By Deidre Taylor
(Published in Nova Scotia Health's 2018/19 Annual Report)
The Shelburne collaborative family practice team opened the doors of its new primary health care clinic to patients in early February.
“This clinic space is a lot bigger and more suited to our needs,” said Dr. John Keeler, a family physician with the Shelburne Family Practice team.
“This is a space specifically for a collaborative practice. It’s a lot better for staff, providers and patients.”
The new primary health care clinic was specially designed for a collaborative family practice team. The team in Shelburne includes four family doctors, a family medicine resident, two nurse practitioners, two family practice nurses, as well as clerical staff.
The design allows for good flow of patients and providers throughout the space to make it easier to provide quality primary health care. There is also space for visiting clinics, patient and family meetings, and for the health providers to meet and work together.
As well, having a new purpose-built clinic enables recruitment of new primary health care providers to the community.
“This new building was designed to be a more appropriate space for the family practice team to collaborate and work together to serve patients,” said Jodi Ybarra, health services manager at Roseway Hospital in Shelburne.
“It is also expected that having a new health centre will help us in our efforts to recruit new providers to the community. And it is already working.”
Maria Ceschiutti, a nurse practitioner who joined the Shelburne Family Practice team last fall, moved to Nova Scotia from Ontario with her family because of the opportunity to work as part of team in a modern facility.
“I wanted to be on a team with other nurse practitioners and physicians, so that I could grow and learn from their experiences,” she said. “I really believe this clinic will allow us to provide a better experience for our patients. This is also a wonderful space for the providers to work together, collaborate, and share our ideas on improving the health of our patients and the community.”
The new primary health care clinic was made possible by funding from many community partners, including the Municipality of the District of Shelburne, the Town of Shelburne, the Roseway Hospital Foundation, and the Department of Health and Wellness.
