Boulevard Magazine - August 2013 Issue

Vi

blvdmag.ca AUGUST 2013

A spirited

distillery revival Parallel lives lead to a

perfect home

Classic summer

street parties

Scooter the San Juans

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sp

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i

Ce a l p ia l u H e b b li os r ca pi at Tio ta in n ls g t in Fo he sid e: un da ti on

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5

CONTENTS

August 2013 Issue 08, Volume XXIl

august 33 16

2246 57

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

16 victoria spirits finds the perfect chemistry

By Jessica Natale Woollard

9

CONTRIBUTORS

10

EDITOR’S LETTER

11

LETTERS

COLUMNS

22

12 HAWTHORN The idea people of Victoria

By Tom Hawthorn

HOT PROPERTIES Plenty of views on this family property

By Carolyn Heiman

30

BEFORE AND AFTER A visit to Sarah’s house

By Sarah MacNeill

14

STATE OF THE ARTS The Bard of Avon on the lawn

By Alisa Gordaneer

33

57

6

SPECIAL PUBLICATION Celebrating the Victoria Hospitals Foundation HEALTH & WELLNESS Tomatoes disclose their secret super powers

By P. J. Nicholls

60

68

FRONT ROW Stomp; Shakespeare by the Sea; Smalltown: A Pickup Musical; and more

By Robert Moyes

74

TRAVEL NEAR Scootering the San Juan Islands

By Laureen O’Dowd

82

FOOD & WINE Come together with a street party

By Cinda Chavich and Sharon McLean

80 FINANCE Talking with Tess:

Cedric Steele

By Tess van Straaten

technologia Enjoying the great (high-tech) outdoors

By Darryl Gittins

84

WRY EYE Will cyclists and drivers ever find the road to peace?

By Barbara Julian

86

SECRETS & LIVES Jane Sterk, Green Party of BC

By Shannon Moneo

On our cover: Summer cocktails always taste better when enjoyed with friends and family.

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL Rick Windley, Windley Contracting Ltd., Nanaimo, BC As planning progressed on our new home at the east end of Long Lake it became apparent that a conventional wood dock would not suffice. Our task now was to find a dock that would. A little research got us in-touch with Surefloat. With careful thought the Surefloat team presented us with a dock system perfect for the calibre of home we were building.

Managing Windley Contracting Ltd. has given me high expectations when it comes to products and service and we received both from Surefloat. They assembled five cottage

floats giving us plenty of area for entertaining and lots of linear space for water toys. It has also become a welcome retreat at the end of a hard day.

From our new living room we look west over green lawns, the beautiful docks and the serenity of sunsets on Long Lake.

Sincerely, Rick Windley

our VISION

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With that said, we strive for continuous improvement, constantly looking for ways to make our products better – more durable, stronger, more stable and entirely environmentally sound – while providing you the most competitive price.

www.surefloat.com 250.748.8888 3721 Drinkwater Rd. Duncan, BC V9L 6P2

Publisher Geoff Wilcox Creative Director Sarah Reid Editor Kate Lautens

BU I L D I N G D R E A M S S I N C E 1 9 6 9

Fashion Editor Lia Crowe Production Coordinator Pip Knott Advertising Pat Brindle Vicki Clark Corlie Sleen Geoff Wilcox Business Manager Janet Murray Contributing Writers Cinda Chavich, Darryl Gittins, Stuart Eastwood, Alisa Gordaneer, Tom Hawthorn, Carolyn Heiman, Anna Kemp, Lauren Kramer, Sarah MacNeill, Sharon McLean, Shannon Moneo, Katherine Palmer Gordon, Robert Moyes, Tess van Straaten

EX P E R IE N CE ∙ H ONE STY ∙ INTEGRIT Y

Contributing Photographers Dean Azim, Vince Klassen, Gary McKinstry, Leanna Rathkelly

Advertise Boulevard Magazine is Victoria’s leading lifestyle magazine, celebrating 23 years of publishing in Greater Victoria.

To advertise or to learn more about advertising opportunities please send us an email at info@blvdmag.ca

Award Builders Ltd. has been providing quality custom construction services for residential homes since 1969 having, in recent years, constructed over 75 new custom and spec homes, as well as numerous renovations in the Victoria area.

Mailing Address: 818 Broughton Street, Victoria, BC, V8W 1E4 Tel: 250.381.3484 Fax: 250.386.2624 info@blvdmag.ca

blvdmag.ca

Group Publisher Penny Sakamoto Circulation Director Bruce Hogarth

Victoria Boulevard ® is a registered trademark of Black Press Group Ltd. All rights reserved.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisher's written permission.

330 Wray Avenue, Victoria, BC V9E 2H5 T: 250.361.5359 | F: 250.658.4464 waynedavis@shaw.ca | www.awardbuilders.ca

Ideas and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Black Press Group Ltd. or its afiliates; no official endorsement should be inferred. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for the contents, both implied or assumed, of any advertisement in this publication.

Printed in Canada.

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Dean Azim is a Victoria-based photographer, photo-journalist and videographer who focuses on portraiture, lifestyle, commercial and human-interest works. Azim, who travels the world to take photos, recently started Cinderbloc Studio with Antonio LaFauci, where they collaborate with other creative people to realize projects that include promotion, film, publication and more. This month, Azim shot our Victoria Spirits story.

Barbara Julian is a local writer who enjoys cycling around, looking at plants and animals.

She recently wrote Childhood Pastorale: Children, Nature and the Preservation of Landscape and edits the free monthly newsletter Animal Literature. Julian has written two Wry Eyes for this magazine: the first in the April 2013 issue on her love of invasive species, and the second in this issue on the ongoing battle of cyclists versus drivers.

Jessica Natale woollard is a freelance writer, violinist, hockey player, and theatre-lover by night, and is the communications officer at Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island by day. In this issue of Boulevard, she writes about Victoria Spirits, Canada’s first premium gin. “I dedicate this article to Erin and Gabe, who introduced me to Victoria Spirits on a visit from Ontario, and were recently married. Chin chin!”

A love of travel to exotic places in her younger years led Laureen O’Dowd to a career teaching ESL. In recent years, this native Victorian has concentrated on exploring her own backyard.

Travelling the nearby small islands by scooter allows her to experience their natural beauty in a fun and eco-friendly manner. O’Dowd says attending the Boulevard travel writing seminar this past spring motivated her to finally write about her passion.

Her adventure in the San Juan Islands is this month’s Travel Near.

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EDITOR’S LETTER We live in a contradictory world: one minute we’re using 3D printers to grow new body parts and sending people to Mars; the next, we’re home-canning food and buying our favourite music on vinyl records. I, for one, refuse to buy an e-reader, preferring my books to take up space in the real world, not in gigabytes, thankyouverymuch, yet I can’t watch a movie without looking it up on my iPhone to figure out if the actress is the same girl from that TV show or not. Walt Whitman knows how I feel: “Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself,” he said.

“I am large — I contain multitudes.”

Even though our culture is glued to technology, we still must remember to spend time together face-to-face, or else we’ll end up like the gluttonous blob-people in Wall-E. In this month’s Hot Property, one couple proves that technology is a great way to find someone who’s perfect for you, and how wonderful it is to share a real-world relationship, building a home together.

Meanwhile, Food & Wine explores the importance of making friends with our neighbours, and how better to do so than by holding a block party? They bring together people of all ages — from grandparents who love their iPads to grandchildren who love their backyard chickens. Then, discover Saanich’s Victoria Spirits, a true family business, and the very, ahem, spirited revival of distilleries on Vancouver Island.

Despite our reluctance to stray too far from our roots, innovations keep pushing us forward. What’s your view? Don’t worry if it wavers. George Bernard Shaw says, “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” And I say, “Have your homemade cake and blog about it, too.”

Our successful readership survey offered great insight into where you’d like us to change or stay the same in the pages of this magazine, and we thank all who participated.

Congratulations to Suzi Benn, the winner of the two-night getaway for two to the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino.

Change for Boulevard includes a change of ownership and a change of scenery. As you read this, we’re in the process of moving to Black Press’ downtown office and settling in to new routines.

This issue contains a very special insert (starting on page 33) about the Victoria Hospitals Foundation and its Building Care Together campaign, which has raised $13.4 million to date for the new Patient Care Centre at the Royal Jubilee Hospital.

Boulevard is honoured to help celebrate this remarkable campaign and everyone who helped make it possible.

