Health Centre Notes
February 2012
Congratulations to Mayne Islanders!!
This month we want to send a huge thank you to all of you who have so generously contributed to the Emergency Room expansion in the last three months. At the time of writing we have reached 75% of our goal - a huge $75,000! We had an incredible response to our matching campaign in December and can't thank enough our anonymous donor whose $10,000 was matched within a very few days. We're not done yet, but an exciting spring campaign is on the horizon so keep your eyes on this space!
We also have an interesting spring program ahead with our Health Education Series. On Monday, February 6th Dr. Bob Crossland and Leanne Rowand NP will be speaking at the Agricultural Hall 1:00-3:00pm about Heart Health and Health Care Systems which will include many ways for us to take care of our own health. We have some other topical speakers coming up as we spring ahead as well as a repeat of "Understanding Pharmacare and how it relates to you" for those who missed it. So stay tuned.
Tip of the day - Even though we are not overheated these days, do not forget to stay well hydrated. Being dehydrated causes all types of discomforts to our body, including things as basic as headaches and leg cramps.
For Cilla Brooke, Chair, Mayne Island Health Centre Association
January 2012
Happy New Year!
We are looking forward to another challenging year with hopefully the building of the emergency room expansion sometime during the summer. The response to our fund raising campaign has been amazing and we have every hope that it will be completed sometime in the spring, so that building this summer is not beyond the realm of possibility.
The talk on Brain Health presented by the Alzheimer's Society was very informative and well attended. Our next presentation by Marlise Meilan, a Registered Clinical Psychologist, is on 'Staying Sane in the Rain' and is a toolbox of techniques and coping strategies for making the best of the winter weather. It will be held on Thursday, January 19th 2012, from 7-9 pm at the Ag Hall.
Many, many thanks to all who are helping with our fund raising campaign and just for your information MIHCA's new mailing address is #100, 526 Felix Jack Road, Mayne. B.C. V0N 2J2
Have a very healthy, happy 2012.
Cilla Brooke, Chair,
Mayne Island Health Centre Association
December 2011
Hello Everyone,
Congratulations this month go to our Nurse Practitioner, Leanne and her new husband Chris Rowand, who were married in September on Cortez Island. We wish them every happiness in the coming years.
We had a most successful Flu Clinic this year with almost 200 attendees. Heartfelt thanks go to the five Public Health nurses, our own Julie Duhame among them, who did the vaccinating, the M.I. Community Centre Society, David Lindquist, Angela Pike and Elma Maund who provided coffee, tea and cookies, Bev McKenzie who with her little band of scribes, Shirley Heslip, Sheila Dunnachie and Mary McKinnon kept track of everyone and MIHCA board members who did the set- up, take down and clean up. A good afternoon's work!
As many of you know we had to cancel our scheduled talk by the Alzheimer's Society on very short notice and we thank you for your patience with this. We were delighted to be able to re-schedule the talk, Heads Up: An Introduction to Brain Health for December 8th 2011, 1:30 – 3:30 pm at the Ag Hall. Look forward to seeing you there.
Our fund raising initiative for the Emergency Room expansion is going very well and is now coming into its more visible phase. By the time you read this article, brochures fully describing the project will have been mailed to everyone and put in many public places and there will be more obvious advertising about it.
In addition we have had the incredible good fortune of having an anonymous donor willing to match all donations up to an amount of $10,000.00 during the month of December, so we are really hoping that by the end of this year we shall have raised a considerable portion of the total $100,000.00 needed.
We already have so many people to thank for their donations to this project, and rather than try and squash all the names in on a monthly basis we shall publish all the donors names at the completion of the campaign. In the meantime you should know that we are overwhelmed by the generosity of the people of Mayne Island. Thank you so very much.
And to you all, our very best wishes for the Christmas Season and for good health and happiness in 2012.
Cilla Brooke, Barbara Baker, Fred Sexsmith, Neil Howard, Pat Mauch, Maxine Holmgren, Judy Taylor, Millie Leathers, Sharon Bunnin.
MIHCA Board
November 2011
Hello Everyone,
Please remember this month the annual Flu Clinic is to be held at the Community Centre on November 7th 1:00-3:30 pm. It is recommended that all seniors and those suffering from any chronic illness be immunized annually. The clinic is held on a drop- in basis and the Mayne Island Assisted Living Society can help if you need a ride to get there.
