Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - At the January 4th press conference, Dr Bonnie Henry unveiled the plan to immunize British Columbia.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - At the January 4th press conference, Dr Bonnie Henry unveiled the plan to immunize British Columbia.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - According to a recent report from the BC coroners service, there have been 30 suspected illicit drug overdose deaths in the North Vancouver Island Health Service Delivery area during the first eleven months of 2020. Fentanyl was detected in 22 cases. That’s in a population of more than 122,000, which probably explains why there have been no opioid related deaths reported on Cortes Island so far this year. The number of drug overdoses is far higher. Campbell River’s Fire Chief said there were times his men saved the same drug user more than once in the same day. Cortes Currents asked two medical professionals from the Cortes Medical Clinic for their observations of Cortes Island’s opioid ‘crisis’.

The Cortes Medical Clinic

Iain Law is one of the six doctors who take turns serving in the Cortes Medical Clinic. He has an established practise in Victoria, which is where he connected to our ZOOM chat.

“The Cortes Medical Clinic is a full service facility. We provide comprehensive care to anybody on the island. That means we are often the first point of contact for a lot of people with different health issues. We help people manage health issues and also help them navigate through the health care system including specialists and hospital care. Cortes is somewhat unique compared to other family practises in that we also provide emergency care in conjunction with BC Ambulance on the island,” he explained.

Do you deal with Opioids every day?

Dr Law added, “Opioids are a small part of what we do on a day to day basis.”

Do you deal with it every day?

“No,” he said.

“It is a clinic, anything can come through the door. Substance abuse, of any kind be it alcohol or drugs, has an impact on a certain percentage of those visits. Underlying substance abuse [sometimes] makes the condition they are coming in for worse, such as alcohol and heart disease or something like that. We are not seeing overdoses coming into the clinic on a rampant basis. You can’t really say it is the opioid crisis, but drug abuse certainly impacts some of the things that come through the clinic,” said Bernice McGowan, a registered nurse who works in the clinic as a casual nurse.

She qualified this answer, “I don’t see most of the people that come into the clinic.They aren’t necessarily coming in. Many are speaking on the phone and I don’t know what is happening on those phone calls. I’m not looking at their medical records. I don’t have access to a lot of that information, you’d have to talk to the doctor, but I do know there is a substance use impact on some of those clinic visits.”

McGowan also oversees Cortes Island’s home care sector.

“I wouldn’t say that my home care job is really impacted a lot by substance use issues. To some extent with certain clients, but not in any sense [as] ’the opioid crisis,’” she said.

Seeing part of the picture

“What we see in the clinic is just part of the picture,” explained Dr Law.

He suggested contacting the local British Columbia Ambulance Service, which was not available for comment.

“The patients we typically see, related to addiction issues, are patients that are concerned about their struggles with addiction and are looking for help. We try our best to connect them the appropriate services and offer to manage them on our own. That sometimes means connecting them with counselling and education around substance abuse. Not everything is on the island, there are addiction services in Campbell River that we work with. Sometimes pharmaceuticals are needed. There are various interventions, including opioid replacement therapy with either methadone or suboxone. We do some of that on the island, but certainly not a lot and not every day,” said Dr Law.

This is the first of two episodes coming out of our interviews. In part two, Bernice McGowan and Dr Iain Law discuss the way the opioid crisis is portrayed in the media.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - According to a recent report from the BC coroners service, there have been 30 suspected illicit drug overdose deaths in the North Vancouver Island Health Service Delivery area during the first eleven months of 2020. Fentanyl was detected in 22 cases. That’s in a population of more than 122,000, which probably explains why there have been no opioid related deaths reported on Cortes Island so far this year. The number of drug overdoses is far higher. Campbell River’s Fire Chief said there were times his men saved the same drug user more than once in the same day. Cortes Currents asked two medical professionals from the Cortes Medical Clinic for their observations of Cortes Island’s opioid ‘crisis’.

The Cortes Medical Clinic

Iain Law is one of the six doctors who take turns serving in the Cortes Medical Clinic. He has an established practise in Victoria, which is where he connected to our ZOOM chat.

