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PQBNews: Flowerstone Family Health Clinic open in permanent Qualicum Beach location

Read the full news article here: https://www.pqbnews.com/news/flowerstone-family-health-clinic-open-in-permanent-qualicum-beach-location/

The provincial government says families in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area can benefit from improved access to health-care services with the Flowerstone Family Health Clinic now open at its permanent location at 744A Memorial Ave. in Qualicum Beach.

In a press release, Minister of Health Adrian Dix said clinic is making a difference in the lives of families by registering more residents without a primary care provider.

“The clinic is a strong example of how our primary care strategy is working to improve access to everyday health-care services throughout the province. It’s an important hub for the Oceanside Primary Care Network, which we announced last year, and it’s delivering co-ordinated and comprehensive team-based health care for people closer to home.”

The ministry’s release stated that in October 2020, the clinic opened temporarily for primary care services. To date, it has recruited five full-time equivalent (FTE) nurse practitioners, two FTE medical office assistants and an inter-professional health team, including a 0.5 FTE registered nurse and a 0.3 FTE pharmacist. Flowerstone is recruiting an additional FTE practitioner and two FTE physicians to join the multidisciplinary team.

READ MORE: Qualicum Beach welcomes new health care clinic

“People in our community deserve high quality and accessible primary care, and the Flowerstone Family Health Clinic, in its new and permanent location, will make a real difference,” said Adam Walker, MLA for Parksville-Qualicum, in an email to PQB News.

“Now that the clinic is in its permanent location, it will provide even more opportunities for people to get attached to a primary care provider. Team-based care helps address health issues in a comprehensive way, and for seniors or other people dealing with complex medical issues, the continuity of care and co-ordination of specialist services will be especially valuable.”

As of Jan. 21, 2022, there are 2,150 patients registered at the clinic. People who do not have a primary care provider and who live in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area, including Errington and Coombs to Bowser areas, can register online through the Health Connect Registry (HCR).

Patients can book virtual appointments with nurse practitioners Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In-person and same-day, team-based primary care appointments are available when necessary.

The provincial government will provide annual operating funding of approximately $1.9 million when fully staffed. $1.4 million has been provided for startup costs.

BC Gov News: Increasing access to primary care with new clinic in Oceanside

Read the full news release here: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022HLTH0003-000096

People and families in the Oceanside area are now benefiting from better access to primary health-care services with the opening of the Flowerstone Family Health Clinic in its permanent location at 744A Memorial Ave. in Qualicum Beach.

“The family health clinic in Qualicum is making a difference in the lives of families living in the area by registering more residents without a primary care provider,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “The clinic is a strong example of how our primary care strategy is working to improve access to everyday health-care services throughout the province. It’s an important hub for the Oceanside Primary Care Network, which we announced last year, and it’s delivering co-ordinated and comprehensive team-based health care for people closer to home.”

The Flowerstone Family Health Clinic provides Oceanside residents with more opportunities to get attached to a nurse practitioner or a family physician as their regular primary care provider and to receive the primary care they need. The clinic offers access to preventative and primary health-care services for patients with complex medical and social needs, mental-health and addictions challenges and co-ordination of specialist care.

In October 2020, the clinic opened temporarily for primary care services. To date, it has recruited five full-time equivalent (FTE) nurse practitioners, two FTE medical office assistants and an interprofessional health team, including a 0.5 FTE registered nurse and a 0.3 FTE pharmacist. Flowerstone is recruiting an additional FTE practitioner and two FTE physicians to join the multidisciplinary team.

“We know how important it is for people in our community to have access to primary care, and opening a primary care clinic in Oceanside will make a real difference,” said Adam Walker, MLA for Parksville-Qualicum. “Team-based care helps people address health issues in a comprehensive way, and this clinic will make it even easier for people to get the care they need.”

As of Jan. 21, 2022, 2,150 patients have been registered at the clinic. People who do not have a primary care provider and who live in Parksville, Qualicum Beach and Oceanside rural, which includes the Errington, and Coombs to Bowser areas, can register online through the Health Connect Registry (HCR).

Patients can book virtual appointments with nurse practitioners Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In-person and same-day, team-based primary care appointments are available when necessary.

The B.C. government will provide annual operating funding of approximately $1.9 million when fully staffed. $1.4 million has been provided for startup costs.

The clinic was developed as part of the Oceanside Primary Care Network, with Flowerstone Health Society, and in close collaboration with the nurse practitioners working in the clinic.

The Flowerstone Family Health Clinic is one of several initiatives being implemented through the Oceanside Primary Care Network, announced in September 2020.

Other key strategies specific to the Oceanside network include a patient medical home attachment clinic, an Indigenous health team, and a primary-care priority response team to prevent hospital admissions and readmissions among Oceanside’s priority populations.

Learn More:

People interested in the Flowerstone Family Health Clinic can register with the Health Connect Registry (HCR) online. New patients will be called on a first-come, first served basis off the HCR. Click here to register: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-connect-registry/oceanside

To learn more about the Province’s primary care strategy, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018PREM0034-001010

To learn more about the Province’s strategy to increase the number of nurse practitioners, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018HLTH0034-000995

To learn more about the Province’s strategy to recruit and retain more family medicine graduates, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018HLTH0052-001043

PQBNews: Qualicum Beach welcomes new health care clinic

Read the full article here: https://www.pqbnews.com/business/qualicum-beach-welcomes-new-health-care-clinic/

Qualicum Beach is going to have a new health care facility.

The Flowerstone Family Health Clinic, located at Unit 1B-219 Fern Road is set to open this month and will use a nurse practitioner-led model that offers patient-centered, continuous, comprehensive and co-ordinated care with a focus on all life stages of care.

The new model is called a Patient Medical Home, where family physicians and nurse practitioners work to their full scope and are complemented by a team of health care professionals either in practice, or connected to their practice, through their network.

Flowerstone Health Society, in partnership with the Oceanside Primary Care Network, aims to provide a community-driven approach to the development, governance and operation of a clinic that will serve as a Patient Medical Home for approximately 4,800 local residents in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area.

Oceanside Primary Care Network and the Flowerstone Health Society have worked closely with the Town of Qualicum Beach to bring this new service to the town and improve resident’s access to quality health care.

— NEWS Staff, submitted