This month we are greatly looking forward to a presentation by the Alzheimer's Society of British Columbia on the topic 'Heads up: An Introduction to Brain Health', but please note the change of time and venue, it will be held at the Community Centre on November 9th from 9:30 -11:30 am and will give us some advice on how to keep our minds in good shape as we age.
We are most truly grateful to those in the community who are stepping forward to help us in our campaign to raise money to enlarge the critical care area of the Health Centre, Nancy Rainsford, Don and Tracy DeRousie, Steve DeRousie, Carl and Sharon Bunnin, Millie Leathers and her Tupperware initiative, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce King, the Royal Canadian Legion, Ed and Bev McKenzie and Carol Kennedy. Thanks also to Mr. and Mrs. R. Newton for their donation to MIHCA.
We believe that our Health Centre is one of the most important buildings on the island and obviously many others think so too….thank you for your continued support.
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke, Chair, MIHCA
October 2011
Hello Everyone,
Many thanks to those who have already stepped up to the plate in support of our fund raising for the Emergency/Treatment Room: Richard Barker, Andrew McKay, Jane Wallace, Pat and Mel Seebach and St. Mary Magdalene Church, with your help we can make this project happen. Also thank you to Mrs. Pat McGiveron who has been a loyal supporter of ours for many years.
This month we are presenting Janet Holland from the Island Centre for Deaf and Hard of Hearing and she will be speaking on 'Hearing Loss, Communication and Aging', so meet us at the Ag Hall on October 26th at 1:30 pm for this informative presentation.
The annual Flu Clinic will be held on November 7th at the Community Centre from 1-3:30 pm all seniors and/or those with chronic illness are advised to have the flu shot, so best mark it on the calendar now so the opportunity won't be missed.
Download the Mayne Island Health Centre Fundraising Brochure
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, MIHCA
September 2011
Hello Everyone,
Hope that you all had a happy, healthy summer and enjoyed the company of all your visitors.
It is a great relief to have the new roof on the Health Centre which will withstand our wet weather for many years to come. We thank all of those who contributed to it by way of their heliport/health centre tax levy and many thanks to Per and his crew who made the undertaking virtually painless for the occupants and users of the Health Centre.
We would like to introduce our new Health Centre Operations Co-ordinator, Sandra Dumond, who will be ensuring that all runs smoothly for health care providers and clients. One of her responsibilities will be the renting of the Community Room and she can be reached at 250-539-3317 for this purpose.
Your MIHCA board has been occupied all summer with ongoing projects not the least of which was the annual award of the Helen Brittain Bursary to island residents undertaking further education in the health and wellness fields. This year we split the bursary three ways and the recipients were Marion Brlecic, who is entering the final phase of a Cardiology Technology program at BCIT, Chris Rowand who is engaged in the clinical practice internship phase of his MA in Counselling Psychology and Colleen Wadsworth who has enrolled in a Medical Transcription course through Canscribe Career College. We are delighted to have so many candidates apply for our bursary and we wish them well in their fields of endeavour.
Thanks to Pat Mauch, one of our tireless directors, the fall Lecture Series events have been finalized. This month Dr. Martha Reid (a former recipient of the Helen Brittain Bursary) and now a Naturopathic Family Physician will be here Sept. 21st 1:30 pm at the Ag Hall to help us learn quick and natural remedies to support our immune systems.
And finally a few words about the Mayne Island Health Centre Association's big project for the coming year, which will be to fund raise for an extension to our Emergency Room wing. As most of you who regularly visit the health centre know our ER is used for a multitude of purposes by many of the health care professionals. This has resulted in the space being crowded, difficult to work in and a challenge to clean. We need one room that is dedicated to the treatment of emergencies only and, with the advent of 'super bugs', a second room that can be used as a treatment/isolation area for possibly infectious cases. Both these rooms need to be uncluttered and easily cleaned. We also need a lot more enclosed storage space for supplies and equipment to avoid their contamination by antibiotic resistant bacteria.
This can be accomplished by enlarging the present ER wing by 350 sq.ft. and to do this we hope to raise $100,000. We feel sure that the majority of Mayne Islanders greatly value their Health Centre and given the opportunity would choose to contribute financially to ensure that it remains a facility in which their medical needs and the needs of their health care professionals can be safely met.
