The hosts of a new medical centre in Penticton are contributing $150,000 to opening its doors, and a 25-year-lease that will keep it there long-term.
The South Okanagan Similkameen Health Care Society (SOSHCS) announced the new support for the Colleen Schneider Medical Centre on June 17.
Community Futures, which owns the builiding the medical centre is located, is putting forward the funds and has signed the lease agreement for the project.
Once the renovations are completed, the clinic will provide space for walk-in care and primary care, with both doctors already in the community and new doctors from outside the community set to move in and serving patients in the region.
"This clinic is exactly what our community needs," said Martin Johansen, Vice Chair of the HCS Board and Mayor of Oliver. "The SOSHCS has been instrumental in advancing solutions for the health care challenges we face. The Colleen Schneider Medical Centre is a major step forward in ensuring we provide timely, accessible care for South Okanagan Similkameen residents."
Attracting doctors to the region is one of the goals of the new medical centre, offering spaces to practice while taking the administrative work that other clinics have to deal with off the doctor's shoulders. Three doctors from outside the region have been previously announced to be coming to the centre when it opens.
Walk-in services will also be available for patients who don't have a family doctor.
"Working at the Community Walk-In Clinic, I鈥檝e seen firsthand the need for more primary care infrastructure," said Dr Tom Oliver, family physician and Vice Chair of the South Okanagan Similkameen Division of Family Practice. "Not only does this give us a meaningful opportunity to help reduce strain on emergency departments, but also the new space to bring in more doctors to offer continuous care to more residents in our area."
The project has involved the support of multiple groups as well as the City of Penticton, including Community Futures, The SOS Community Foundation, SOS Division of Family Practice and the SOS Medical Foundation.
Community Futures had worked with the SOSHCS previously to open up the Apple Plaza walk-in clinic, the services of which will provided at the Colleen Schneider Medical Centre when it opens.
鈥淲e saw the primary-care crisis taking shape several years ago,鈥� said Charles Cornell, general manager of Community Futures Okanagan Similkameen. 鈥淲hen we learned about successes at the Ponderosa Primary Care Centre鈥攚e realized the the group behind it was one we could really get behind. 鈥�
The funding from COmmunity Futures will go towards the $2.1 million fundraising target for the medical centre.
More donations are still needed to reach that goal, and donations of any amount are welcome.
For people interested in supporting primary care in the South Okanagan Similkameen, donations can be made through the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen at .
