Dr. Charles Helm
Two recent items provide a window into what might be in store for Tumbler Ridge health care, following the September 2025 announcement by Northern Health on the closure of our emergency room after-hours and on weekends.
The first was a joint statement by the District of Tumbler Ridge and Northern Health on reopening our ER after-hours service. While short on detail, it included the sentence:
“We will be exploring innovative options, including virtual solutions, with a goal of re-establishing overnight and weekend emergency department services in the community while also providing sustainable primary and community care.”
What should we make of this statement? To me it is a step in the right direction (while we can legitimately ask why it took more than eight months to reach this point). Some might balk at the mention of ‘virtual options’, but the virtual care option (through VERRa) has been a cornerstone of what we have been asking for, not as a final solution, but as an interim solution until we can get our physician or nurse practitioner numbers back up to where they should be.
As Mayor Krakowka explained at the Let’s Talk session a few weeks ago, this joint statement was the result of intensive collaboration between him and the Northern Health CEO, Ciro Panessa. It is clear that our mayor and Panessa have developed a good working relationship, and our mayor assured us that Northern Health will deliver on their intention.
Trust is all-important. The trust between Tumbler Ridge and Northern Health, that had taken decades to nurture and develop, was destroyed in an instant in September when the health authority unilaterally told us about the ER closures without consulting us. Building it back will take time, but a good place to start is with one individual from each organization, in this case the Mayor and the Northern Health CEO.
We need to remain vigilant, ensuring that what is on offer is appropriate to our needs. But at the same time we can salute Mayor Krakowka and Panessa for getting us to the point where such a joint statement could be issued. And in the meantime, the ‘Tumbler Ridge example’ of resolute resistance against such dictatorial, ill-considered actions provides an example to emulate for other communities that might receive similar treatment.
The second item is a recent job posting for a permanent, full-time Site Manager for the Tumbler Ridge Health Centre. For years we have been informing Northern Health leadership that we want local leadership to come to the fore, rather than having our Health Centre managed from afar. I see this as hopefully an example of the health authority listening to the opinions of local leadership. If so, this would be another very positive development. Let us hope that someone suitably qualified applies for the position soon.
On both counts, there is reason for cautious optimism. And in the meantime, other initiatives, independent of the health authority, are gaining momentum: the TR Medical Conference is happening in July, hopefully to be followed by the Health Fair in September. Posting for the Health Navigator position for the Type 2 Diabetes remission project is imminent, with Tumbler Ridge as a pilot site. And Tumbler Ridge is also a pilot site for the Hybrid Care model that is being developed out of UNBC.
In summary, it is not time to let our guard down, but it is time to give kudos to the leaders whose collaborative work has allowed us to reach this point.