Please support our campaign by making a donation to MIHCA for this purpose.
Cilla Brooke
Chair, MIHCA
August 2011
Hello Everyone,
Hope that you are all enjoying the summer activities and visits from family and friends all of which can result in more after hours calls to our health professionals. So I thought it might be appropriate to revisit my article of December in which I outlined the steps necessary to contact the on call doctor/nurse if necessary.
Every month there is as doctor/nurse on call schedule printed in the Mayneliner for the current month. Because there are several people who take call when the office is closed it is important that you have some idea how this schedule works, so please have a look at it when you are not pressured by a medical event and then tear it out and put it close to your phone so that you can find it easily should the need arise.
For four days every month there is no doctor or nurse on the island taking call so you will be speaking to a doctor on Pender Island.
In brief:
1) For emergency and ambulance always call 911
2) If you want to talk to the doctor/nurse on call either follow the directions on the on call schedule or call the clinic 250-539-2312 and with pencil and paper in hand take the time to listen to the entire recorded message. You will be directed to an answering service which will request that you leave your telephone number and the doctor/nurse will get back to you. If you hang up without leaving your phone number as requested, the doctor/nurse will be unable to return your call. If there is no return to your call within 15 minutes phone again or if your situation becomes more urgent call 911.
Our thanks this month go to Dan & Pamela Stanton and Marion Rea for their generous donations to MIHCA.
Enjoy the sunshine,
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, Mayne Island Health Centre Association.
July 2011
Hi Everyone,
On May 28th we held our first ever Donor Recognition Tea at the Community Centre when we were able to personally thank over sixty of our faithful supporters for their financial donations to MIHCA. All of our community programs, the first aid courses, lecture series, Helen Brittain Bursary etc., which are of benefit to all islanders are funded by donation and we can never say thank you often enough to those who remember us in their gift giving.
The 55 Alive Driver Refresher Course was quite an eye opener to those of us who took it. It certainly reinforces the fact that none of us should be complacent about our driving skills if we have not been re-tested since originally obtaining our licenses, and that a course such as this makes us safer drivers and improves our confidence when driving in new areas.
We will be taking a little break from our lecture series over the summer months but plan to start back on September 21st with Martha Reid, one of our Helen Brittain Bursary winners in 2009 and now a registered Naturopathic Physician, speaking to us on ‘Naturopathy and Building the Immune System’.
More thanks this month to Alan and Jeanne Cheek, Maureen Pearl, Ed and Ann Wright, Nick and Janet Cooke and Jim and Anne Hill.
Hope that you all have a happy, healthy summer.
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, MIHCA
June 2011
Hello Everyone,
Well the AGM is done and dusted for another year and we welcome the three brave souls, Sharon Bunnin, Millie Leathers and Judy Taylor who have become our new board members. Together with Barbara Baker, Maxine Holmgren, Neil Howard, Pat Mauch, Fred Sexsmith and myself they make up the intrepid crew dedicated to keeping the MIHCA boat afloat for another year! We were very pleased that Gary Akey, the MIID trustee assigned to the health centre/heliport brief took the time to attend the meeting also.
At the AGM we were delighted to hear from our 2010 Helen Brittain Bursary winners, Katherine Somerville and Chris Rowand, both of whom have been working very hard to complete their studies in lab. technology and clinical counseling respectively. We look forward in the future to seeing them working on the Southern Gulf Islands.
We were also thrilled to hear that our Nurse Practitioner, Leanne Hale, was the winner of the UVIC NP Preceptor of the Year Award for outstanding mentorship of nurse practitioner students. Congratulations, Leanne, we are so proud of you and grateful for all you do for the people of the island.
Grateful also to Shirley Heslip and Jean and Claudine Bore, our ever generous donors.
There is still time to sign up for the 55 Alive Driver Refresher Course scheduled for the afternoons of June 8th and 15th at the Ag. Hall. The course comes highly recommended by our long time friend Sue Couch for all of us who want to continue to drive safely ‘off island’ in the coming years. Call me for details (3553).
Stay well.
Cilla Brooke, Chair, MIHCA.
