So, I just saw on Facebook that gymnastics sold out within about 30 seconds of registration being opened, and I interrupted a multipitch rock climb to register my kid for one of 18 spots in after school bike clinics, having never successfully managed to get him into a swimming lesson since he was 5 years old. Anyone trying to rent in this area knows we have issues. Anyone trying to raise a small being knows we are way beyond capacity to meet basic recreational programming needs. Anyone trying to secure a daycare spot… well.
The other day, I was visiting our wonderful Pemberton Medical Centre, and had to stop for some bloodwork. I assumed I’d just be able to walk in – you know, small town vibes – but there was a quiet line of folk dutifully waiting their turn and when I commented on how busy it was, Natalie Livermore said, “you should have seen Monday.” It was 10am, so she was still cheerful and kind to everyone who sat in her chair and rolled up their sleeves, calling people by name and making small talk with them, and I meditated for a while on the phrase “health care” and I couldn’t get passed the CARE part of the equation and how incredible it feels to have CARE offered towards you when you need it, and how miraculous it is that people who skew entirely differently from me and my brain, personality-wise and intellectually (ie practical, science-minded, organized, efficient) choose the health professions, and I got all emotional. And when I mentioned it to Natalie, to distract myself from her needle, she said, “now you know why I’m often on the community forum banging on about this place.” Our clinic is sized for a town of 1500, maybe less, and it serves a community that is topping out on 7000. And because the rest of the Sea to Sky corridor is growing at a pace, we are the last in line, always, for further infrastructure investment.
She said something that stuck with me, that when staff have to operate so far beyond their capacity to meet the demands of the community, the thing that suffers is that very word that had been holding me afloat. The care.
So, the best thing you can do at this moment is to take 15 mins and fill out the health Vision Sea to Sky Engage Vancouver Coastal Health survey before July 31.
Do you feel cynical about all these surveys we get asked to fill out? Ya. I feel you. Tatush Peters from Lil’wat shared a comment with me once that made me realize that what makes us cynical is the colonized nature of the surveys – the authority/survey holder takes all our feedback and information, sucks it up into their black hole, does what they want with it, and we never hear from them again, until they want something else from us. An indigenized process, as I learned when I started to read some texts on indigenous research, always closes the loop, bringing the information back to the survey respondents, here’s what we heard, how does that land with you, here’s what we learned, here’s how we think we will apply and respond. Oh, if only. Still, let’s keep dreaming our way towards wiser ways of being community.
And, in the meantime, battle the systems we have. If we don’t speak up then the handful of people who do will be deemed the authoritative ones. The bigger communities and the louder voices will absorb all the resources.
We need to let VCH know that our little clinic is in crisis, trying to serve a community that has tripled in population and isn’t showing any size of slowing down.
And this is the time because: “VCH is planning for the future in the fast growing Sea to Sky region, with an aim to maintain access to safe, high-quality health care now and in the future. To respond to the current and future health and wellness needs of the Sea to Sky corridor, VCH is developing an integrated high-level health services master plan for the Sea to Sky corridor, and specific health-related site plans for the Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton areas. The Sea to Sky integrated high-level master plan will address health and wellness needs as well as future population growth, seasonal fluctuations and aging projections for the Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton areas. The North Shore will also be considered because many people in the Sea to Sky corridor rely on North Shore health services and Lions Gate Hospital.”
We need to articulate and advocate for the care of our health care workers, before there’s nothing left of their brilliant compassionate energies.
So, please, instead of scrolling 15 mins on your device, take the survey. It’s mostly to provide your own personal demographic/identity info (I am not sure why it’s important that our gender and sexual persuasions are known, but I wasn’t asked any questions I don’t know the answer to), and the key health services you need or would prioritize.
If nothing else, filling out the survey will give VCH a clear indication that the Pemberton region has a very vocal and engaged population…
The Wellness Almanac 