This week’s announcement of the new public health clinic at Thompson Rivers University North is great news for Williams Lake and area.
Now, instead of sometimes having to wait hours at the hospital’s emergency room or several days for an appointment with a family physician for a minor illness such as a sore throat or flu, patients will have the option to visit the TRU North clinic.
And that’s what we all really want isn’t it — options.
Of course the clinic won’t take away from the important roles of our family physicians and ER docs. Not at all.
In a perfect world everyone will work together to make our local health care services the best they can be with this new choice in our community.
Credit must be given to the masterminds of this plan, in large part Sandi Lachapelle and Rhonda McCreight as well as many other dedicated staff at TRU and Interior Health.
Also, Dr. Mark Gracia and Dr. Stefan deSwardt should receive recognition for stepping up to the plate to support Lachapelle and this exciting new worthwhile project.
Nurse practitioners haven’t always been well received in some medical circles, so it’s great to see that is not the case here in Williams Lake.
Many residents are sure to benefit from the services that will be offered at the clinic, such as drop-in appointments for minor acute injuries or illnesses and also a much-needed sexual health clinic.
For those of you who don’t know, nurse practitioners are registered nurses with advanced education in assessment, diagnosis, and management of many acute and chronic illnesses and injuries.
Family nurse practitioners can act independently as primary health care providers, similar to family doctors.