May 2011
Hi Everyone,
Just want to start by saying a huge thank you to the out going trustees of the MIID board who have been so supportive of the Health Centre and MIHCA in the past year. It has been great working with them.
As our own AGM is coming up this month it is time for us to say farewell to Jessica Easton, Katja Korinth and Carole Peacock who have been terrific board members and to whom we are forever grateful. They will be truly missed.
As mentioned in the last Mayneliner, MIHCA is sponsoring a 55 Alive, Driver Refresher Course which will take place on the afternoons of June 8th and June 15th from 1-4:30 p.m at the Ag Hall. Please let me know if you are interested as numbers are limited. The cost will depend on the number of people registered but will be approx. $60 -$65 per person for the full course.
MIHCA AGM is scheduled for May 14th 2 p.m. at the Church House. For your information we have included our Year in Review summary in this issue.
Our thanks for donations this month go to Julia Hall and all the anonymous donors who do not wish to be recognized but are very special to us.
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke.
Chair, MIHCA
April 2011
Hi Everyone,
Well it is almost Spring and time to resolutely get back to that exercise program before attacking the seasonal gardening!
Our AGM is coming up on the May 14th 2011, 2 p.m. at Church House and we invite you to come and see what we have accomplished this last year and have a peek at what is coming up for the next one.
In April we are co-sponsoring with Mental Health on Mayne a panel discussion and forum on ‘Alcohol and Drugs on the Island: How to Make a Difference’. This presentation is aimed at increasing the awareness of alcohol and drug use on the island and how family, friends and the community can support individuals and families faced with these issues. It will be on April 13th 2011, 1-3:30 p.m. at the Ag. Hall.
We are also hoping to bring to the island in the near future the 55 Alive Driver Refresher Course. This course is designed to help drivers maintain their independence and their driving privileges. It is a 2 part classroom based course (two afternoons, one week apart) and will cost approx. $65/person. If anyone is interested in taking it, please could you contact me immediately as we expect it to be quite a popular course and we need to get planning on when and where to hold it.
Many many thanks this month for donations from Millie Leathers, Jean and Claudine Bore, and in memory of our dear friend Betty Taylor, gifts from Mrs. K Wright of Delta and Anne Williams of Vancouver.
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, MIHCA
March 2011
Hello Everyone,
Our next Speaker Series presentation on March 3rd, 1:30 p.m. at the Ag. Hall is ‘Fair Pharmacare and You – understanding how Fair Pharmacare works for you’. We are grateful to one of our own directors Pat Mauch for obtaining the information and presenting this topic for us. There will be handouts and all are welcome to attend.
MIHCA is sponsoring another First Aid, CPR/AED course on March 9th 2011 from 12-4p.m. and there are still a few spaces available. If you are interested in participating call Cilla (3553) for details.
The Grief Support group is meeting quite regularly now. To learn about it contact Jessica Easton for venue and time.
Many thanks this month to our generous donors, Millie Leathers, Judy Waddell, Dave King, and Blair and Arlyn Ledingham, without whose invaluable support none of the above would be possible.
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, MIHCA.
February 2011
Hi Everyone,
Now that we are all over the holiday season and getting everything cleared up and put away, I thought I’d just like to address the issue of disposing of out of date/unwanted medication, whether it be of the prescription or the over the counter (OTC) variety.
Please do NOT flush any of it down the toilet or put it in the regular garbage. I have done a survey of all the drug stores in Sidney and they all will take pills of any variety as long as they are removed from their plastic containers or foil sleeves and put in a sealable plastic bag. The containers can be recycled (by you) once the labels are removed. In the case of creams/drops and liquids only Safeway seems able to dispose of these easily. Although all the drug stores will take any person’s medications they would prefer it if you used your regular drug store for this free service.
And speaking of medications: just a heads up on our Speaker Series topic in March which is ‘Updates on Fair Pharmacare’ and will be of interest to those of us whose medication costs increase faster than do our pensions! Date and time will be in the next Mayneliner.
Our heartfelt thanks this month go to Sally Stevens, Ed and Dorothy Hunter and Pauline Marshall for their generous donations to MIHCA.
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, Mayne island Health Centre Association.
January 2011
Happy New Year!