Kate Lautens, Editor 10

YOUR LETTERS LOCAL MARBLE, NOT ITALIAN In July’s Design Matters: Before & After, the marble used on the fireplace face and the vanity top is not Carrara marble from Italy, but Matrix Marble & Stone’s locally quarried Vancouver Island White Marble. We put this marble in the kitchen and another bathroom as well. Your readers might not be aware that local marble from the Cowichan Valley is available and is just as beautiful as marble from overseas.

Tim Kyle, Matrix Marble & Stone

YOU OTTER KNOW YOU DID A GREAT JOB A friend and volunteer at Wild ARC gave me a copy of Boulevard magazine featuring my conversation with Shannon Moneo (Secrets & Lives, July). I received several positive comments about this interview. I believe that Shannon’s expertise has a role to play. She captured my thoughts very well and it was nicely summarized. Thank you for doing such a good job and for your support in sharing the beauty of animals.

Christina Carrières, BC SPCA Wild ARC

Correction “Toast of the Town” (June) included a saffron-finding tip from Oliver Kienast mentioning the Rexall drugstore in Oak Bay at the corner of Richmond Rd. and Fort St. This drugstore, also known as the Jubilee Pharmacy, is actually in Victoria in the Jubilee district.

Readers Weigh in OnLine

Colleen Hack really loved this as the cover of your latest magazine. I was disappointed not to find the “car culture” column, by Mr Eastwood, as I really look forward to reading his interesting articles. @ErinnPinky Great cover this month! I run by this gorgeous house every morning. They built into the landscape! @ BoulevardMag #yyj @kathelburt I'm in love with this modern mag #justsaying looking forward to flippin and sippin at #wineoclock

We welcome your letters: editor@blvdmag.ca or visit us on Facebook, and on Twitter @BoulevardMag. 11

photo by vince klassen

By Tom Hawthorn

victoria is a hot spot for

Creative innovators

Go to your happy place.

this city is filled with idea people. They invent things and bring innovation to products, devices and websites used worldwide. You need a scorecard to keep up.

Ever use the image hosting website Flickr? One of the cofounders was Stewart Butterfield, a Victoria guy. Ever been on the Yahoo! web portal? Jeff Mallett, from Victoria, helped build it into a global brand. (He was described as “the wizard behind the curtains pulling all the levers.”)

Bibliophiles bring big dreams to fruition

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I’m a bibliophile who often seeks obscure, out-of-print titles.

In ancient times, which is to say the days before the advent of the Internet, the search for a desired volume took me to dusty bookstores across the continent. The hunt could last years with no promise of resolution.

Now, I zip over to AbeBooks.com, where I can search the stock of thousands of second-hand and antiquarian booksellers worldwide. I can request paperback or hardcover, a collectable signed volume or a much cheaper damaged reading copy. More books get into more hands more readily than ever before.

The idea for Advanced Book Exchange (ABE) germinated in Victoria. Cathy Waters ran a used bookstore, while her husband Keith worked for the provincial government in information technology. She found searching for titles for clients to be a slow, tedious and unsatisfying process. With friends Rick and Vivian Pura, the Waters launched AbeBooks.com, which describes itself as “a giant shopping mall for bookstores where searches are conducted in seconds.” Launched in 1996, the site listed two million titles by the end of the first year. AbeBooks was eventually sold — Cathy returned to bricks-and-mortar

bookselling — and is now a global enterprise owned by Amazon.

The local AbeBooks office on Tyee Road is just up the street from Dockside Green. That development has revived former industrial lands near the heart of the city, mixing residential, office and commercial space with the light industries traditionally found along the city’s waterfront.

Dockside Green does a lot of things right, like cutting fresh water usage by more than half. All sewage is treated on site with the water and recycled for use in flushing toilets and landscape irrigation. The project is a model for future urban development.

Creativity at UVic, from sea to cycle

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Over at the University of Victoria, scientists manage oceanfloor observatories that are unlike any others in the world.

Monitoring cables placed along the seafloor in the Saanich Inlet and Georgia Strait (the VENUS project) and deep into the Pacific Ocean along the west coast of Vancouver Island (the NEPTUNE project) provide real-time information on ocean currents and marine ecology. The information aids projections of commercial fish stock, will aid in the study of methane hydrates as a fuel source, and will likely provide helpful information on tectonic plate activity, assisting in evaluating earthquakes and tsunamis.

Elsewhere on campus, chemistry professor Frank van Veggel is researching a high-tech method for early detection of cancerous cells in the prostate. He is attaching nanoparticles to antibodies Dockside to seek out diseased cells. If successful, Green revived this method of early detection will be former less invasive and more accurate, saving countless lives. industrial While the professor is working with lands near the the Victoria branch of the BC Cancer heart of the Agency, other innovators labour on city, mixing their own. One is Tony Hoar, whose handmade and custom-built bicycle residential, trailers have earned worldwide praise. office and Tony knows cycling — he competed in commercial the 1955 Tour de France, during which space with he earned the unofficial Laterne Rouge as the last man to cross the finish light industry. line. Hoar is a tinkerer adept with pliers and wrenches, making him an old-fashioned Gyro Gearloose. He has developed a tent trailer for use by the homeless which provides shelter at night and a transportation method for binning by day.

Perhaps the city’s youngest inventor is a Grade 10 student who has created a handheld flashlight powered by body heat.

The ingenious device won her one of 15 coveted spots at a Google Science Fair for students to be held in California next month. Keep your eye out for the thermoelectric flashlight and remember the name Ann Makosinski, a young woman shining a light on the world.

Tom Hawthorn is a freelance author, newspaper and magazine writer who lives in Victoria.

13

state of the arts

by alisa gordaneer

All the lawn’s a stage for Victoria’s

Shakespeare Festival Summer in Victoria wouldn’t feel properly summery without a Shakespeare binge. The lilting iambic pentameter of the words, the ridiculous or tragic stories of royals and dukes, the dash of olde Englande in a world suffused with reality television … there’s a reason Shakespeare’s works have been popular for four centuries, and it’s got a lot to do with how effectively they can be performed, regardless of the creative licence their directors might take.

Take, for example, the two productions that form this year’s Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival, happening until August 17 on the Lansdowne campus of Camosun College.

The two offer completely different takes on the plays — one a contemporary(ish) interpretation, the other a relatively traditional performance.

The offbeat one is a 1970s-themed version of The Merry Wives of Windsor, which uses small-town British Columbia as a replacement for Windsor, which was considered, at the time, to be the cultural equivalent of small-town anywhere. The other is a classical take on Measure for Measure, a story of sex scandal and morality that works best when set in its traditional 1600s Vienna, because what people found scandalous then pales in comparison to celebrity shenanigans now.

Taking creative chances Directors seem to like taking these creative chances with their Shakespeare adaptations. For Kate Rubin, who directs Merry Wives, the chance to play with setting — and to dress her actors in groovy 1970s costumes and include funky 1970s music — gave her the chance to bring a new take to the comedy, and possibly make it even funnier with references that might resonate with contemporary audiences.

Measure for Measure is also a comedy, at least in that nobody 14

dies in the end, but it’s still a more traditional performance.

Director Clayton Jevne says he likes that Shakespeare is adaptable. “We know the writing is so good, it’s inspiring to know the English language can be used that way,” he says.

While there’s been a Shakespeare festival of one sort or another for two decades in Victoria, this latest incarnation has been going since 2004. Karen Lee Pickett, producer of the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Society, is marking her second year of running the festival. She says this year’s productions are exciting because they take full advantage of the outdoor venues.

Unpredictable outdoor theatre Outdoor performances come with their undeniable charms, like sunsets and fresh air, deer wandering in the background, and picnic blankets and hampers of tasty treats (Pickett says you can even pre-order picnic baskets from the concession if you don’t feel up to packing your own goodies). But they also come with undeniable challenges, the biggest of which is, of course, the weather. It’s Victoria. It will probably get chilly in the evening, and it might just rain — although last year, only one performance had to be cancelled because of rain, and one had to stop halfway through due to a rare thunderstorm.

Another challenge is logistics — you can’t just leave a stage set unattended when the show’s not on. Pickett says the sets have to be fully assembled and disassembled for each evening’s performance, a task undertaken by all crew and cast. “When they leave, you can’t even tell,” she says.

The directors face other challenges, too. “You don’t have any supporting sets or décor to help you out,” says Jevne. “The actors have to be very clear about what they’re saying, so people know what particular room they’re now in.”

