Bowen Island is a community of 3,600 and many more in the summer, with one full-time doctor equivalent, when the Ministry of Health recommends a one doctor per 1,200 person ratio. We have no medical clinic with no regular after hours or urgent care service, no taxi, limited bus service, difficult terrain for seniors, and no ferry between 10 p.m. and 5 p.m. and mid day. This is a story Caring Circle Program Director Colleen O’Neil tells over and over again in her pleas to get off-island medical service deliverers to understand the on-the ground situation on Bowen. It is a story she told again at council last week. O’Neil, flanked by Caring Circle President Diane Marshall and Communications Director Julia McCaig went on to explain what Caring Circle does in a typical month in the hopes that the organization might qualify for core funding from the municipality, ensuring that the program director salary would be covered consistently, year after year.
In the past year, Caring Circle has connected 36 people needing a ride into town to get to medical appointments with volunteer drivers, organized three 6-week mental health programs, set up hearing screening clinics, and partnered with Seniors Keeping Young (SKY) to create a community lunch program. Really though, these examples don’t create a complete picture of what Caring Circle does, or what O’Neil takes-on in the average week or month.
“Other than our local physicians and home care nurses, who are incredibly busy, we have no leadership around advocating for improving access to health and wellness services. Caring Circle has really been the go-to organization for many people who have questions around access to health services and responding to those asking for health programming.” O’Neil told council. “We get calls asking, how do I get home care? How do I get a mental health assessment for a loved one? What about my neighbour who is living alone and completely vulnerable?”
In an interview with her following the council meeting, I reminded O’Neil that in her long list to council about the things she had done that month, she had forgotten to mention that on Sunday she picked up a medical bed from one of my neighbours.
“Oh yes,” she said, and went on to explain who the bed was for. This story melded into another one, and another. One of these stories started with a call from a social worker at Lion’s Gate Hospital, who could not get in touch with the person who was deemed, on paper, to be the caregiver of a 92 year-old Bowen Islander who was about to be discharged.
“The woman’s neighbour had been taking care of her, but she was burnt-out and could no longer take on that responsibility and had called me to tell me about the situation,” explains O’Neil. “The elderly woman being discharged was still very frail, had no way of getting around and was not very mobile in general. I explained the situation to the social worker, and I also explained the situation on Bowen, and I spent the next two days organizing things – like getting food delivered – for the patient. I told the neighbour that because she was no longer acting as the official care-giver, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) would take responsibility.”
O’Neil says that “discharge cases,” such as this one, where she ends up taking charge of a situation where a Bowen Islander is about to be released from hospital (or occasionally, has already been released) usually happen every couple months. These cases can require several days of leg-work on the phone.
She says she not only gets calls from hospital and VCH social workers, but also from geriatric outreach workers and adult mental health workers, and other health professionals working with Bowen patients on the mainland.
“I’ve developed relationships with these people now and there’s a sense of trust. Because of this, I can help people get the service they’re entitled to.”
Advocacy is another task Caring Circle, and O’Neil specifically, takes on.
She says that recently she was attempting to track down the person in charge of a new program being rolled out in trial communities (that have not been picked yet) aimed at filling healthcare gaps by funding paramedics who will take on extra work between emergency calls.
“We know that when it comes to the time to pick the trial communities for this program, they’ll be asking for a health-needs assessment. The Medical Clinic Society, which which grew out of Caring Circle’s work, had already written up an assessment for Bowen but I wanted to make sure we were asking the right questions. When I finally got through to the woman in charge of the program she told me that they had not gotten that far yet. So, then we got to talking about Bowen.”
The conversation lasted roughly an hour, says O’Neil, and it ended with the woman in charge of the paramedicine program being well-versed in the healthcare gaps on Bowen Island.
“She told me we need to stay in touch, and asked about my background. I think when I tell someone like this that I’ve worked at Lion’s Gate, Vancouver General Hospital and as a home care nurse on Bowen – that lends some credibility. Also, I do my homework. I’ve read the entire framework document for this paramedicine program, for example.”
O’Neil says that she wants to focus her efforts on this work, and connecting people in the community with the health-resources they need. However, researching and writing grants also swallows a lot of her time. In her first year working with Caring Circle, O’Neil says she took on the job as a volunteer. In 2014, Caring Circle received an age-friendly grant from the Province that covered her salary, but this year, the grant went to another community. Right now, she says, she is getting paid through philanthropist dollars, but she would rather that money be going into programming.
Through O’Neil’s presentation to council, O’Neil connected with Lorne Mayencourt, (Liberal Community Outreach), and Nicola Bentley from Jordan Sturdy’s office, who were very impressed with the work of Caring Circle. They offered to pass on a letter to Terry Lake (Minister of Health) appealing for financial support.
“Lorne Mayencourt seemed optimistic that there might be some funds for such an initiative,” says O’Neil. She adds that her hope is that for funding for the Caring Circle, and her position as Program Director, comes through the province.
“I know that Caring Circle’s model does not fit with anything that exists in the healthcare system right now, so it may seem unfamiliar, but I am hoping that the government sees that it can actually help alleviate strains in the system - especially in rural areas.”
