Pender Harbour Health Centre

Description

The story of neighbours in the Pender Harbour area cooperating to provide their own health care began in 1929 In that year citizens volunteered their labour to build a hospital in Garden Bay People came by boat from nearby bays inlets and islands many hours away to work on their hospital By August 1930 St Marys was ready under the auspices of the Anglican Churchs Columbia Coast Mission to serve the community for three decades

The Sunshine Coast population grew faster on the southern end of the peninsula and in 1964 St Marys moved to a new building in Sechelt A promised quotmodern clinicquot in Madeira Park with minor surgical facilities and an quotactive qualified doctorquot did not happen The people of Pender Harbour lead by Jim Tyner petitioned the Ministry of Health and in 1971 had a public meeting with Ministry officials to voice concerns about the a inability of residents to easily access medical care At that time it took a 2 12 hour ambulance ride to get to the hospital Despite further assurances and promises nothing happened

Jim and Vi Tyner who were the quotparentsquot of the Health Centre

So in 1974 a nonprofit incorporated society was formed The initial building funding was obtained through the Ministry of Health and a Sunshine Coast Regional District taxation bylaw which was passed overwhelmingly by the area residents The Pender Harbour amp District Health Centre was then built once again with volunteer labour and total community supportand officially opened on December 8 1976

The Health Centre is wholly owned and operated by the Pender Harbour amp District Health Centre Society the notforprofit society incorporated in 1974 The PHHC serves Area A of the Sunshine Coast Regional District a geographically dispersed area covering 752 square miles with a full time population of approximately 3000 which more than doubles in the summer

PHHC Today
Since opening in 1976 the Health Centre has received two major expansions The first expansion was completed in 1996 and more than doubled overall space allowing for increased services from other health professionals to be made available to the community This expansion also provided some tenant rental income to help support our financial needs The final expansion was completed in December 2006 and the Health Centre now encompasses approximately 7000 square feet Our services include four major areas Nursing Services Doctors Services Dental Services and Specialists Services

Nursing Services The PHHC offers 3 primary nursing care services to the community Our RNs offer Venepuncture Lab Services and Ambulatory Care Services at the Health Centre and on the road Home Care Nursing into the community We have two senior Nurse Team Leaders and a number of casual RNs to support both the Clinic and Home Care services Normal hours are 800 am 400 pm Monday to Friday and we operate half days on Saturdays during the summer months We also offer a Continuing Diabetes Education program supported by a Registered Nurse and a Registered Dietician who are both Certified Diabetes Educators This program is unique to our Health Centre Additionally we actively support seniors s health through our involvement with the seniors Harbourside Friendships program and also provide support to both the Womens Wellness Program and a Youth Clinic Program It is important to note that our nursing services are provided free of charge to the publicwe do not receive any compensation through BC Medical Services Plan MSP and are dependent on other sources of funding for our operations Other Health Centre staff include an Administrator a Financial Services Manager a Clinical Office Manager and various contractors for maintenance janitorial and landscaping services

Doctors Services Trail Bay Doctor is a practice of four physicians who rotate between their Sechelt office and Madeira Park We have one doctor and receptionist on site daily They rent a dedicated wing in the Health Centre

Dental Services Sunshine Coast Dental Group is a full service dental practice that rotates their coverage between Gibsons and Madeira Park They rent another dedicated wing in the Health Centre

Mission Statement
To provide quality health care and respond to health related social needs in a respectful and caring environment

Vision
A leader in community health care