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DESIGN BUILD INSPIRE

Working with unique stages The stage platform for Measure for Measure is built to let the audience sit on three sides, which means the actors must keep finding reasons to deliver their lines in the general direction of different parts of the audience. It makes blocking the play — deciding where actors will be on the stage at any given time — “much more challenging,” says Jevne.

Blocking might also be challenging for Merry Wives, but at least the weather isn’t as much of a concern. That’s because the show will take place in Na’tsa’maht, the Aboriginal Gathering Place on campus. The round, open-air building has circular seating around a central fire pit, which allows audiences to stay dry no matter what.

Ultimately, a little bit of discomfort is worth the (very reasonable) price of admission. You get a cultural experience that’s as much community picnic as theatre performance, and you get to listen to words, and witness scenes, that have charmed audiences for centuries. People love Shakespeare because, well, it’s just that good. As Jevne says, “You come away thinking humans have so much more potential than we realize.”

Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival runs every night except Sundays until August 17. See vicshakespeare.com for more.

BUILDER OF FINE CUSTOM HOMES

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The Season of Spirits:

Victoria Spirits leads the swell of small-scale distilleries on Vancouver Island

16

 by Jessica Natale Woollard  photography by dean azim ryan Murray thought he was

 Peter Hunt, master distiller of Victoria Spirits, is one of several family members contributing to the business.

investing in a vineyard when he bought shares in Winchester Cellars, an organic winery on Old West Saanich Road, in 2007. Making wine was meant to be his retirement hobby, a romantic way to pass the time following his career as a family physician in Victoria.

“But it’s even more romantic to make whisky in your retirement,” says Murray’s stepson, Peter Hunt, master distiller at Victoria Spirits, successor to the winery.

Murray, 68, purchased a German-made copper still, wanting to flirt with spirits-making — some fruit brandy, a little eau-de-vie — made from the vineyard’s wine. “I thought I would enjoy a few weekends a year helping out crushing grapes, or throwing some wood on the fire to heat the still,” he says. But the surge of craft spirits had begun, following the deluge of artisanal wineries and breweries from decades earlier. Victoria Spirits’ first and flagship product, Victoria Gin, would become Canada’s first premium gin, earning acclaim as one of the world’s finest spirits.

Hunt, too, was seduced by the chance to distill spirits on the lush, 13.5-acre Saanich property.

A molecular biologist at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver, he came home on weekends to work with his stepfather — spending six months researching distillation techniques, experimenting with botanicals, and enjoying lengthy business meetings (read: family taste tests) to perfect the recipe and process for Victoria Gin. “Before starting here, the only distilling I’d done was in second-year chemistry,” says Hunt, 35, who also runs operations. “I’m in a business I didn’t expect to be in. Distilling is a nice blend of art and science.”

17

 Bryan Murray inspects his work.  Gin’s flavour stems from juniper berries.  Ingredients boil in the wood-fired still.

 The Italian-glass bottles are hand-labelled.  The bottles are also filled by hand; all family members pitch in to help.

“Distilling is a nice blend of art and science.”

Finding the perfect chemistry Making Victoria Gin isn’t so different from one of Hunt’s chemistry experiments: he combines 10 botanicals — including juniper (gin’s characteristic flavour), coriander, cinnamon bark, and a secret ingredient — in precise quantities and steeps them overnight. Then, he adds neutral grain spirit and spring water from the property and boils the mixture in the wood-fired still. The vapours 18

travel through a series of columns, which purify the alcohol before it is cooled. Clear and light, the spirit, truly a celestial solvent, flows out the spout.

Several weeks in a steel tank seal in the flavour (“like how soup is better the next day,” Hunt says).

While Hunt distills, family members contribute elsewhere: sister Mia designs graphics from her home in England; sister Anna, a chef at Charelli’s & Co, acts as culinary consultant; mom

Valerie coordinates events. Everyone pitches in to bottle and label by hand, using Italian-glass bottles reminiscent of Victorian-era medicinal jars — a nod to the Victorians’ belief in the healing properties of gin.

The dawning of distilleries in BC follows the proliferation south of the border. In 2005, 50 micro-distilleries were bubbling and brewing in the United States; by 2012, that number exploded to 250. Time magazine estimates 1,000

Snapshot of Island distilleries Merridale Cider Cobble Hill

Merridale Cider makes spirits from the same BC fruit used to make its wine.

Fruity spirits enrich some of Merridale’s dessert wines; others are sold as eau-de-vie, fortified wine, or brandy. merridalecider.com

Shelter Point Campbell River

Shelter Point is one of two Canadian distilleries making single malt whisky.

Crafted following traditional Scottish methods, their medium-bodied spirit is still coming of age for release in 2014. shelterpointdistillery. com distilleries will be spouting artisanal spirits in the US within 10 years.

Hunt believes growth in the spirits industry is occurring later than the boom of craft wineries and breweries because of restrictions on spirits production. “There’s a bit of a stigma,” he says. “People are a little suspicious of spirits.”

Welcoming competition In March 2013, the Province of BC revised liquor laws with the aim of stimulating the craft spirits industry.

Unfortunately, Victoria Spirits does not

Island Spirits Hornby Island

The distillers at Island Spirits combine science, art, skill and patience to create their Phrog gin and vodka. Their gin recipe, years in the making, features 14 botanicals. Phrog products are available in select private liquor stores in BC. islandspirits.ca 19

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SUMMER NIGHTS  The image of a young Queen Victoria reflects their fresh take on tradition. qualify as a craft distillery under the current definition, which allows perks for using only BC-grown materials. Hunt explains: “We use a neutral grain spirit (NGS) that is produced outside BC. There is currently no BC source for NGS.” But the clime is changing for the better. On the island alone, several distilleries have emerged (see sidebar). Hunt welcomes the competition: “There are so few small distilleries, and we are all producing small amounts … a tenth of a percent of what’s consumed in the province.”

Victoria Spirits’ products — Victoria Gin, Left Coast Hemp Vodka, Oaken Gin, and three bitters — are already on shelves in several provinces, and by the fall will have launched in New York, Oregon, and California. They will be joined by their “amber beauty,” Craigdarroch Whisky, in 2014.

The signature gin has won several local and international awards. The National Post’s Adam McDowell wrote of Victoria Gin: “Just as every respectable household circa 1870 had to display a portrait of Victoria, every respectable liquor-fancying Canadian should own a bottle of Victoria Gin.” Hunt would welcome a surge in sales, as long as “the gin can always be ... hand-bottled and numbered.” He has hopes for the entire industry, envisioning liquor stores with a section for local spirits alongside local beer and wine. For now, he enjoys planning Victoria Spirits’ future at family business meetings, leisurely sipping a modified Aviation cocktail — Victoria Gin with lemon juice and maraschino liqueur. The romantic gin maker smiles just mentioning the beverage, maybe remembering his last refreshment or envisioning his next. “Put a little bit of that on ice and away you go.”

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Victoria Spirits is open for tours and tastings on weekends and holidays from April until September, 10 am to 5 pm. A virtual tour of the still is available on their website, victoriaspirits.com.

21

HOT PROPERTIES

Plenty to love in home created by Plenty of Fish couple  by carolyn heiman  photography by leanna rathkelly

I

n their quest to find their perfect “our place,” Michelle Forest and Peter Simpson scoured the Victoria region, looking at more than 200 properties where they could blend households. Then they found it. And it was right in front their noses all along.

Michelle’s beloved home from the early ’80s was in such disrepair that it could no longer be insured, but these two sailors realized in looking elsewhere they would be passing up its multi-million-dollar view overlooking Haro Strait, with the San Juan Islands and Mount Baker glistening on the horizon. During a sailing junket, they sketched out what a new home might look like on the property and docked with a resolve to merge their respective homes — his was in Sidney — in a new place built for their post-childrearing lifestyle.

Today the crisp, open home is a marriage of their shared interests and tastes, right down to a custom-made display case in the front hallway which houses a shell collection the two discovered they each independently amassed during their “other” lives — before the two single parents found each other on Plenty of Fish, an online matchmaking site. Soon, they discovered their shared passion for shell collecting was just one of many common paths. They both were single

22

ďƒŁ A saw-tooth configuration allows for light to pour in from multiple directions in a number of rooms, which benefit from corner windows.

23

ďƒĄ The warm glow of exposed filament bulbs creates an almost candlelight effect over the dining room table. The owner had the reproductions of Thomas Edison’s first light bulb adapted with longer cords to create a sculptural effect in the room.

