Medical News _ Kitimat gets docs IF ALL goes according to plan, there should be a surge of new surgeons arriving in Kitimat in March. A. new orthopedic surgeon is due to arrive at Ki- timat General Hospital by March 1 - subject to one last hurdle. And a general surgeon should be here as early as March if his salary is approved by the health ministry. _Dr. VanderMervee, a South African orthopedic eon,.accepted an offer from the health council jas‘since been approved by the “Physi¢ians, All that remains ervee: getting immigration r, tim Mac- “thopedic surgeon should “arrive and be ‘ready to work in Kitimat by the beginning of March. - ce WanderMervee: will work on the normal a fee- for-service basis as there should be enough ortho- fy _, pedic patients from the area.to keep him in busi- ness. - Dr. Latif Sarkis, a general surgeon, has made a counter offer to: work in Kitimat. Because there may not be enough work for him to earn an ade- quate income under the fee-for-service system, a paid salaried position has been agreed upon by Sarkis and the community health council. How- ever, that salary has to be approved by the mini- stry. “In order to create the necessary economic con- ditions to lure and to keep a general surgeon in the area, a salaried position had to be offered,” ex- plained MacKenzie. , Sarkis hopes to have the dea! done within the next month as his current obligations in Manitoba end in three weeks. The community health council has already ap- plied to the ministry and MacKenzie is hopeful the process will not take too long. “I don't know our chances of success,” said MacKenzie, “but as far as we know the ministry isn't in opposition. We hope to move forward at all available speed.” More health research THE UNIVERSITY of Northern B.C. in Prince George has begun a series of projects aimed at im- praving access to health care in the north. They came out of a conference two weeks ago in Prince George attended by several hundreds health officials, academics and municipal and native: tea- ders. Soe. One plan is to educate more physicians in rural and remote areas as only about 25 per cent of the . doctors B.C. needs are educated at B.C. universi- liess 8, Cy. _Am institute for rural and remote health research is under discussion by northern municipal represen- tatives. And UNBC will create a new position to oversee its masters program in community health. Vacancies unfilled 1} UNTIL MORE appointments are made, the body governing local health care is operating with less than half of the members it is supposed to have. _Just five of the 12 spots on the Terrace Area Health Council, the body which runs the hospital and Terraceview Lodge, are filled, A combination of appointments running out, re- signations, a death and spots never being filled ac- _ count for the empty places. “The appointments have not been finalized yet,” said health ministry official Jeff Gaulin last week. He did say the new appointments should be. made very soon. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 9, 2000 - All _ =~ = ay A Sau a ma _ Y ay \: : al F,| a \ ri | a i ih = \ NE rah = ' or - N . J ff, J 2 Sy (ie , = ; r 4 atl ° —————— DOWNTOWN TERRACE cat | va | utc) -| ¢_