The Save Our Hospital Coalition believes that research is central to the development of
a sustainable health care model that will best serve the needs of the community.
Underlying this research is the understanding that each rural British Columbia
community is different and requires a unique model.
Other communities in BC have encountered health care problems that are similar to
those in Princeton and some of these communities have found solutions that work for
them. Through research and in cooperation with these communities, SOHC intends to
determine which strategies were most effective in the development of these models and
incorporate those components that best suit Princetonʼs unique needs.
Based on a recommendation from Janice Perrino, Mayor of Summerland, the SOHC
Executive visited the Keremeos Health Centre on May 29 and was given a tour of the
facility by Walter Despot, former mayor and chair of the committee that developed the
health care model for their community. Following this visit, Despot extended an
invitation to Princeton and Area elected officials and business representatives to tour
the facility. Subsequently, Brad Hope, Area H Regional Director and David Rainier,
representing Princetonʼs business community, toured the facility on June 11.
It is with good reason that Keremeos Health Centre was recommended as a successful
model of quality health care. Over a period of 14 years, Despot and his committee
developed and implemented a model of health care that meets the needs of their
community, incorporating Assisted Living, Residential Care, Mental Health, a Diagnosis
and Treatment Centre, Physiotherapy, Laboratory, Public Health, and Educational
facilities all under one roof. Despot described the facility as a “one stop shopping centre
for health”. Overall impressions of the facility were very positive and everyone who took
the tour agreed that it would be possible to include many aspects of the Keremeos
Health Centre in the development of an improved health care model for Princeton.
SOHC will continue to research successful models in other BC communities and will be
sharing the results of their research with the public in the near future. If any Princeton
and Area resident could recommend a BC community that operates a successful health
care model, please contact Ed Staples at 250-295-0822 or email at
edwardstaples8@gmail.com.
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