24

parents and loved sailing and gardening.

They even found they had purchased identical dining chairs which was ohso-convenient when moving in together.

“We realized that we had been living parallel lives,” says Michelle.

Coming full circle on colours There was peculiar synergy around choosing colours for the house as well, although at the start it didn’t feel that way. Recalls Michelle: “We had originally decided we wanted a house that visually melded with the surroundings and local outdoor colours: arbutus tree trunks, Douglas fir and cedar greenery, granite. As we checked out more and more houses before and in the early construction stages, we changed our minds a zillion times and really couldn’t agree on anything,” she says. A designer friend interviewed each of them separately and came up with a colour scheme for each of them. “Wouldn’t you know it,” Michelle says, “each of us preferred the scheme she’d picked for the other. We finally agreed on one and added the dark window frames to punch it up, only to realize that this scheme was in fact the colour scheme we’d originally conceived. Crazy!”

A small area of cork is inlaid into the kitchen, giving a warmer, softer feeling under feet and increasing the chances that accidentally dropped glasses and dishes survive the fall.

 The home’s colour scheme visually melds with the surroundings and local outdoor colours.

A property with a history Their intimacy with the property proved invaluable when working out the home’s layout and orientation on the property. They loosely followed the layout of the older home — right down to having the master bath soaker tub overlook the same Garry oak as the original home. “We knew what elements [in the older home] worked,” says Peter.

Those that didn’t work were fixed in the 2013 version. The new plan was more open. Its size is larger; around 1,900 square feet on the main floor and almost 1,300 downstairs. Doorways are wider.

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ďƒĄ ďƒ¤ There is a space for everything in this home, which keeps things handy, yet out of sight.

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The outside does not have a blade of grass to mow, which was non-negotiable for Peter. In the basement, a suite with ninefoot ceilings is regularly used by visiting married children and grandchildren.

They knew, too, that the property had three microclimates and, by designing the home in a saw-tooth formation, they could diminish the impact of chilling winds off the strait and create a Mediterranean-like heat trap in a courtyard facing the street. They are already envisioning kumquats, kafir limes and lemons thriving in the deer-proof enclosure.

Bordering the fence line, and long like a bowling alley, Peter has built a skookum greenhouse where tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables will abound. “The first tomato from that greenhouse will be a $5,000 tomato,” Peter, a retired accountant, ruefully admits. But that’s hardly the point for the enthusiastic gardeners sharing their passions.

There goes the neighbourhood Rebuilding on existing lots can boost property values in the neighbourhood. But while construction is going on, the disruption to neighbours can be significant.

Peter and Michelle’s project was completed in about seven months, which by many standards is remarkably short.

Nonetheless, they were aware of the impact on their neighbours, some of them friends of Michelle’s for 30 years — and they wanted to keep it that way.

“We positively influenced their support with a couple parties prior to and partway through the project,” says Michelle. “We handed out goody bags with chocolate and bubbly, extrastrength Excedrin, oodles of disposable earplugs, and party 27

 A custom-made bed frame is a direct copy from an Ikea design that doesn’t come in a king size.

A hidden cupboard conceals items during the day, but keeps them an arm’s reach away during the night.

 Bottom left: The master bedroom’s view of Haro Strait.  Bottom right: The master bath’s soaker tub overlooks the same Garry oak tree as in the original home.

napkins showing an old-fashioned ’50s couple standing in the kitchen with the husband, tie loosened and drink in hand, asking his wife to ‘Get out the toolbox, honey — we’re getting hammered!’”

With one home being demolished and the second sold, there was no wiggle room on when a new house had to be finished.

The tight construction schedule was the biggest challenge, says Dave MacKenzie of Falcon Heights Contracting. The site required considerable preparation, including blasting and excavation. But a few days before Christmas, as promised, Michelle and Peter moved into the home, which meets Platinum BuiltGreen Canada standards.

It helps that MacKenzie rolls up his sleeves, dons a tool belt and works alongside everyone else. “It takes a team effort to build a home for others,” he says.

Supply List

Builder: Dave MacKenzie, Falcon Heights Contracting Designer: Will Pereboom, Victoria Design Group Interior Design: owners (with a bit of advice from designer friends) Millwork: Dave and Ros Sheridan, Splinters Millworks Interior/Exterior Painting: Murray Sharratt, Sharratt Painting Flooring (engineered hickory), Mantle (slab of maple), Soffits, Fascia: Canadian Bavarian Millwork and Lumber Appliances: Trail Appliances Plumbing Fixtures: supplied by Andrew Sheret Plumber: Jeff Arnold, Arnold Plumbing Drywall: Mike Allen Interiors Windows: Innotech Lighting: Pine Lighting and Ikea Electrician: Colin Lee Electrical Energy/Heating: Island Energy Building Supplies: Slegg Lumber Tiling: New Life Flooring Front Door: Downstream Joinery

Carolyn Heiman explores beautiful Island homes each month for Boulevard. If you know of a gorgeous home you’d like to see profiled she can be contacted at cheiman@shaw.ca.

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design matters

af ter b e f or e an d

Just playing around:

Sarah MacNeill shares a peek inside her own home

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icture this: a knotty, cabin-esque wood siding exterior, dingy beige carpet, clay-coloured walls, an iron monster of a wood-burning stove, and the pièce de résistance, a fauxmarble seashell-shaped sink in the main bathroom. These dated decor travesties were what welcomed us when we moved in to our 70s-era home in Shawnigan Lake. My husband Scott, architect by day and home renovator by night, was in agreement with me that because of the comfortable layout and huge yard, the house had potential with a little work.

Okay, a lot of work. But a “project” is what we wanted and a project is what we got.

Four years later, we still step carefully through a construction site, as the location of the active work area constantly shifts from room to room. The extended timeline is due to the fact that it’s been predominantly a one-man job (with the sole exception of my father and father-in-law lending their handy skills when able) by someone with a full-time job, a daily Malahat commute, and two daughters under the age of five. In other words, I’ve stopped asking when the house will be done.

Temporary yet stylish We’re not planning to stay in this house

after

for much longer, so when we spiffed up our daughters’ rooms, we consciously resisted doing anything too permanent, overly juvenile, or pricey. I was also leery of anything too cutesy — although I’m pretty sure my four-and-a-half-year-old would have gone crazy for rainbow walls with a stenciled medley of pink butterflies hovering near a mural of a pink princess peering out of a tower in a pink castle.

Not gonna happen. Instead (and with her highness’s approval), the walls were painted a soft lemon yellow, with bright blues and deep pinks serving as accent colours. Other than the heart print by the UK’s Bold & Noble Studio, the rest of the

Flag bunting is popular these days, with lots of variations on the theme. Instead of triangles, make garlands with frayed fabric strips, pompoms, bows, or patterned paper shapes.

A felted wool mobile is colourful, modern and very easy to make.

The crib that Dad built: custom furniture adds a unique style and will hopefully be pieces that the girls can use for their own children one day.

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 by sarah macneill

Q&A

with the

contractor a.k.a. husband

artwork in the room is kid-made. Sadie has a grown-up bed because this room doubles as a guest bedroom. The be-ribboned tree branch suspended from the ceiling has been in her room since before she was born. When I was nine months pregnant, I found the branch one morning after a windstorm and placed it in the nursery, pre-baby. It’s a fun element because its accessories can be modified with the seasons — hang homemade birds in the spring, or coloured leaves in autumn. It’s also become a sentimental object. I doubt I’ll ever be able to part with it.

The nursery is currently the crib of a wild child fast approaching two years old, so

after

it’s fitting that there was a subtle circus/ carnival theme in mind for this room. My husband made the crib and change table back in the days when he had spare time, and the mobile, flag bunting, curtains and pillows are also handmade. Keeping to the budget, the light fixture, dresser and shelves are from Ikea, and the elephant and giraffe figures are from HomeSense.

Combine new flooring, trim and a fresh coat of paint, and all of a sudden, the kids’ rooms are fun but polished.

Disclaimer: These rooms look nothing like this at any given time on any given day.

Cue two tornadoes who like dress-up clothes and Lego.



q: What hobby would you take up if your spare time wasn’t occupied by a home renovation?

A: I’d like to build a boat again. When I was 16, I built a V-bottom speedboat in my parents’ garage.

before

Coombs Old Country Market has hundreds of these tent/lantern/kite whatchamacallits for sale and they’re inexpensive. This large one was less than $20.



q: If you could hand off a singular renovationrelated task to me, assuming skill, what would it be?

