MLA Report: Victoria-Beacon Hill

In our Neighbourhood: the James Bay Community Project

For over thirty years, James Bay residents, myself included, have had access to a wonderful, non-profit organization in our own backyard: the James Bay Community Project (JBCP). Located on Michigan Street, the JBCP provides our community with a comprehensive and functional model of primary health care, an approach that successfully addresses the wide variety of factors, from finding housing to caring for children, that affect each person's health.

The presence of numerous vital services under one roof - a health clinic with doctors and a nurse practitioner, family services, alternative care options, community and volunteer services, and more - encourages James Bay residents to adopt a more complete approach to personal health and wellbeing. Initiatives such as the JBCP's focus on helping clients manage chronic illness; for instance, reduce overall stress on our health care system by utilizing valuable resources in a more efficient manner.

Although the JBCP has long been involved in our community, caring for individuals and assisting in the establishment of other community organizations, its continued ability to provide quality care and community services has been jeopardized by government cutbacks to healthcare funding. In particular, the James Bay Community Project risks losing an essential member of its skilled staff: the nurse practitioner (NP). As highly trained clinicians working in partnership with physicians, NPs fill a valuable intermediary role in health care facilities such as the JBCP. Nurse practitioners are able to perform many of the same functions as physicians, integrating medical and nursing knowledge. They are often able to spend more time with patients, and can help relieve pressure on overburdened clinics where access to physicians is limited.

Together with the JBCP and James Bay residents, I have been advocating for a commitment from the Vancouver Island Health Authority for continued funding for the position of Nurse Practitioner at the JBCP. Further, I hope to meet personally with VIHA's CEO, Mr. Howard Waldner, in the coming months to discuss the issue of funding.

We all know how important the James Bay Community Project is to residents of our neighbourhood. I sincerely hope that in the coming years it will receive the funding it needs to continue functioning as a model for primary health care.