Council will be asked to submit a letter of support for plans to increase access to health care for Vernon residents.
A new community health clinic is being proposed to improve access to healthcare for Vernon residents.
According to a report to city council, the City of Vernon's economic development office has been working with Community Futures North Okanagan (CFNO) for the past six months to explore options to improve access to health care for area residents.
Through this process, it was discovered that nonprofit community health clinics were best able to meet the basic health care needs of their communities.
“Access to health care is often cited as one of the considerations potential residents weigh before moving to a community in search of employment and lifestyle opportunities,” John Perrott, manager of economic development and partnerships, wrote in the report.
The community health clinic will complement existing primary care services in the North Okanagan by creating new space for doctors and other health professionals to practice.
According to the proposal, the clinic would be funded by the Ministry of Health and managed by the CFNO.
Perrott said work is underway to complete an application to the Ministry of Health in early June.
The application process requires communities to complete a consultation process with community stakeholder groups and also to develop a business plan.
“This work was completed by a task force comprised of representatives from CFNO, the Social Planning Council, Okanagan College and City of Vernon Economic Development,” Perrott wrote.
As part of the application, the task force is collecting letters of support from stakeholders and is now requesting a letter of support from the City of Vernon.
Council will be asked to submit letters of support for the clinic at its next regular meeting on Monday, May 27.
It's unclear at this time how long the application review process at the Department of Health will take, Perrott noted.
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