Owl lamp from Urban Barn: $39.

A: The mudding and sanding of drywall because I’m sick of having nostrils full of dust.

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Fresh flooring, trim and paint make a world of difference in any room.

q: What aspect of renovating this house has surprised you the most?

Bold colours work wonderfully for children’s spaces, especially if you’re hesitant to try them elsewhere in your house.

A: That I’ve surrendered to living among primed walls for so long.

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BUILDING CARE TOGETHER » SPECIAL PUBLICATION CELEBRATING VICTORIA HOSPITALS FOUNDATION

AUGUST 2013

VICTORIA HOSPITALS FOUNDATION

WINNING HOSPITAL plus

WHY THE PATIENT CARE CENTRE IS DRAWING INTERNATIONAL KUDOS

HOSPITAL TOUR

»

DISASTER RESPONSE

»

DONOR STORIES

www.buildingcare.ca

»

CARDIAC CARE

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

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PHOTO BY: ALI BLYTHE

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

ABOUT BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

Giving makes us all better

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ELCOME TO A SPECIAL publication by Boulevard magazine dedicated to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation’s $25 million Building Care Together campaign in support of leading-edge healthcare equipment and technology for the Royal Jubilee Patient Care Centre.

The eight-storey Patient Care Centre is now the anchor of the Royal Jubilee Hospital, bringing together inpatient units that had been spread throughout multiple buildings and uniting them in a single world-class building. By modernizing and centralizing inpatient units that were over 120 years old,

the Patient Care Centre creates a core of progressive facilities to meet the hospital care needs of all patients.

In the pages ahead we will share stories of how innovative technology and specialized training help patient recovery and caregivers’ abilities to deliver the best care possible.

The Victoria Hospitals Foundation is the leading healthcare charity on Vancouver Island. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors consisting of dynamic community leaders. Since 1989, together with our community, the Foundation has raised nearly $90 million for urgently needed medical equipment and special projects at Vancouver

Island’s two largest hospitals: Royal Jubilee and Victoria General.

Every year, the Victoria Hospitals Foundation funds 40 per cent of capital medical equipment purchases for Royal Jubilee and Victoria General hospitals, helping to provide care to more than 765,000 residents of the Vancouver Island Health Authority. Supporting our hospitals positively impacts the delivery of patient care, bringing leading-edge equipment to the

no private donations have been used to fund this publication; it is a generous gift by Boulevard magazine. medical teams who treat patients each day.

“The Building Care Together campaign is now over half way to meeting its goal to fully equip the Patient Care Centre and help it reach its full potential as a world class hospital,” said Lance Abercrombie, Board Chair, Victoria Hospitals Foundation. “With the support and perseverance demonstrated to date, and the amazing team behind the effort, I am certain that we will reach our goal, because … “Giving makes us all better.”

We are pleased to share that no private donations have been used to fund this publication; it is a generous gift by Boulevard magazine. ♦

LETTER FROM VIHA’S ACTING CEO

giving thanks

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N BEHALF OF THE Vancouver Island Health Authority, I extend a heartfelt “thank you” to Boulevard magazine for dedicating this special edition to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.

It is inspiring to read about the brilliant people who are committed to providing the highest quality of care and delivering the best outcomes for our patients.

The Victoria Hospitals Foundation and its donors are important partners in our success. Their support allows us to focus on excellence, quality and safety for the more than 10,000 patients we serve at the Patient Care Centre each year.

The Patient Care Centre at the Royal Jubilee Hospital is one of the most significant developments in healthcare in the history

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of our region. Through its Building Care Together campaign, the Foundation has, so far, raised $13.4 million to help ensure our medical teams at the Patient Care Centre have the right tools to do their finest work.

We are honoured to have a dedicated group of volunteers on the Campaign Cabinet fundraising to ensure this facility realizes its full potential.

We hope you enjoy reading this special edition produced by Boulevard magazine. By shining the spotlight on our staff, the Patient Care Centre and the incredible work of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation, Boulevard has made a significant contribution to the Foundation’s Building Care Together campaign.

Thank you so very much.

Dr. Brendan Carr, Acting President and CEO, Vancouver Island Health Authority

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

WORLD CLASS SITE

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About Building Care Together Letter from VIHA’s acting CEO World Class Site Irresistible Workplace Leading Technology PCC Hospital Room Illustration PCC Hallway Illustration Caring For The Elderly Renal Care Matching Gift Challenge All Nations Healing Room Disaster Response Environmental Features Cancer Care Cardiac Care PCC Academics Infection Control Mental Health Integration Donor Stories Thank You From Campaign Co-Chairs

ON THE COVER : Patient Ann Gibson and nurse Veronica Grey BCT CAMPAIGN CABINET CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR  Leslee Farrell, MacDonald Realty Victoria Inc.  Ted Hughes, O.C., Q.C., Judge (retired) CABINET MEMBERS  Bruce Courtnall, Investment Advisor, CIBC World Markets  Walter Creed, Partner (retired), Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants  Eric Donald, President & GM, The Danzo Group of Companies  Mark Dickinson, Owner & President, Van Isle Marina Company Ltd.  Dr. Steve Holland, Gastroenterology & Internal Medicine, VIHA  Phyllis Kane, President (retired), Calgary Prostate Cancer Foundation & Institute  Dan McAllister, GM, The Q Radio Station  John Pollen, Dealer Principle, Pacific Mazda of Victoria  Tom Siemens, Vice President, Commercial Financial Services, RBC  Georgina Wong, Managing Partner, Don Mee Seafood Restaurant

Kudos abound for award-winning tower

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HOSPITAL ADMISSION, whether planned or sudden, is always a time of stress and anxiety for patients and their families.

Truth be told, no one really wants to be there, if they had any real choice about the matter.

But when it comes to stays in the awardwinning Royal Jubilee Hospital Patient Care Centre — the big eight-storey tower, called the PCC, that can be seen for miles — the comments from patients and families are more like hotel reviews on Trip Advisor than for a hospital stay. “The view was lovely.” “The room was beautiful.” “I really enjoyed the sitting area by fireplaces.” “It was so quiet.”

Comments like these delight Robyne Maxwell, Director, Care Delivery Model Redesign, who was part of the project clinical design team in the building of the $350 million, 500-bed tower.

“Everything we set out to do was to create a warm, comforting, reassuring space, to take away the old institutional feel of a hospital,” said Maxwell.

The PCC has been built to embrace three central pillars in its design: be an irresistable workplace, be elder-friendly and adhere to Pacific Green environmental standards.

Opened in March 2011, the site has been garnering rave reviews, as well as international awards. A panel of 20 judges for the Public Private Finance Awards in London England selected it as “Best International Project” in 2010. The US-based Center for Health Design hailed it for its “exquisite

execution of a patient-centred environment” and awarded it a record 103 of 105 points for design that positively impacts patient care.

In the two years since the Royal Jubilee Hospital Patient Care Centre opened, a number of national and international visitors have come from as far away as the Netherlands and China to take notes on the various design features.

“The quality of design and equipment in a hospital has the ability to significantly impact the quality of care delivered to our patients,” said Dr. Brendan Carr, Acting CEO of the Vancouver Island Health Authority. “What we have here in Victoria at the Patient Care Centre is an outstanding example of how leading-edge design and equipment are revolutionizing the healthcare experience for patients and medical teams.

This is an exciting time in healthcare for our community.”

This 24-page, special publication, donated by Boulevard magazine to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation, celebrates the Royal Jubilee Hospital Patient Care Centre.

Inside these pages are numerous stories that detail the 102 special design features that make this extraordinary building truly a hospital of the 21st century, where some 500 people are treated each day.

Read on to find out more about these pivotal design characteristics, why they matter, and what they mean to you and your loved ones should you ever need a hospital stay at the Royal Jubilee site. ♦

PHOTO BY MELANIE SEAL-JONES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Building Care Together magazine is published by BLVD Reports (a division of Black Press Group) PUBLISHER Geoff Wilcox EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Anne Mullens CREATIVE DIRECTOR Pip Knott WRITERS Anne Mullens, Alisa Gordaneer 818 Broughton Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1E4 Ph: 250.598.8111 Fax: 250.598.3183 info@blvdmag.ca | blvdmag.ca The statements, opinions, & points of view expressed in this magazine are those of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the Publisher’s permission.

