Editor, The Times:
My staff and I would like to thank the members of this community for their patience during what has proven to be a challenging summer. Many B.C. Communities with similar shortages of physicians have been forced to have emergency room closures. This has not been the case in Clearwater. I am certain that some of this can be attributed to our patients’ responsible use of medical services, particularly emergency ones. Many hospitals of similar size have close to twice as many emergency room visits annually without any better medical outcomes.
I would like to thank the various physicians that helped out during the summer, in particular Dr. Denis Thibodeau who was here three weeks out of four. Others include Dr. David Skinner, Dr. Jim Wiedrick, Dr. Ryan Tooby and Dr. Jason O’Connell. I would also like to thank Dr. Ray Markham and Dr. Harry Keyter from Valemount who filled out on some particularly understaffed days despite their own practice commitments.
In September we will have three physicians here most of the month. I know there are people who have been waiting for longer appointments such as check-ups, well-woman exams and driver’s forms so September would be a good time for you to arrange those appointments as we may not have as many physicians in October.
Senior medical students will be working with me during some of the fall months. I very much appreciate Clearwater patients’ contribution to their education. For many of them their experiences in Clearwater will be one of the highlights of medical school.
There will be a new physician joining the practice hopefully in November of this year. He is emigrating from the UK and his arrival is somewhat dependent upon the requirements of the licensing and emigration authorities.
John A. Soles, MD
Clearwater, B.C.
