,” he said. “We have to go through that master planning process, and then we have to let life happen a bit to see what comes to fruition.”

In regards to long-term residential care for the area’s seniors, he said Northern Health acknowledges that they will need more capacity over-and-above the space that will be created with the new Peace Villa being constructed in Fort St. John, as he said that facility will open up eight long-term care beds after accommodating the residents from Peace River Haven in Pouce Coupe who will be transferred there.

“We know that doesn’t solve the issue of people waiting – though every bed helps – but there are bigger decisions that have to be made in the bigger picture,” said Clay, adding that crunch of an aging population is being felt all over the province.

The centralization of health services in larger centres such as Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and Prince George means that residents in smaller communities such as Tumbler Ridge and Chetwynd may have to get used to travelling to receive the services they need. Pouce Coupe Mayor Larry Fynn said while it is unfortunate to lose facilities such as the Pouce Coupe Care Home and Peace River Haven, it may be the reality of delivering limited healthcare resources over such a large and diverse region.

“With centralizing health issues as they are doing in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, generally speaking, it causes political controversy for the smaller communities,” said Fynn, “but I think over the long haul, when everybody evaluates it, they will find those services have probably improved, and we don’t have to go to Edmonton or Prince George for those services, we can have those within the Peace River area.”

He said while there is always room for improvement, Pouce Coupe is fortunate to have the healthcare services it does within the short distance to Dawson Creek.

His counterpart, Dawson Creek Mayor Mike Bernier, said there is no doubt Dawson Creek will need special attention from Northern Health and the provincial Ministry of Health as a growing and aging community.

“I think it’s part of my job to constantly be reminding them to make sure they are looking at all the different avenues,” said Bernier. “It’s nice to hear we have opportunities out there, such as the walk-in clinic [inside the Co-op Mall] that is going to be open soon that might address some of those issues, but at the end of the day it is still Northern Health’s responsibility as that umbrella organization to make sure we meet those needs.”

He said the city has the benefit of having what he thinks is a good working relationship with the health authority and the regional hospital district. He added the city is also in a unique position to have the ongoing and generous support of local industry and businesses towards the Dawson Creek Hospital Foundation and Hospital Auxiliary.

“They are basically able to reach a market that we are sometimes unable to. They get the volunteers, they get the donations, and they make sure the money that is raised stays here locally. They can really identify what’s needed in the hospital right now and go after it …and they’ve been very successful in getting community buy-in and support,” said Bernier, adding there are a lot of services and equipment at the hospital that might not otherwise be there if it wasn’t for the work of those groups.