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IMAGE CREDIT: GARY MCKINSTRY

IRRESISTIBLE WORKPLACE

Irresistible hospital proves if you build it, they will come

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R. IMAD NADRA’S MEDICAL credentials are such that the 40-year-old interventional cardiologist could have established a thriving career at any number of leading hospitals around the world.

He holds both a PhD in vascular immunology and an MD specialty in cardiology, with research interests in the role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease. He specializes in the field called “percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)” and is an expert in the delicate procedure of diagnosing and treating cardiac problems by accessing the heart via the arteries of the arm.

Nadra, who has worked in some of the most prestigious heart hospitals in the UK, was awarded the British Heart Foundation Clinical Research Fellowship and a Boston Scientific International Fellowship in 2010, when he chose to come to Victoria to gain further expertise in PCI. When the fellowship ended he was offered good career opportunities in the UK and abroad.

But when the time came this past year to decide where he would finally put down permanent roots, and where he and his wife would raise their two young daughters, he chose Victoria.

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BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

PCC NOT THE ONLY DRAW — BUT IT HELPS Of course, the new Patient Care Centre was not the sole reason Nadra chose to settle here, “but I am sure it helped,” said Dr. Eric Fretz, one of Vancouver Island Health Authority’s (VIHA) interventional cardiologists.

Nadra agrees: “It was the whole package, the terrific team I’d work with, the research possibilities, the quality of care provided to patients — which is number 1 for me — and the attractive working environment. All of it.”

Highly skilled doctors, nurses, medical technicians and other allied health professionals are in huge demand around the world. According to the World Health Organization, a current global shortage exists for 4.3 million trained healthcare personnel.

One way to address that shortage is to train more people — a goal being taken up worldwide, including in BC and Canada. But another way is for healthcare organizations to do all they can to attract and retain the best talent available.

STAFF CONSIDERED FROM START For VIHA, creating an “irresistible hospital” — a highly irresistable workplace — was one of three key pillars of the PCC design from the start. (The other two

www. buildingcare.ca

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Dr. Imad Nadra chats with medical resident Dr. Dave Harrison

pillars are an elder-friendly hospital, and an environmentally green facility.)

“Even before the blueprint stage we knew we wanted to incorporate design elements and features that would make this one of the best working environments for hospitals in Canada, if not the world, “ said Dr. Lynn Stevenson, Executive Vice President, People and Organizational Development and Chief Nurse. “And after all the planning the result is incredible. We truly have a state-of-theart facility that is being viewed as a model nationally and internationally.”

During construction, a dedicated project

One of the best working environments for hospitals in Canada team consisting of frontline doctors, nurses, and other health professionals consulted extensively with all of the RJH staff on how to design a hospital that helped medical teams do the best job possible, and helped improve patient outcomes. That project team then worked alongside architects to incorporate staff ideas into the building, says Robyne Maxwell, Director of Care Delivery Model Redesign. As well, staff photos of British Columbia landscapes, garnered via a competition, were used to adorn the hallways as way-finding markers, a personal touch that enhances staff and patients’ feeling of connectedness to the building.

Now the PCC is home to some 5,000 staff, of which about 1,500 are working on site at any one time. The natural light, fresh air, infection control safety features, efficiency, quiet and calm are almost as much for their

HUNDREDS HIRED Since the PCC opened in March 2011, according to VIHA human resources, hundreds of staff from all fields have been hired, including specialist physicians, nurses, managers, IT staff, lab technicians and more.

LEADING TECHNOLOGY

Wired for the future: New technology integrated into PCC’s design and operation

 HANDS-FREE COMMUNICATIONS Think “Beam me up Scotty.” The handsfree Vocera voice communication system lets staff talk to each other, and to patients, with a simple voice command. Clipped to a uniform or on a lanyard around the neck, the small device is not only linked into alert systems like “Code Blue,” it also takes messages and locates wearers anywhere in the building. No

more overhead paging means a quieter, more healing environment.  EHR: ONE PATIENT, ONE RECORD “One patient, one record” is the ultimate VIHA-wide goal. The PCC has computers with fully-electronic health records (EHR) at every bedside. These integrate into the nursing stations, doctors’ records, lab, pharmacy and other services.

 GPS TAGS ON EQUIPMENT Keeping track of valuable hospital inventory — particularly specialized medical equipment in an eight-storey building — is now done with GPS tags. The system easily identifies where a particular piece of equipment is located, and whether it is in use or available, and when it was last cleaned and sanitized. ♦ IMAGE CREDIT: BILL BLAIR

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HEN PATIENTS ENTER their rooms in the Patient Care Centre, they’ll likely first notice the fresh air, sunlight and privacy. But a whole network of advanced technology supports their recovery.

Built to integrate IT into everyday processes and anticipate future IT needs, the PCC exemplifies what technology can do for patient care. No one is more excited about this than Dr. Steve Holland, a Gastroenterologist who is a physician lead in integrating IT at the PCC. Dr. Holland said, “The power of IT is phenomenal to increase efficiency and safety and break down barriers in healthcare.”

Here are just a few IT advances that are being put to work in the PCC:

 BEDSIDE VITAL SIGNS Blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, respiration rates and oxygen saturation: in the PCC, vital signs are automatically monitored at the patient’s bedside and uploaded to the medical record, reducing the need for paper charting. More critically, the monitors send alarms to a caregiver’s Vocera — no matter where they are in the hospital — should vital signs signal a need for intervention.  BARCODE TECHNOLOGY A barcode on the patient wristband can be scanned and linked to a barcode on patient medication. This closed-loop medication delivery system reduces medication errors by ensuring the right dose for the right patient at the right time. www.buildingcare.ca

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Dr. Nadra has been so busy working since arriving here, he hasn’t had time to use the fitness room yet — but he hopes to someday. And he does enjoy the gardens around the PCC regularly, often talking with medical residents on the benches while having a coffee. “It is a lovely spot.”

At the patient bedside he likes how he can turn the computer screen and show the patient and the family the patient’s angiogram results “right there.” Most importantly for him, though, is how the entire RJH campus now — from the emergency department, to the Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, to the new Patient Care Centre — integrates high quality patient care, supports collaboration, and emphasizes teamwork. “It is a holistic, multidisciplinary approach that really benefits the patient and is great to be a part of. I hadn’t experienced this in the UK.” ♦

IMAGE CREDIT: MELANIE SEAL-JONES

benefit as for the patients’.

Other features for staff include ergonomic design of work stations, space for meetings and collaboration, lockers for personal items, and staff rooms on each floor with computers and small kitchens. There is a ground floor fitness facility with treadmills, bikes, elliptical trainers, weights, and mats, and with TVs to watch while working out. Gardens provide a pleasant place for a coffee break or quick lunch, or just a space for quiet reflection given the high-stress nature of their work.

Top-quality food is available from a variety of vendors in the main floor Atrium.

ILLUSTRATION BY: PIP KNOTT

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

ANNOTATED TOUR: THE PCC HOSPITAL ROOM

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N 506 Today is:

Tuesday, 23 July

I liked to be called: My goal today is:

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Please: Activity Diet

Rooms with a healing view Smart design, patient comfort, and technology combine for optimal care Welcome to the 21st century hospital room LEADING-EDGE RESEARCH PLUS extensive staff consultation went into the design of the 500 patient rooms in the Patient Care Centre. Clean, quiet and efficient, the identical rooms make patients and their families feel cared for and comfortable while creating an optimal working environment for staff. Here are some of the design features found in each room: 6

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

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BRIGHT IDEA Room lighting includes bright exam lights to illuminate bedside procedures as well as gentle light for reading or repose. Night lights are also specialized with amber light to make the transition easier for patients who need to get up in the night.

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SILENCE IS GOLDEN Top-level, soundabsorbing ceiling tiles make for a much quieter hospital stay — and promote faster healing and shorter admissions.

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YOU LIFT ME UP The first facility in the world to have adjustable ceiling lifts in every patient room to support patient movement and prevent falls, plus reduce staff injuries — and they cover the entire room and bathroom, too.

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BEDSIDE COMPUTERS Computers beside the bed provide access to medical records while also recording vital signs and updating new information, enabling viewing at the bedside, down the hall or across the city in doctors’ offices.

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SPIFFY PRIVY Designed for optimal sanitization, private showers and toilets in every room reduce infection spread and speed recovery.

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1400 SINKS Every room has its own sink, right at the entrance and within eyesight of the patient, ensuring handwashing compliance and minimizing the transmission of infections.

