At the centre, a team of care providers including family physicians, nurse practitioners, advanced practice nurses and other full-time or part-time health care providers provide the services required by people who are registered as part of the centre's patient roster. As the centre continues to work with patients and identify care needs, other providers may be added to the care team.

Together the providers will form an integrated health care team. This team will be responsible for providing health care services including health maintenance and promotion. Services will include a range of care from prevention to community and chronic disease management. Patients generally receive more time per visit than fee for service billing physicians.

Given the local population, especially the frail elderly, the effective long-term management of chronic diseases has been identified as an important service area for the centre.

This approach helps to reduce the need for acute hospital and emergency hospital care and provide a model that supports better management of the increasing incidence of chronic illness and disease. By directing the right level of care at the right time, opportunities exist to use resources for better health care s for people at risk as well as a greater emphasis on education and prevention. Approximately 500,000 people in British Columbia suffer from one or more chronic diseases. Each year, approximately 85% of the province's health care dollars are spent on chronic care.

Chronic illness has profound effects on a person's physical, emotional, and mental well-being, which often make it difficult to carry on with daily routines and relationships. In many cases, however, the deterioration of a patient's health can be minimized by good care.

The centre embraces the principles of primary health care, which include:

• Applying an inter-disciplinary team approach;
• Using electronic health records;
• Focusing on quick access;
• Providing patient education and support;
• Health promotion, education, and disease prevention;
• Care for acute situations that arise from time to time;
• The management of chronic diseases;
• Counseling and palliative care.

Four family physicians, a nurse practitioner, two advanced practice nurses, and three medical office assistants work together as an interdisciplinary team.

Monthly Group Patient blood pressure clinics, and quarterly group diabetic sessions compliment individual patient appointments.

The Clinic has itinerant office facilities for independent health practitioners currently including massage therapy and a naturopathic physician. Full private lab services (excluding x-rays) are available on-site through LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services.

Vancouver Island Health Authority - www.viha.ca
BC Ministry of Health - www.gov.bc.ca/healthservices/
Canadian Cancer Society - www.cancer.ca
Canadian Diabetes Association - www.diabetes.ca
CNIB - www.cnib.ca
Heart & Stroke Foundation - www.heartandstroke.ca