“The Cortes Medical Clinic is a full service facility. We provide comprehensive care to anybody on the island. That means we are often the first point of contact for a lot of people with different health issues. We help people manage health issues and also help them navigate through the health care system including specialists and hospital care. Cortes is somewhat unique compared to other family practises in that we also provide emergency care in conjunction with BC Ambulance on the island,” he explained.

Do you deal with Opioids every day?

Dr Law added, “Opioids are a small part of what we do on a day to day basis.”

Do you deal with it every day?

“No,” he said.

“It is a clinic, anything can come through the door. Substance abuse, of any kind be it alcohol or drugs, has an impact on a certain percentage of those visits. Underlying substance abuse [sometimes] makes the condition they are coming in for worse, such as alcohol and heart disease or something like that. We are not seeing overdoses coming into the clinic on a rampant basis. You can’t really say it is the opioid crisis, but drug abuse certainly impacts some of the things that come through the clinic,” said Bernice McGowan, a registered nurse who works in the clinic as a casual nurse.

She qualified this answer, “I don’t see most of the people that come into the clinic.They aren’t necessarily coming in. Many are speaking on the phone and I don’t know what is happening on those phone calls. I’m not looking at their medical records. I don’t have access to a lot of that information, you’d have to talk to the doctor, but I do know there is a substance use impact on some of those clinic visits.”

McGowan also oversees Cortes Island’s home care sector.

“I wouldn’t say that my home care job is really impacted a lot by substance use issues. To some extent with certain clients, but not in any sense [as] ’the opioid crisis,’” she said.

Seeing part of the picture

“What we see in the clinic is just part of the picture,” explained Dr Law.

He suggested contacting the local British Columbia Ambulance Service, which was not available for comment.

“The patients we typically see, related to addiction issues, are patients that are concerned about their struggles with addiction and are looking for help. We try our best to connect them the appropriate services and offer to manage them on our own. That sometimes means connecting them with counselling and education around substance abuse. Not everything is on the island, there are addiction services in Campbell River that we work with. Sometimes pharmaceuticals are needed. There are various interventions, including opioid replacement therapy with either methadone or suboxone. We do some of that on the island, but certainly not a lot and not every day,” said Dr Law.

This is the first of two episodes coming out of our interviews. In part two, Bernice McGowan and Dr Iain Law discuss the way the opioid crisis is portrayed in the media.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - According to a recent report from the BC coroners service, there have been 30 suspected illicit drug overdose deaths in the North Vancouver Island Health Service Delivery area during the first eleven months of 2020. Fentanyl was detected in 22 cases. That’s in a population of more than 122,000, which probably explains why there have been no opioid related deaths reported on Cortes Island so far this year. The number of drug overdoses is far higher. Campbell River’s Fire Chief said there were times his men saved the same drug user more than once in the same day. Cortes Currents asked two medical professionals from the Cortes Medical Clinic for their observations of Cortes Island’s opioid ‘crisis’.

The Cortes Medical Clinic

Iain Law is one of the six doctors who take turns serving in the Cortes Medical Clinic. He has an established practise in Victoria, which is where he connected to our ZOOM chat.

“The Cortes Medical Clinic is a full service facility. We provide comprehensive care to anybody on the island. That means we are often the first point of contact for a lot of people with different health issues. We help people manage health issues and also help them navigate through the health care system including specialists and hospital care. Cortes is somewhat unique compared to other family practises in that we also provide emergency care in conjunction with BC Ambulance on the island,” he explained.

Do you deal with Opioids every day?

Dr Law added, “Opioids are a small part of what we do on a day to day basis.”

Do you deal with it every day?

“No,” he said.

“It is a clinic, anything can come through the door. Substance abuse, of any kind be it alcohol or drugs, has an impact on a certain percentage of those visits. Underlying substance abuse [sometimes] makes the condition they are coming in for worse, such as alcohol and heart disease or something like that. We are not seeing overdoses coming into the clinic on a rampant basis. You can’t really say it is the opioid crisis, but drug abuse certainly impacts some of the things that come through the clinic,” said Bernice McGowan, a registered nurse who works in the clinic as a casual nurse.

She qualified this answer, “I don’t see most of the people that come into the clinic.They aren’t necessarily coming in. Many are speaking on the phone and I don’t know what is happening on those phone calls. I’m not looking at their medical records. I don’t have access to a lot of that information, you’d have to talk to the doctor, but I do know there is a substance use impact on some of those clinic visits.”