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HANDS FREE Foot pedals allow nursing staff to raise and lower the bed for various care needs.

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SMART BEDS Lights, window blinds, the TV, a nurse intercom, and more can be operated from the bed by the patient.

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GPS-ENABLED GPS labels on all equipment monitor location, maintenance records and sterile status.

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WINDOW ON THE WORLD Each room’s large window enables natural light as well as, for many, pleasant city or mountain

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vistas. And the blinds can be controlled from the patient’s bed.

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A BREATH OF FRESH AIR Every room has a window vent that opens to the outside, circulating fresh air. Air is never recycled and always fresh from the outside using a special ventilation system.

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RELAX AND SPEND THE NIGHT A streamlined couch converts easily to a 506 can sleep single bed so a familyN member beside a loved one who is ill.

Today is: Tuesday, 23 July DOUBLE I liked to beUP called:Should a disaster strike, every room has the capacity to double My goal today is: its occupancy.

Please: Activity

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TODAY IS TUESDAY A prominent whiteboard in every room notes date, staff names, special instructions and other key information, minimizing patient confusion.

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LESSONS PIPED IN Room TVs can stream educational videos, like wound care or rehab tips.

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ANNOTATED TOUR: THE PCC HOSPITAL CORRIDOR

Healthy hallways

Design promotes comfort, safety and efficiency

NO DETAIL WAS SPARED in creating hospital corridors on all eight floors that promote patient and family comfort, a healthy environment, and staff safety and efficiency. Exceptional thought was put into the 102 unique design features in the PCC, many of which occur in the hallways. Here are some of the design features found in each corridor:

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OFFSET CEILING LIGHTS Ceiling lights are off to the side so that patients are not subjected to flashing bright lights when they travel by stretcher down the hallway.

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SHHH... Top quality, noise-absorbing ceiling tiles promote a quiet, restful atmosphere.

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CODE BLUE LIGHTING If a code blue is sounded, blue lighting along the ceiling lead staff directly to the patient’s door, saving time.

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MORE SINKS Not only does every room have a sink, but the hallways do, too, boosting hand-washing compliance and reducing infection transmission.

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equipment never meet, as each has its own elevator system. Separating the flow greatly reduces risks of infection transmission.

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SYSTEMATIC SUPPLIES Each floor has identically designed, centrally located supply rooms, with every item stored exactly the same — saving time when stocking and finding needed items.

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NON-STERILE HOLDING AREA Garbage, used equipment and other unsterile items have their own designated holding areas behind doors, and their own elevator system.

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DESIGNATED ELEVATORS Food, patients, visitors, soiled linens and

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STORAGE BAYS Carts, wheelchairs and other equipment no longer clutter up

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the hall since they can be tucked into dedicated recessed bays.

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INVITING SEATING AREAS A fireplace, leather chairs and TV provide a welcoming feel to the entrance of each ward, while a sunroom with stunning views provides another comfy place for sitting at the other end of every hall.

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NEGATIVE PRESSURE CAPABILITY In case of a pandemic infection, like SARS, rooms, hallways and even whole floors

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can be turned into negative pressure zones to prevent any transmission of infection by air.

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HANDY HANDRAILS All halls are lined with easy to clean and accessible handrails to help patients get up and moving.

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HELPFUL FLOORING Dark brown coloured patterning on the floor is a proven inhibitor to wandering for patients with dementia, who will not cross over them.

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DOUBLE DOORS Each patient room has two doors, enabling a wide opening for gurneys or a narrow one for night-time monitoring.

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WINDOW IN THE PATIENT ROOM’S DOOR Blinds, encased between two pieces of glass in the door to the patient room, reduce the chance of infection and can be closed for more privacy. Left open, patients can be monitored without being disturbed.

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ILLUSTRATION BY: PIP KNOTT

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CARING FOR THE ELDERLY

IMAGE CREDIT: GARY MCKINSTRY

A simple hospital visit is rarely simple for many seniors WITH THOSE OVER AGE 75 ACCOUNTING FOR ONE-THIRD OF ALL PCC ADMISSIONS AND 50% OF ALL OVERNIGHT STAYS, ACCOMMODATING ELDERLY PATIENTS’ NEEDS IS CRUCIAL  Norma Sheridan and Occupational Therapy Student, Paula Bellagio share a laugh in the PCC atrium.

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AST THANKSGIVING ANNE Ravdin was cooking a large turkey, using a disposable aluminum roasting pan, something she has done umpteen times before. But as the 78-yearold Victoria resident was taking the bird out of the oven, the pan crumpled, spilling hot turkey grease down her front, and burning her left foot. She thought the burn would heal on its own, but a few weeks later her doctor took one look and said “You need plastic surgery.” She ended up having a skin graft and spending more than two weeks in the new Patient Care Centre.

As a former cancer patient, and as a diabetic since 1989, with circulation and nerve problems, as well as vision loss, “I have a lot of medical issues,” said Ravdin.

Her complex health situation is similar to that of many seniors who enter the hospital, explains Geriatrician Dr. Marilyn Bater.

While younger people may have day surgery or a single disease to deal with, older adults have a lot of “medical baggage,” a range of conditions that may or may not be related to the acute problem — such as a burns, falls, or heart attack — that brought them to the hospital in the first place.

Patients over the age of 75 now account for one third of all admissions and half of all overnight stays in the PCC. Since the number of seniors in the region is expected to quadruple by 2050, the Patient Care Centre was designed specifically to accommodate its elder citizens, and is the first acute care elderfriendly hospital in the world.

From the built environment to the best

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practices encouraged for care staff, a range of features help the facility be as elder friendly as possible.

Some innovations are evident from the moment a person enters the ward and is settled into a quiet, cozy, private room.

The comfy Smart Beds monitor whether a patient is in bed, and have connections for blood pressure and heart rate monitors. A ceiling-track lift protects against falls and helps patients with mobility issues get from the bed to the private bathroom, which has enough space for two caregivers to help out with showering and hygiene. And speaking of hygiene, every room has a sink where anyone going in or out must wash their hands, preventing issues like infection with C.difficile that can be so devastating to elderly patients.

After her surgery, Ravdin was first admitted to the old RJH 2 West site, then moved last November during her stay when 2 West was decommissioned. “We were part of a special parade as they moved us all over.

People were clapping.”

The difference between the old hospital and the new: “was like night and day. I had been in a four-bed ward. It had no privacy and no room to move. Then I had my own room and bathroom. It was wonderful.”

Norma Sheridan, 86, was in the PCC last fall too, after suffering a heart attack that she thought at first was just bad flu. Like Ravdin, she has complex health issues — chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that required extra oxygen and a thryoid problem that requires daily medication. She, too, had been

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previously in the old hospital, which she called “chaotic.” She loved the quietness and pleasure of having a private room in the PCC. An avid reader, she would have liked more time with the hospital’s mobile book trolley.

In each room, a white board keeps track of the person’s name and medication schedule, and includes information for both patient and caregivers.

“Healing comes from getting patients active as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Bater.

“Even a few days in bed can lead to a sharp decline in muscle tone.”

Grab bars along walls and in bathrooms help patients get around independently, and night lights let them feel safe, even when it’s dark. Once they’re ready to venture further, each floor has comfortable sunrooms and lounges, and even group eating areas, to provide interesting destinations where patients can socialize and begin to heal in a more holistic way. Benches built into the walls offer places to rest along the journey.

And different colours of flooring designate pathways, helping patients keep on track and deterring those with memory loss from straying outside the ward.

While most evidence for the PCC’s success is still anecdotal, it’s overwhelmingly positive. Dr. Bater points to the incidence of delirium — confusion caused by physical disruption, which can extend the length of a hospital stay — as one measure. “In the old building, rates of delirium on the vascular ward were as high as 60 per cent. But after the move? The delirium rate is down to 25 per cent,” she said. ♦

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ELDER-FRIENDLY DESIGN FEATURES → Bathroom doors that slide rather than swing. → Levered door handles that don’t require gripping or twisting. → Window blinds, thermostats and lights operated from the bed, or from sitting or standing positions. → Toilets placed so assistance can be offered from either side.

→ Shower stalls with wheelchair access. → Handrails in all bathrooms, bedrooms, inpatient hallways, lobbies and outside spaces.

→ Safe places to walk to — family lounges, kitchenettes to make a snack or cup of tea, sitting areas with fireplaces, gardens.

→ Strategically placed lighting to avoid glare on signs, counters or floors.

