2013 Community Health Guide and ‘Save Our Northern Seniors’
By Kathy Smith
In 2002, Margaret Little’s mother-in-law was sick, in hospital, in Fort St. John. She began making a list of phone numbers she would need for her health care. When her own parents became ill, she expanded her search for appropriate health care contacts. Her research was the beginning of the Community Health Guide we have today. Little says “As I was working on the list, I realised that if I’m having this much difficulty, and I’m kind of in-the-know when it comes to phone books and health, maybe there’s someone else out there that might like this list too. I made a two page list and brought it to our seniors group (SONS for ‘Save Our Northern Seniors’). We were looking for projects that could make a difference in our community, and they said, if you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it right!”
Little saw a layered brochure in Fort St. John City Hall, and she liked how the sections were easy to identify. She approached Northern Health to find out what contact information they thought would be helpful. “It just kind of grew. That was the 2009 booklet. We made 10,000 copies of it, most of which went. They were well used, and I know our home support services here in Fort St. John uses them all the time. They give them out to people who come in,” says Little. “When you’re in a panic situation and you are under a lot of pressure to make the right decisions, this booklet really comes in handy.”
The booklet has sections for hospital, mental health and outpatient clinics; community rehabilitation programs; home support services; community home care nursing services; and a facilities/services/local community info section. When people move to northern communities for work, they often leave family members behind and can encounter health issues with their aging parents. Little suggests “If you go to the caregiver website, they have excellent suggestions on long distance caregiving, and tips for those doing the direct caregiving – all of the different aspects of it. Look on page 13, and you’ll see www.caregiverssolutions.ca. There are other helpful sites listed just below that. Once you go on the site, they send a regular newsletter out.”
Little says, “One of the saddest things I saw was when Jim’s (her husband) mom was in Pouce Coupe in the care home there. We went in and there were people from Fort Nelson – I was thinking, they are so far away from their families. It was very difficult to see that they wouldn’t have the support of family and friends, that people would normally have. You would have that if you had a facility right in your own hometown.
“Sometimes the argument you get when talking to people in bigger centres is that it takes them an hour to drive across the city. But if you look at our road conditions and the distances between Fort Nelson, Fort St. John, or even Grande Prairie, there’s no comparison – you’re not just driving on a paved road from Richmond to Surrey.”
Little’s husband Jim started the seniors group ‘SONS’. The group is working on getting more facilities in Fort St. John, which may in turn help people in Fort Nelson. She says they appear before the Northern Health Board every chance they get, and they always include Fort Nelson in their discussions. “We’re always reminding them that we need more facilities and more support in the north, and ‘please don’t forget about Fort Nelson!’”
Little says, “Without the support of our partners, the publication would not have been possible. This is truly a ‘made in the Peace / NRRM’ project that was completed by a team of dedicated people wanting to make a difference. How exciting it is to be able to present the 2013 model!”
She adds, “One of the purposes of the SONS was to provide clear processes for community members when they are seeking help for their loved ones. As well as hard copies of the Guide, every community has it on their website. Imagine our surprise when we received a call from the University of Victoria requesting information about our Guide.”
“Our task of raising over $38,000 was made so much easier when Northern Health told us they would be our primary partners by providing money, time, and updated information.”
Other partners who helped support the guide include Design Team, Cliffside Printing, Encana Corporation Calgary, EOG Resources Canada Inc. Calgary, Fort St. John Seniors Citizens Association Branch #58, Fort St. John Sunrise Rotary Club, Mackeno Ventures Margaret and Jim Little, Peace River Regional District, Jody and Pat Pimm, Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, North Peace Economic Development Commission-Northern Development Initiatives Trust-Myriad Consulting Inc, North Peace Savings & Credit Union Fort St. John, SONS, Shell Canada Fort St. John/Calgary, SPSASS (South Peace Seniors’ Access Services Society), TRAN-S-PORT HONDA, Tyron Professional Group/Tryon Land Surveying Ltd. Fort Nelson/ Fort St. John, and Woodlands Inn Fort Nelson.
To receive more guides, contact:
jalittle@awink.com, jleahy@shaw.ca, or Debbie.bruce@northernhealth.ca
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