McGowan also oversees Cortes Island’s home care sector.

“I wouldn’t say that my home care job is really impacted a lot by substance use issues. To some extent with certain clients, but not in any sense [as] ’the opioid crisis,’” she said.

Seeing part of the picture

“What we see in the clinic is just part of the picture,” explained Dr Law.

He suggested contacting the local British Columbia Ambulance Service, which was not available for comment.

“The patients we typically see, related to addiction issues, are patients that are concerned about their struggles with addiction and are looking for help. We try our best to connect them the appropriate services and offer to manage them on our own. That sometimes means connecting them with counselling and education around substance abuse. Not everything is on the island, there are addiction services in Campbell River that we work with. Sometimes pharmaceuticals are needed. There are various interventions, including opioid replacement therapy with either methadone or suboxone. We do some of that on the island, but certainly not a lot and not every day,” said Dr Law.

This is the first of two episodes coming out of our interviews. In part two, Bernice McGowan and Dr Iain Law discuss the way the opioid crisis is portrayed in the media.

Roy L Hales /Cortes Currents - All four new units at the Cortes Island Seniors Village are now occupied.

>>> Moving In

Axel Nagory was the first to move in. He arrived around December 20th and chose one of the corner units, looking out into the forest. The 650 square foot cottage was more than three times the size of the camper Nagory had been living in and possessed more up to date amenities. The faint aroma of fresh paint still lingered inside his new home.

“For me, this is the most perfect house that I can ever dream of,” exclaimed Axel.

He said that the new duplex beside the Cortes Medical Clinic was occupied and a woman is moving into the last of the new cottages.

>>> The Seniors Village

The four new units are all 650 square feet.

They share a central courtyard with six cottages that were built in 2008/09.

Downtown Mansons Landing is within easy walking distance.

Tenants will pay about $535 a month, but the specific amounts are adjusted to ensure that no one spends more than 30% of their income on rent.

>>> Financing

The Cortes Island Senior’s Society provided the land on which these units were built.

Around $100,000 was raised through donations and the provincial government granted another $400,000 through the Building BC program.

BC Housing provided about $1 million in construction financing and annual operating funds.

>>> More about Axel

Axel was the only resident visible when Cortes Currents arrived, on December 31st.

His girlfriend lived on Cortes Island in 1999, when Axel first paddled his kayak over from Lund.

He has been a well known Cortes personality for the past 21 years.

Photo credit: Axel Nagory in front of his new home - Roy L Hales photo

Roy L Hales /Cortes Currents - All four new units at the Cortes Island Seniors Village are now occupied.

>>> Moving In

Axel Nagory was the first to move in. He arrived around December 20th and chose one of the corner units, looking out into the forest. The 650 square foot cottage was more than three times the size of the camper Nagory had been living in and possessed more up to date amenities. The faint aroma of fresh paint still lingered inside his new home.

“For me, this is the most perfect house that I can ever dream of,” exclaimed Axel.

He said that the new duplex beside the Cortes Medical Clinic was occupied and a woman is moving into the last of the new cottages.

>>> The Seniors Village

The four new units are all 650 square feet.

They share a central courtyard with six cottages that were built in 2008/09.

Downtown Mansons Landing is within easy walking distance.

Tenants will pay about $535 a month, but the specific amounts are adjusted to ensure that no one spends more than 30% of their income on rent.

>>> Financing

The Cortes Island Senior’s Society provided the land on which these units were built.

Around $100,000 was raised through donations and the provincial government granted another $400,000 through the Building BC program.

BC Housing provided about $1 million in construction financing and annual operating funds.

>>> More about Axel

Axel was the only resident visible when Cortes Currents arrived, on December 31st.

His girlfriend lived on Cortes Island in 1999, when Axel first paddled his kayak over from Lund.

He has been a well known Cortes personality for the past 21 years.

Photo credit: Axel Nagory in front of his new home - Roy L Hales photo

Roy L Hales /Cortes Currents - All four new units at the Cortes Island Seniors Village are now occupied.

