A place for nurse practitioners
As a nurse practitioner (NP) for the past three years I have packed up my things and left home to work in various communities around the province. I am often asked what nurse practitioners do and why there are not more NPs working to help alleviate the unattached patients here in Powell River as well as other parts of British Columbia [“Physicians work toward greater access,” April 15].
For the past two months I have worked in a clinic for unattached patients in Fort St. John where one NP and one physician see a steady stream of new patients. There I saw from 12 to 14 patients a day, all of whom I was seeing for the first time and came with a multitude of issues as they have been unable to see a health provider for some time. For most patients I have the expertise and ability to tend to their physical and emotional health needs; when I am unsure and need a more skilled set of eyes and opinion I consult with the physician I work with. If the physician is unsure I am able to refer that patient to an appropriate specialist.
An NP trained in the family stream is able to provide services to clients in all stages of life from prenatal patients and to the elderly. On an average day in a clinic an NP might see a number of different clinical scenarios including headaches, skin rashes, musculoskeletal and chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and depression.
I welcome the conversation on how health care services can be delivered in a more collaborative, efficient and effective delivery model utilizing nurse practitioners and other health care professions.
If you are concerned about the lack of health care practitioners and feel that NPs would be of benefit in your community please contact your local MLA Nicholas Simons or the minister of health Terry Lake.
Sara Mitchell-Banks
Marlatt Avenue
Removal of a treasure
When I last visited Powell River at the beginning of April, I read an article about proposed logging of forest between Townsite and Willingdon Beach along the trail. I thought it was part of the April Fools activity that was going on at the time. Now I am shocked to find out that is not the case [“Harvest plans cause stir,” April 29].
On the many visits and during time spent in Powell River, walking and biking the trail along the beach with my grandchildren has been a wonder to me. The forest environment along the coast there is a beautiful treasure for the whole community. At the very least I cannot believe that a permit has been issued to log between the highway and the beach.
What a contradiction in terms of all the efforts that have been put into Powell River’s profile as an attractive natural environment in which to live and recreate. That corridor between Townsite and “downtown” Powell River should be seen as a precious resource for the people to enjoy, not a potential clearcut.
When will the captains of industry develop a sense of values that goes beyond the almighty buck? What a tragedy if any of the area along the Willingdon beach trail is logged.
William Lytle-McGhee
Salmon Arm, BC
Kind neighbour
I was walking to the post office in the mall to purchase a stamp for my envelope to Canada Revenue Agency. It obviously fell out of my purse. I backtracked, enquired at different places and no one had seen it. I then went to First Credit Union to make my payment to Canada Revenue Agency and they made a note on the computer of the lost envelope.
When I returned home later that day someone had returned it directly to my home. They had slipped it under the door [“Community exceeds acts of kindness target,” July 16, 2014].
Whoever that was, I want to send a special note of appreciation: Your honest move moved me. You are a true example of a special person.
Marlene Rempel
Joyce Avenue
Chainsaws are screaming
Logging has begun and the chainsaws are screaming. So are people in Powell River [“Harvest plans cause stir,” April 29]. Island Timberlands owns some of the cutblocks they are logging including Valentine Mountain.
It is hoped that Valentine Mountain, scheduled for logging, will not be attacked in this present campaign.
The site that lies on both sides of Highway 101 from Millennium Park north to Townsite is the one site that will give the greatest immediate visual shock when it is clearcut. These two pieces of land are owned by a holding company called PRSC which itself is jointly owned by City of Powell River and Tla’amin (Sliammon) Nation through their own individual holding companies. But in a bizarre situation the trees on these two lots seem to belong to Island Timberlands.
This leaves a lot of questions, such as: What is the stipulation of the tree ownership on these two lots? Does Island Timberlands own all of the trees on these two lots or just the marketable trees and who decides which ones are marketable? Does Island Timberlands just own the logs and not the tree tops and the branches plus the stumps that are left behind? Is it allowed to destroy all of the other surrounding trees to get at its prey? And finally, shouldn’t Island Timberlands be responsible for a complete cleanup of the site? Shouldn’t the City and Tla’amin be insisting that a performance bond be posted to ensure that the cleanup is carried out by Island Timberlands in a complete and timely manner? And in the end, if nothing can be done, are the City and Tla’amin ready to step in and do a complete and immediate cleanup of this destruction on their own two lots themselves?
And a cleanup just cannot consist of pushing it into big piles and setting it all on fire.
Perhaps a stoppage of the logging on these two lots is in order until these items of concern are addressed.
Jerry Eskes
Drake Street
Ownership rights
Seems City of Powell River Mayor Dave Formosa and councillors were blindsided by Island Timberlands (IT) [“Harvest plans cause stir,” April 29]. IT is playing hardball with the mayor. Fortunately, the mayor has much more sophisticated tools at his disposal than chainsaws.
It is well to remember who “actually” owns the land. The Tla’amin (Sliammon) Nation treaty was ratified and will be implemented in 2016...so the land in question remains as Crown land governed by a conditional exclusive use contract known as private ownership. The Crown, acting on behalf of the citizens, may expropriate any and all land or resources previously “sold.”
How could the Crown buy back the conditional exclusive use contract from IT?
The Bank of Canada was chartered to supply capital to the three levels of government at zero or nominal interest. The Bank of Canada will not need to call in the capital advanced on the land acquisition due to the fact that the capital asset, the land, is appreciating and at any time in the future the land will be worth more than was originally advanced. The capital cost of the trees will not need to be repaid until the trees are mature and therefore begin to lose value.
We could selectively log on a self-sustaining basis. The monies received for the logs would be returned to the bank as the capital asset, the trees, is diminished. We could also use the revenue to replant and therefore increase the value of the total tree holding...meaning none of the monies provided by the bank would need to be returned to the bank.
We could stipulate that logs selectively harvested be processed into dimensional lumber by local mills which would competitively bid on the logs. The lumber could be sold directly by the mills or wholesaled to the local lumber yards...maximizing local participation.
The mayor has a powerful hand in this game of hardball IT foolishly opened.
Guy Hawkins
Lund, BC
Keep the forest standing
Without a doubt, there is a general consensus the forested areas in question should remain [“Harvest plans cause stir,” April 29]. Here you have a whole community, everybody, saying, this is what we want. There appears to be a disconnect here.
Richard Wright
Egmont Street
