Digby 'needs health clinic'

Physicians who visit Digby are impressed by the quality of life the region offers, she says, and an incentive package supported by funds from town and municipality councils is also excellent—but doctors are looking for something more, she said. “We need a health clinic,” she said.

In an address last week to a joint session of town and municipal councils, LeBlanc shared plans for a two-level 12,000-square foot building with a price tag of $3 million.

The planned clinic has been developed by the Hospital Foundation’s health centre working group, which held its first meeting in July 2007.

LeBlanc said the former nurses residence adjacent to the hospital can be torn down, and the new clinic built in its place. It would be physically connected to the hospital by a covered pedway.

The new clinic would be a turnkey operation—a modern office with adjacent examining rooms so doctors can work as efficiently as possible. Those rooms need to be large enough to serve patients and access computerized files.

LeBlanc said the proposed clinic could accommodate six medical practices on the ground floor and six on the second floor.

There is also growing trend towards collaborative medicine, she said, with nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, nutritionists and pharmacists, so the building would accommodate these practices as well.

LeBlanc told the councilors a meeting room and set-up of a tele-health system is also part of the plan.

The tele-health video conferencing system makes it possible for physicians to consult with specialists in other centres without the patient traveling to those locations.

Easy access to the hospital is imperative, said LeBlanc, so doctors can provide service to their patients who are hospitalized.

LeBlanc asked municipal and town council to pool funds and come up with $500,000 in support of the project. She said the Hospital Foundation would match that amount.

Councilors asked if the “build it and they will come” adage applied to this situation, and LeBlanc responded that there are no guarantees.

She estimates there are 6,000 local people without a primary healthcare provider.

There is also great competition for doctors, said LeBlanc, so providing a building where a physician can easily set up a modern collaborative practice makes sense.

Digby’s deputy mayor Mike Bartlett asked if it would be possible to buy a seat in Dalhousie University’s Medical School. In this case, the town and municipality would finance a medical student’s training in exchange for a return-of-service contract.

LeBlanc replied that Shirley Watson-Poole, recruiter for South West Nova District Health Care, could better answer this question. Watson-Poole could not be reached for comment.

John Englehutt and Bonnie VanTassel, both members of the health centre working group, also addressed town and municipal councils.

Although the province has not indicated it will support the health centre project, Englehutt said Lunenburg County and Truro each have recently received $10 million grants from the province towards construction of recreation centres. Englehutt suggested a health clinic is as important, and urged councilors to put the heat on provincial politicians.