>>> Moving In

Axel Nagory was the first to move in. He arrived around December 20th and chose one of the corner units, looking out into the forest. The 650 square foot cottage was more than three times the size of the camper Nagory had been living in and possessed more up to date amenities. The faint aroma of fresh paint still lingered inside his new home.

“For me, this is the most perfect house that I can ever dream of,” exclaimed Axel.

He said that the new duplex beside the Cortes Medical Clinic was occupied and a woman is moving into the last of the new cottages.

>>> The Seniors Village

The four new units are all 650 square feet.

They share a central courtyard with six cottages that were built in 2008/09.

Downtown Mansons Landing is within easy walking distance.

Tenants will pay about $535 a month, but the specific amounts are adjusted to ensure that no one spends more than 30% of their income on rent.

>>> Financing

The Cortes Island Senior’s Society provided the land on which these units were built.

Around $100,000 was raised through donations and the provincial government granted another $400,000 through the Building BC program.

BC Housing provided about $1 million in construction financing and annual operating funds.

>>> More about Axel

Axel was the only resident visible when Cortes Currents arrived, on December 31st.

His girlfriend lived on Cortes Island in 1999, when Axel first paddled his kayak over from Lund.

He has been a well known Cortes personality for the past 21 years.

Photo credit: Axel Nagory in front of his new home - Roy L Hales photo

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - Cortes Island had its annual community Christmas Dinner on December 25th.

As a result of the COVID shutdown, close to a third of the island’s population turned out.

It was truly a gourmet delight.

Cortes Currents sent Noah Davidson and Izabelle Perry a list of questions, which they chose to answer by email.

Imagine this is Noah’s voice, rather than mine, reading this out.

“After the cancellation of all community events, dances, Easter, and Christmas craft fairs, we really wanted to find a way to not have to cancel Christmas Dinner!”

“Community Christmas Dinners at the Gorge Hall have been an annual tradition for as long as anyone can remember. We recently took over the planning and cooking responsibilities from Jim Kearney, who believed that everyone should have the opportunity to gather and enjoy a warm meal together on Christmas Day. We hope that people found the take-out meals were a reasonable alternative to gathering.”

“On average, the free Christmas dinner in Whaletown serves around 125 people at the Gorge Hall for a sit-down meal on Christmas Day. Usually, 3 or 4 turkeys are prepared along with the fixings, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and veggies. The attending community brings a plethora of potluck dishes that really add something special to the dinner.”

“This year was different, we served over 300, free take-out style meals from the Floathouse restaurant with no potluck items. We cooked 21 turkeys, stuffing, mashed potatoes and veggies, gravy, and cranberry sauce. We also offered a vegetarian option, with a lentil nut loaf, wild rice stuffing, vegan mashed potatoes, and miso gravy.”

The story continues in the podcast

Photo courtesy Noah Davidson and Izabelle Perry

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - Cortes Island had its annual community Christmas Dinner on December 25th.

As a result of the COVID shutdown, close to a third of the island’s population turned out.

It was truly a gourmet delight.

Cortes Currents sent Noah Davidson and Izabelle Perry a list of questions, which they chose to answer by email.

Imagine this is Noah’s voice, rather than mine, reading this out.

“After the cancellation of all community events, dances, Easter, and Christmas craft fairs, we really wanted to find a way to not have to cancel Christmas Dinner!”

“Community Christmas Dinners at the Gorge Hall have been an annual tradition for as long as anyone can remember. We recently took over the planning and cooking responsibilities from Jim Kearney, who believed that everyone should have the opportunity to gather and enjoy a warm meal together on Christmas Day. We hope that people found the take-out meals were a reasonable alternative to gathering.”

“On average, the free Christmas dinner in Whaletown serves around 125 people at the Gorge Hall for a sit-down meal on Christmas Day. Usually, 3 or 4 turkeys are prepared along with the fixings, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and veggies. The attending community brings a plethora of potluck dishes that really add something special to the dinner.”

“This year was different, we served over 300, free take-out style meals from the Floathouse restaurant with no potluck items. We cooked 21 turkeys, stuffing, mashed potatoes and veggies, gravy, and cranberry sauce. We also offered a vegetarian option, with a lentil nut loaf, wild rice stuffing, vegan mashed potatoes, and miso gravy.”

The story continues in the podcast

Photo courtesy Noah Davidson and Izabelle Perry