That the Mayor, on behalf of Council, provide a letter of support to AVI Health and Community Services Society for additional funding in order to expand primary care services.
it. Thank you. We have a really dire need for accessible, community based primary care. There's about 20,000 people in Nanaimo who don't have a primary. Health care provider. So this community health center would be really directly responding to that need. With this team based approach, they could care for up to 2700 individuals. So that supports people who are unattached, who would be living. With currently complex health conditions or experiencing barriers to accessing healthcare. And this would give them that access to primary health care. I know that, Avi. Is really most known in the community for their work in harm reduction and supporting people who use substances. But my understanding is that this community health clinic is not designed exclusively or even primarily to serve that population. It's really meant to serve the broader community's primary care needs and that includes people in that neighborhood who are underserved by. The current healthcare system. Including people with low incomes who. Are living with disabilities on income assistance and people with complex health conditions who would really, really benefit. From having access to primary health care. So it's not about duplicating services that may already exist there. It's really about addressing. These gaps in the continuum of care and the more primary health care that we have accessible in the community. That really takes pressure off. Like our emergency room. And it provides people an opportunity to stay well. And to get access to the healthcare services that they really need before it becomes an emergency situation. And this is going to potentially be a new point of care for people. Who at this point aren't able to access a family doctor or nurse practitioner, so I'm happy to support this. And I would hope that council would see the benefit of providing a letter of support. Thank
Manley. Thank you, worship? The first paragraph. of the request for support says we are seeking your support for avi and an ima to become a publicly funded community health center this would enable us to add low barrier primary care attachment to our existing substance use STBI and mental health services and provide comprehensive team based care to more than 2500 Naimo residents who live with complex health challenges. My concern with this is that. If it was island Health coming to us, offering this service. Not an outside group coming and saying and being possibly working with Island Health, that would be fine. But I want to hear it from island house first. And they are the ones that, of course, have opened up the new primary. Care center just behind. The country club mall. And I'm uncomfortable with opening this type of. Facility until it comes from the direction of island Health, I can't be assured that. They operate under exactly the same premises. And having worked in healthcare, For 40 years. I'm just not comfortable until I see them at the table offering this. To us.
I can't. Support primarily based. On the needs of the neighborhood, which have been paramount at this table. To understand that we could be adding health services to this building that is constantly up for debate. In terms of its impact on the neighborhood. while understanding that This applicant did not speak to anyone in the neighborhood. Is concerning for me. And just from a primary care standpoint, I have a whole bunch of questions. The 2700 folks that we are going to potentially attach with. This. Are we pulling family physicians from the regular family physician pool? I understand that the provincial budget has no money this year for community health centers, so this is future focused. I further understand that through a relationship with the primary care network Avi. Has available to them an application for nurse practitioner that doesn't require council approval. And finally, I think there's some inference that this would be open to the broader community. I cannot imagine. Someone from my neighborhood wanting to go see their family physician at 55 volts. Victoria, thank
you, worship. I just want to acknowledge the comments of councilor Eastmeer. And recognize my comments were not meant to be hurtful at all. I want to remind council, you can look in the budget. There is no money this year for community health centers. So this is premature, and it's causing angst. Avi, I understand, has access and is in conversations with the primary care network to bring in. A nurse practitioner. The primary care outreach team, which is a group of family physicians that deals with the folks who are primarily accessing 55 old Victoria go regularly. This is not a population without access to primary care. They're actually quite well served. In that arena because of the work of the primary care outreach team. So, your worship. I feel like. This is premature and causing unnecessary angsty conversation. Further, if island health and the primary care network and the Ministry of Health were on board. I would have preferred to have seen letters of support. And shows of support here tonight, so I cannot support it as is. That's not to say I won't consider it in future. But given the state of that neighborhood, I can't
you. Yeah. I find it discouraging that Abi hasn't had a conversation with Sika. Because I think that's an important. Conversation to have, but I do see that this is a proposed community health center that would be in partnership with the Nimble primary care Network, Island Health and the BC Ministry of Health. And so those collaborations are important. We do have 20,000 people who do not have care. With. A primary provider in this community that don't have a family doctor. People have to line up at six in the morning. To get into the walk in clinic just a few blocks away. At harbor park mall. Wherever they call it now. Port place. And we're seeing our emergency room overrun. It's impossible for me to say no to anything that's going to add additional care in this community. And yes, they're going to serve a population, and they have served the population. That. Raises concerns, but. They do also serve the lgbtq plus community. They serve other members of our community that need these kind of services. Including indigenous people. And. I think. Yeah. I can't be not supporting any efforts to have more community health centers in our community. At this stage. Thank you. Thank you,
this particular location. This council has voted to cease funding for the hub. This neighborhood has suffered far more than any other. Why this council should be supporting the pitch of one organization over another, because God knows who else. May want to apply. To seek a community health center which the government. 's talking about doing across the province, one over the other, I don't think we're qualified to do that. I don't think we're going to learn anything. More. Than what we've learned. And as I say, I'm just not prepared to inflict this on this neighborhood because we know already the incredible suffering that's taking place. We've made up our minds on one issue. So I won't