Image: Supplied by Government of B.C. / Dignitaries attend the grand opening of the Chilliwack Primary Care Centre on May 13, 2022.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Health care

Health care recruitment a challenge for new Chilliwack Primary Care Centre

Jul 8, 2022 | 12:45 PM

CHILLIWACK – When dignitaries and elected officials converged for the grand opening of the Chilliwack Primary Care Centre on May 13, a sense of accomplishment prevailed as a gleaming new health care facility opened for patients unattached to a family doctor.

The idea was to provide same-day health care for patients with complex care management needs, as well as access for clients requiring support for mental health and substance use.

Staffing it and the surrounding primary care network with family doctors and other health professionals, however, has been an ongoing challenge, an issue that Executive Director Daphne McRae of the Chilliwack Division of Family Practice touched upon at Tuesday’s (Jul. 5) Chilliwack city council meeting.

“Recruitment of health care staff continues to be a big challenge,” McRae told council. “So, in terms of an ask of our city council, we just ask for your help in supporting recruiting through initiatives that make Chilliwack an excellent place to live, work and play. Things like accessible and affordable accommodations, day care, development of schools, cultural events [and] sporting activities. That makes a big difference when people are choosing which community to live in. We thank you for your work in those areas.”

Mayor Ken Popove said the City has tried to address some of the recruitment challenges McRae brought up.

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“Most of the boxes you ask are probably checked,” Popove said. “Through a partnership with CEPCO (Chilliwack Economic Partners Corporation), we do work on attracting [health care staff]. We can probably make it better. The primary care clinic is a well put together unit. I had the opportunity to go through there. It’s got great potential.”

The long-term outlook for the centre calls for two full-time family physicians, five nurse practitioners, two full-time equivalent registered nurses, one traditional wellness mentor, two pharmacists, and 15.5 allied health professionals.

Beyond the clinic itself, which is located at 7955 Evans Road, the larger Primary Care Network (PCN) covers Chilliwack, Agassiz, Harrison, Hope, Fraser Canyon, and 22 indigenous communities. McRae said the network still needs an abundance of health care professionals.

“We are currently in year 2 of the PCN implementation plan,” she explained. “We have 20 of the 70 staff that are slotted. By the end of year 3, we anticipate 70 per cent being hired.”

Once the PCN is fully staffed, there will be seven family physicians, 14 nurse practitioners, and 13 registered nurses. This is above and beyond anything happening in the greater Chilliwack area and surrounding communities.

“I know that as more people talk about the importance and challenge of physician recruitment and what it means to community development, how it really it is a community effort attracting new physicians to communities,” Councillor Jason Lum said. “Chilliwack used to be one of the only ones that I think was on the cutting edge where we realized that it was everybody’s responsibility to help attract physicians. Now we’re starting to see other communities catch up as the need starts to become more acute in other places.”

Councillor Chris Kloot asked McRae about existing clinic hours and whether that service window will be expanded at some point in the future. McRae clarified that while the clinic is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for patients, doctors and nurses, the integrated case management team works later hours due to outreach they conduct in the evening.

“Our hope and what we’re working on is an after-hours plan to expand services to the community,” McRae said. “It is in the works.”

Patients cannot self-refer themselves to the clinic, rather they must receive a referral to the clinic, which hopes to eventually attach itself to 5,700 new patients.

The Chilliwack Primary Care Centre was previously located at Chilliwack General Hospital.

Councillor Harv Westeringh asked whether the clinic would be the new location for a person in mental distress who might be picked up off the street by police downtown.

McRae explained that a person in that scenario would still be taken to Chilliwack General Hospital.

“This is just a primary care centre like a typical physician’s office that you would go to,” McRae said. “It serves a certain population that has high vulnerabilities. They already have to have a connection with the doctor to go to that clinic.”