BURK’S FALLS – For 14 years Dr. David Apramian has been manning the after-hours Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) at the Burk’s Falls and District Health Centre.
Monday night was his last shift. He’s not retiring.
Instead the clinic that provides access to primary care physicians on evenings and weekends closed after a long search for funding that failed to bear fruit.
“It’s ironic (working the last shift) because I was here when the hospital was reopened. I was here at the start and I’m here at the end,” said Apramian.
It was a quiet shift on Monday with only one patient showing up to see a doctor. Apramian believed that was because many thought the clinic had already been shut down. He was using the available time to catch up on paperwork and ponder what healthcare in Almaguin was going to look like in the very near future.
“Things that we were already worried about are already happening,” said Apramian. “We’re already seeing staff talking about leaving and applying for other jobs. It’s a shame. We worked really hard to get the skilled people we have here.”
Other worries that, Apramian and the three other locally-based doctors that manned the clinic — Dr. Andrew Albert, Dr. Michael De Roode, and Dr. Rajat Vohra — have will take some time to bear out or not.
“I do have some concerns about tourists and cottagers in the summer,” said Apramian.
He says that typically traffic during the summer months triples over winter levels. He’s not certain if people will just start turning to hospital emergency rooms in North Bay, Parry Sound or Huntsville, or if they will flood the UCC during its daytime hours.
If the latter happens, adjustments would have to be made to address the four doctors personal practices.
“You kind of hope it is not a house of cards – that you take away one part and the whole thing falls apart,” said Apramian.
Closing the after-hours UCC was announced by Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) last fall at the same time the hospital board said it was projecting a $2 million deficit for the fiscal year, now just starting.
MAHC CEO Barry Lockhart has said repeatedly that his organization is not funded by the province to operate the clinic and that it would be shut down for a savings of a little more than $100,000.
That price tag frustrates Apramian.
“I thought this was a reasonable model that was relatively inexpensive. Especially with all the unattached (without a family doctor) patients in Ontario and the unattached tourists that come here,” said Apramian.
Asked what he liked about the clinic, Apramian says, “It was quite comprehensive in that there was suturing and other facilities available. It was a good location and a short wait time.”
He stresses that the central location in Almaguin was one of its most important characteristics.
“I think that for people with transportation problems, they could get here very easily if they didn’t have a car compared to Huntsville or North Bay. It’s one thing for someone in Magnetawan to ask for a ride to Burk’s Falls and another to ask for a ride to Huntsville,” said Apramian.
Village of Burk’s Falls reeve Cathy Still has been leading the local lobby effort for new specific funding for the after-hours care. She reported early last week that she had been taking part in promising conversations. This week she did not return phone calls.
Editorial
