The new Community Health Centre in Port Hardy has seen thousands of patients since opening in fall, and is now setting an example for the rest of BC.
Doctor Alex Nataros and his colleagues worked with the community to get the centre built last year, in response to chronic doctor shortages, patients travelling out of town for care, and hospital closures. He says its focus on group visits and community services is a model which could work well in other communities.
“This is a new and innovative model of health care delivery,” he says. “It’s cost-effective and mostly builds communities. I think it’s a story that needs to be told; we need to be doing group medical visits in Campbell River, Comox, and beyond.”
Nataros says the centre has a series of group sessions planned in the coming weeks about diabetes, mental health, arthritis, and obesity. He says the sessions allow a group of patients to access a doctor’s expertise at once, and help each other in a shared setting.