A brief note this month to inform you of the Speaker Series talk for January which is by Dr. Reg. Smith, who is one of the directors of the Victoria Heart Institute Foundation and will speak on ‘Anticoagulants’. His presentation is directed specifically to those taking blood thinners (Warfarin) and is very informative. He will be here on January 28th, 1:30 pm at the Ag Hall and we encourage all who are taking blood thinners to try and attend.
The Grief Support Group will meet again on Thursday, January 20th 2011 @ 7 pm in the Community Room on the lower level of the Health Centre.
Many, many thanks to those of you, who in the true spirit of Christmas made generous donations to MIHCA, Erick and Joyce Nordquist, Alan & Jeanne Cheek, and in memory of Jim Couch to help with the purchase of the AED’s, Bertha Foyle, Ken & Marlie Chubb, Don & Sylvia Slinn, Hilda Copson, Sharon Macleod, Ron & Mary Newton, Bonnie and Ray Hagkull, Kara Williams, Sally Craig, Alan & Jeanne Cheek and numerous anonymous donors.
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, Mayne Island Health Centre Association.
December 2010
Hello Everyone,
Now that the holiday season is fast approaching with our medical staff scheduled for some days off it might be a good time to review the doctor/nurse on call schedule printed in the Mayneliner. At first glance it might appear somewhat complicated but the doctor and her staff spend considerable time each month, ensuring that we all know who is in the office and/or who is on call when the office is closed every day each month. Because there are several people who take call when the office is closed this is not as straightforward as it may seem but we can assure you that there is a doctor or nurse available to talk to you 24/7.
Having a good look at the schedule when you are not pressured by a medical event is a wise thing to do , but if you don’t get around to it and you are in a panic, remember that for emergencies and ambulance always call 911. If you want to talk to a doctor or nurse, call the clinic at 250-539-2312 and with a pencil and paper in hand take the time to listen to the message in full. You will be directed to an answering service which will request that you leave your telephone number and the doctor/nurse will get back to you. If you get annoyed and hang up without leaving a number, no one will be able to get back to you (and whoever has been woken up by the pager going off will be as annoyed and frustrated as you are!!)
The Grief Support Group that was initiated at the forum on Grief, Loss and Loneliness will be meeting on December 9th at 7 p.m. in the Lower Level of the Health Centre. The meeting will be facilitated by Jessica Easton and is open to all.
Our sincerest thanks this month to our generous donors, Jean and Claudine Bore, Dave Ewanchuk and Karen Proctor, Alice Rigby and Wally and Mary Bushnell…you are our Special Angels.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and happiness and good health in the coming year.
Cilla Brooke, Jessica Easton, Fred Sexsmith, Neil Howard, Katja Korinth, Carole Peacock, Pat Mauch, Barbara Baker, Maxine Holmgren.
Board of Directors of the Mayne Island Health Centre Association.
November 2010
Hello everyone,
Our membership drive has been in full swing this summer/fall at the farmer's market and Tru Value with many renewing their memberships and learning more about the AEDs and their importance. For those who have not caught us yet, you can still donate at the Health Centre or Tru Value - just ask how. You do not need to have a membership to use the services but it is an important gesture of support for the community health services available. We would also like to acknowledge Tosh and Mitzi Saito as donors this fall.
Our Nurse Practitioner, Leanne Hale is presenting a workshop on ‘Stress, its physical and mental ramifications, diagnosis and management’ on November 16th from 1:30pm-3:00pm in the meeting room on the Lower Level of the Health Centre.
Our Mental Health Advisory Group has prepared many presentations for us this fall. The October talks will be followed up with a discussion by Margaret Fletcher, December 1, 2010 1:00pm-3:00pm at the Ag hall on 'Grief, loss and practical tips for managing the holidays'. Margaret is a Registered Clinical Counselor with Delta Hospice Society and Palliative Consultation Team.
The speaker series presentations have been very well received with a good turnout. The one everyone has been waiting for will actually happen November 22 at 1:30pm-3:30pm at the Ag hall. After a number of changes in schedule, Alan Cassels, the co-author of the book "Selling Sickness" will present his views on the role of the pharmaceutical industry in helping to create and market illness. Don't miss this one!
The seasonal flu clinic for the 65 yrs+ and those with chronic illness will be held on November 22nd at the Community Centre from 1330-1600 hrs. Remember to take your Care Card with you when you go.
Stay well!
Pat Mauch, on behalf of the directors of Mayne Island Health Centre Association.
October 2010
It came to my attention again this summer that there is still
a whole lot of confusion re the role of the Mayne Island Improvement
District and the Mayne Island Health Centre Association in the
running of our Health Centre, so at the risk of boring some of
you to sobs bear with me as we run through the facts again.
The Mayne Island Improvement District (MIID)
owns the land on which the Health Centre and Heliport was built
and as of 2007 by virtue of letters patent it took over the responsibility
of maintaining the Health Centre and Heliport from the Mayne Island
Health Centre Association.
In 2007 the heliport needed substantial upgrading in order to
meet the minimum standards required by the Department of Transportation
if the emergency helicopter service was to be continued. The MIID
obtained a funding loan to complete these upgrades. Similarly
a further loan was obtained in 2007 to buy the emergency generator
that services both the health centre and the fire hall. Both of
these loans and the continued maintenance/renovations of the health
centre and heliport are now being funded by the Health Centre/Heliport
tax levy that was instituted in 2007.
The Mayne Island Health Centre Association (MIHCA)
is a registered charity that no longer has to raise money for
the general maintenance of the health centre and heliport but
does by virtue of donations and the rent of some of the tenants
of the health centre provide office and medical equipment for
the health centre and financially supports such programs and initiatives
as the purchase of the AEDs for the island, First Aid courses,
the Speaker series, the Helen Brittain Bursary etc.
The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA)
pays the salaries of the physicians and all the various nurses,
counselors, and lab techs. who are employed on the Southern Gulf
Islands plus it provides most of the capital equipment and supplies
for the emergency treatment rooms.
The British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS) is responsible for
all things pertaining to the ambulance service.
The First Responders are under the auspices
of the Mayne Island Fire Department.
So it can be seen that there are numerous players involved in
the funding of health care on this island.
This brings me to the subject of the Health Centre/Heliport tax
levy which has been and still is the cause of much dissension
on the island. As can be seen from the above it is a necessary
evil if we are to continue to maintain/ renovate the health centre
(which at most recent count has 14 different disciplines working
out of it) and the vital heliport, so it is hard to understand
why at the time of writing there is still $20,674.00 in outstanding
tax levies dating from 2007 to the present. This means that sum
of money is unavailable to pay for such necessities as replacing
the health centre roof (urgent), upgrading its heating/ventilation/
air conditioning system or enlarging the emergency treatment room.
The cost of trying to garner these unpaid levies further depletes
the monies available to do the above and it also means that the
money that the rest of us have paid is being ‘wasted’
on chasing down the delinquent taxes.
So I would like to take this opportunity to implore those of
you who have reservations about paying this levy to imagine what
it could be like to live here without a fully functional health
centre and heliport and at the same time to remember that it is
the probably the only tax that you pay of which 100% stays on
the island solely for the benefit of island folk.
Please, if you value the health care services that are available
on the island, pay your Health Centre/Heliport tax levy so that
we can all continue to share the resulting benefits.
Come and join us for the amazing movie “Temple Grandin”
at the Ag Hall on October 14th 2010 at 7 p.m and on October 27th
at 1p.m our own Jessica Easton talks on “Grief, Loss and
Loneliness” .
And finally for those of you who are waiting with bated breath…Alan
Cassels has promised us he will be here on November 22nd 2010,
1:30 p.m. at the Ag Hall with his lecture “Is Disease Mongering
the Greatest Threat to Health Care?”
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, Mayne Island Health Centre Association.
Sept 2010
Hello Everyone,
Now that summer is over our thanks to locums Drs. Michael Jeanes,
Peter Lolland and Robert Bousquet for caring for us so well during
Dr. Losier’s absence. It is a time to remember how fortunate
we are to have continuous medical coverage year round on this
small island.
This year we had more excellent candidates apply for the Helen
Brittain Bursary and we chose to divide it between Katherine Somerville,
who is about to embark on a laboratory technician training course
and Chris Rowand who is already working towards a Master of Arts
in Counseling Psychology. Both of these candidates hope to be
employed on the Southern Gulf Islands in the future.
Thirty-nine islanders qualified in the two Cardiopulmonary/AED
training courses that we sponsored at the end of June and there
will be another course in November for which we already have a
considerable waiting list.
The Mental Health Advisory Group have been diligently working
away on their fall programs and just to give you a hint, there
will be a movie night on October 14th. 2010, 7p.m at the Ag Hall,
the documentary is about Autism. Also scheduled is a talk on ‘Grief,
Loss and Loneliness’ on October 27th 2010, 1-4p.m at the
Ag Hall and one on ‘Dealing with the Holidays’ on
December 1st 2010. More details on these presentations closer
to the time.
We have been working on rescheduling Alan Cassels with his lecture
‘Is Disease Mongering the Greatest Threat to Healthcare?’
He has promised to come some time in September but at press time
has not committed to a date; so watch for posters advertising
time and place in the coming weels.
Tons of thanks for contributions from Jim and Mary Cooper, Bill
and Eunice Liversidge, Dan and Pamela Stanton, Jason and Jeanne
Gordon, those of you who choose to donate anonymously through
the box at the Health Centre and the TruValue donation initiative.
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, Mayne Island Health Centre Association
July 2010
Hello Everyone,
Well it has been a busy and productive spring and we are looking forward to having a little break from meetings and planning and renovations and some time to recharge our batteries.
Hope you too are ready for summer and the expected visits of family and friends. Just to remind you, we do not have a pharmacy on the island and sometimes no on site physician, so it is always wise to advise visitors to bring sufficient quantities of prescription medications and necessary medical supplies to last for the duration of their visit.
I’d like to recognize this month John and Jeannine Dodds and their invaluable Mayne Island Courier service. John and Jeannine have spent countless hours over the years delivering our lab samples to hospitals in Victoria and searching the subterranean depths of these edifices for medical equipment and supplies, pharmaceuticals and vaccines etc. earmarked for Mayne. This has often been no easy task as procedures and personnel change without notice and it is only thanks to their experience and personal commitment to the service that we are never without what we need. We are sincerely grateful.
We are delighted to welcome to the Health Centre, Jennifer Bentham, a Registered Acupuncturist, who many of us already know. Jennifer can be contacted at 250-884-9565 for appointments.
Unfortunately our planned lecture by Alan Cassels was cancelled at the eleventh hour but we are hoping that we can rebook it for September. We’ll keep you posted.
Many, many thanks go to the Mayne Island Quilt Guild for a wonderful donation towards an AED and to Fred and Sally Sexsmith for their continued generosity to MIHCA.
Have a healthy, safe and happy, summer.
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, MIHCA.
June 2010
Hello Everyone,
A brief note this month!
The Health Centre is in the midst of renovations to the Lower Level and we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused the health professionals who use that level and to TOPS, the Senior Resource Centre and AA who have had their meeting place disrupted. However we are very grateful to Brian Crumblehulme, Brian Westby and all the trades who have managed to keep the disturbance to a minimum and the project on schedule.
At our AGM on May 1st 2010, we welcomed two new members, Barbara Baker and Maxine Holmgren to the board and we look forward to their input in the coming months.
On June 30th 2010, we are planning to do two CPR/AED training sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Please call me (3553) for further details and to register. These sessions are sponsored by MIHCA to help us help each other in the event of a sudden cardiac incident.
Many thanks go to Shirley Heslip and Judy Waddell this month for generous donations to our society.
Stay well.
Cilla Brooke, Chair, Mayne Island Health Centre Association.
May 2010
Hello Everyone,
AGM month is upon us again, so it is a good time for me to say thank you to the Mayne Island Improvement District (MIID) trustees who have been so supportive of the Health Centre during their time in office.
The MIID and MIHCA are ‘partners’ in the running of the health centre, in that the MIID administers the funds collected through the Health Centre/Heliport tax levy which go towards maintenance/renovation of the building/heliport while MIHCA purchases much of the capital equipment for the centre and supports the medical professionals in the provision of health care programs on the island. In the last two years we have had a great partnership and it has been a pleasure working with the Improvement District trustees.
Our board will be saying goodbye to Susan Atha (secretary) and Pat Gasston (director), both of whom have been wonderful board members and will be greatly missed by the rest of us. Thank you, Sue and Pat for your dedication to the work of the Mayne Island Health Centre Association.
This is the second year that we shall be offering our Helen Brittain Bursary to an island resident(s) wishing to enter into a health related education program. Further details can be found in the advertisement in this issue of the Mayneliner.
Coming up this month, our Speaker Series presenter is Alan Cassels, whose presentation “Is Disease Mongering the Greatest Threat to Healthcare?” has been well received on several Gulf Islands and is scheduled for May 28th 2010 at 1:30 p.m. at the Ag Hall.
Under the auspices of Ovarian Cancer Canada, Elizabeth Herejk, will be presenting “Listen to the Whispers” which is an information session on the signs/symptoms/diagnosis of ovarian cancer, May 10th 2010 at 1:30 p.m. at the Ag Hall.
And the Mental Health Advisory Group will be meeting on May 31st. 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Library. If you are interested and have any ideas as to how we can further the cause of mental health care on the island, please consider attending this meeting.
Last, but never least, another sincere thank you to Alan and Jeanne Cheek, who although they have left the island remember us in their gifts.
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke, Chair
Mayne Island Health Centre Association.
April 2010
Hello Everyone,
There is a lot of news from us in the Mayneliner this month, so I shall try and make my notes as brief as possible.
My personal thanks go to the wonderful MIHCA board members who have made my ‘job’ such a joy this year. Sue Atha, Jessica Easton, Pat Gasston, Neil Howard, Katja Korinth, Pat Mauch, Carole Peacock and Fred Sexsmith, you are the best!
Included in this issue is our ‘Year in Review’ and our AGM is coming up on Saturday, May 1st 2010, 1:30 p.m. at Church House so please come, update your membership and give us your feedback on how we are doing.
Also included in this issue is the summary of our ‘Operation AED’ which has been an ongoing project for this year. We are thrilled and grateful to have had the support of so many community societies/members in this endeavour.
We shall be providing re-certification courses in CPR and the use of the Automated External Defibrillator to any of you who have taken a First Aid course in the last three years, so please get in touch with me if you are interested in polishing up your skills this spring.
Thank you Jean and Claudine Bore, and Mrs. Pat McGiveron for your generosity, as you know, we couldn’t do any of the above without your help.
Stay well,
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, Mayne Island Health Centre Association
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OPERATION ‘AED’
BACKGROUND
In Canada 35,000 to 45,000 people die of sudden cardiac arrest each year.
Sudden cardiac arrest is the sudden and unexpected loss of heart function in a person. It most often occurs when the electrical system of the heart becomes chaotic, causing the heart to stop beating effectively. This will lead to death if not promptly treated.
In some cases Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) alone cannot restore a normal heart rhythm. A ‘shock’ from a defibrillator is the most effective way to restore the heart’s normal pumping rhythm and to be successful it should ideally be delivered within 5 minutes of the arrest.
An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a device containing sophisticated electronics used to identify cardiac rhythms and to deliver a shock to correct abnormal electrical activity in the heart.
An AED is safe and easy to use and can be used effectively by trained medical and non-medical individuals.
For every one minute delay in defibrillation, the survival rate of a cardiac arrest victim decreases by 7-10%, therefore after 12 minutes the survival rate of adults is less than 5%.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada recommends that Canadians have widespread access to automated external defibrillators and be trained and encouraged to apply CPR and AED skills when needed.
In the last three years the Mayne Island Health Centre Association has sponsored more than 100 individuals to receive training in current techniques of CPR and the use of an AED and we feel we are now in the position to provide a limited number of AEDs for the island.
Our plan was to install them in places where the majority of the population either congregate and /or partake in strenuous activity, namely the Mall, the Community Centre and the Ag. Hall.
We have approached the owner and tenants of the Mall and the boards of the two societies and they are in full support of having an AED installed in each of the three areas. We are therefore planning to have this done within the next couple of months.
Each AED costs approx. $2000 and we are most sincerely grateful to the Ag. Society, the Lions, the Silver Maynes, Dereck and Sue Atha and other donors who wish to remain anonymous, for their generosity in helping us to partially fund this project.
The Mayne Island Health Centre Association will continue to provide CPR and AED courses to ensure that as many people as possible are trained in current techniques of CPR and the use of the AED. After all it is knowledge that could save a life.
Cilla Brooke,
Chair, Mayne Island Health Centre Association |
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