→ Seating placed throughout hallways, elevator lobbies, and by all intersections.

→ Coloured floor patterning that inhibits wandering by patients with dementia.

→ A quiet hospital, with sound absorbing ceiling tiles and no overhead paging.

RENAL CARE

Room for dialysis: If the patient is too sick, dialysis comes to them the Diagnostic and Treatment Centre for their dialysis. But if they aren’t well enough to move around, Jantzen’s nurses bring the dialysis machines right to their bedsides.

This task is easier now, said Jantzen, because the new rooms are big enough to accommodate both the dialysis machine and the reverse osmosis water purifying machine that supplies it. Special drains built right into the walls handle waste fluids in an efficient and sanitary way.

From his perspective, Bailey said he

enjoys the facility’s bright, sunny atmosphere and spacious rooms. “They’re more like hotel rooms than hospital wards.”

He also enjoys the activities and exercise room, and likes that when he’s well enough to get moving, he can venture to the Atrium restaurants, the garden, and the chapel.

Bailey says the new facility seems to make the nursing staff happier, too, which leads to a better experience for patients. “They’re not just skilled with the medical end of things, they’re more like family than nurses,” he added. ♦ IMAGE CREDIT: GARY MCKINSTRY

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INCE HIS KIDNEYS FAILED just over a year ago, 73-year-old retired electrician Frank Bailey has been hospitalized seven times for pneumonia caused by his compromised immune system. When this happens, Bailey stays on the fourth floor of the PCC under the care of seven skilled nephrologists and a team of experienced Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses.

“Patients with chronic renal failure have complex health needs,” said Joanne Dolynuk, the Patient Care Manager for the floor. If hospitalized for any reason — from heart attacks, to falls, to complications from transplants — patients with renal failure need careful monitoring of their medications and fluid levels. And regardless of what else is happening with their health, they must continue with their dialysis.

Like approximately 135 other Victoriaarea patients, Bailey relies on dialysis to clear his body of the toxins his kidneys can no longer handle. Some manage this at home.

Others, like Bailey, need more complex hemodialysis. For three or four hours, every three days, Bailey’s blood is filtered through a special machine. Either way, the procedure must happen routinely — even when a patient is hospitalized for other reasons.

Jodi Jantzen, Manager of the Renal Services Unit, said many hospitalized dialysis patients travel from their rooms in the PCC to

Patients with chronic renal failure have complex health needs

 Frank Bailey gets ready for his dialysis

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IMAGE CREDIT: ALI BLYTHE

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

COMMUNITY MATCHING GIFT CHALLENGE

Building Care Together

We’re so close ... and you can make the difference

The Community Matching Gift Challenge

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ow is the time to join with your community and be a part of something extraordinary.

In the midst of our $25 million Building Care Together campaign to equip the Patient Care Centre, Jim Pattison has stepped forward with an outstanding commitment to the health of our community, and one that launches the Community Matching Gift Challenge.

Every new donation will now have double the impact in our hospitals. If we can raise $5 million from compassionate people like you, Jim Pattison will match your generosity, dollar for dollar, and $5 million will become $10 million.

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The Royal Jubilee Hospital is a vital and important part of the healthcare system for the whole of Vancouver Island. The Jim Pattison Foundation would like to commit to the Vancouver Island community that we will match your gifts to the Building Care Together campaign dollar for dollar up to a total of $5 million.

We look forward to a successful campaign that will allow the Royal Jubilee Hospital to make a significant difference to the healthcare needs of our children, parents, friends and neighbours.

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- Jimmy Pattison Jim Pattison Foundation ďƒ¨ Visit www.buildingcare.ca

Equipping our hospitals for today and the future

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hen we imagine the kind of hospital we want in our community, it is likely one with highly-trained staff working with advanced equipment in a healing environment. This, at its heart, is the Patient Care Centre: a hospital where medical teams have the right tools and environment to do their finest work.

As of today, Building Care Together has raised $13.4 million through generous pledges by more than 2,500 donors.

With more than $9 million already disbursed to the Patient Care Centre, we are beginning to see the impact on patient care for the more than 10,000 patients who visit every year.

But we still need your help to equip every area of care:  Adult and Seniors Mental Health  Heart Health  Cardiology Clinical Teaching Unit  General Medicine

 Kidney Care  Bone Health  Rehabilitation  General Surgery  Burns and Complex Wound Care  Oncology Care  Lung Health Lance Abercrombie, Board Chair, Victoria Hospitals Foundation said that “it is wonderful to see the Patient Care Centre receive recognition and support from leaders like Mr. Pattison. We invite you to become part of Building Care Together, a proud group of donors that is transforming the health and vitality of our community. If you haven’t already, join us today and double the impact of your donation.”

To date the Building Care Together campaign has raised $13.4m. The Community Matching Gift Challenge gives us the opportunity to add $10m to this total.

Legacy Donor: Jim Pattison

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im pattison is one of BC’s most respected business leaders and innovative philanthropists. An officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of British Columbia, he is well known to many in BC for his leadership roles in the province.

Pattison’s story of success started in 1961 when he purchased his first Pontiac Buick dealership in Vancouver. Over the next decades, he would expand into radio and television broadcasting, advertising, magazine distribution, entertainment and grocery stores.

Pattison would ultimately grow this one dealership into the Jim Pattison Group, the second

largest private company in Canada. With 35,000 employees, it is no wonder Pattison cares about the health of the communities where his businesses operate.

Jim Pattison formed the Jim Pattison Foundation with a major focus on funding hospitals, because, in his words, they help everyone. Today, with this Matching Gift Challenge, Jim Pattison joins a community effort that will touch the lives of patients right across Vancouver Island and across BC. In this way, the advancement of his business will enable the advancement of healthcare in our community.

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COMMUNITY MATCHING GIFT CHALLENGE

IMAGE CREDIT: BILL BLAIR

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

ALL NATIONS HEALING ROOM

A space for cultural rituals

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ARLIER THIS YEAR, JUST A week or so before her father died, Mia Hunt came from Vancouver with an abalone shell, sweet grass, sage, cedar bark, and an eagle feather.

Her 80-year-old father, noted Métis artist Frank Lewis, was in the Patient Care Centre, partially paralysed from a stroke and dying of cancer.

Hunt, who is a teacher in Native Cultural Studies in Vancouver, came to do a smudging ceremony in the new All Nations Healing Room, off the PCC main floor Atrium.

Double carved cedar doors, flanked by two tall Coast Salish welcoming figures, open to a quiet, peaceful room, with a view of a blooming outdoor garden. Designed after a traditional long house, with more wall

carvings inside, it is the first room of its kind in a hospital in Canada, a place where a First Nations patient — or a patient of any culture — can do the rituals or ceremonies important to them.

“We recognize that culture is an important part of anyone’s healing experience,” said Ian Knipe, VIHA’s Director of Aboriginal Health.

“We wanted to make the place as meaningful and welcoming as possible.”

His Métis culture was important to Lewis, who in September donated a large painting called “Honouring Creation” to the Hospital Foundation’s Building Care Together campaign for the All Nations Healing Room. The painting was the last one he painted before illness struck.

“We did the smudging in front of his

We recognize that culture is an important part of anyone’s healing experience

painting, which was very meaningful for him,” said Hunt.

Lewis was wheeled down in a reclining wheelchair from his room in the PCC. With family at his side, Hunt lit the sage, cedar and sweet grass in the abalone shell and, walking around Lewis, wafted the smoke over and around him with the eagle feather while they all prayed to the Creator.

“It brought him great peace and calm. He said he was ready to go,” Hunt said.

By creating a safe space for cultural practices, VIHA has begun creating a more welcoming hospital environment. And there has been such positive response, planning is now underway to incorporate such rooms — which are open to all — into every new hospital building in VIHA from now on. ♦ DISASTER RESPONSE

Ready to respond EARTHQUAKE Advance planning in an earthquake zone means being prepared for strategic action before and after the event. The PCC building is designed to withstand an earthquake of up to 8 on the Richter Scale, with seismic joints that let the three sections of the PCC building flex independently.

“Single-patient rooms were constructed with double headwalls which allow for additional patients — making a 500-bed facility fit 850,” says Janice Evans, the PCC’s General Manager.

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The Patient Care Centre is poised for action when emergency strikes

COMMAND CENTRE Should an earthquake — or any other widespread emergency — happen, the PCC has been designated the regional emergency command centre. The first person to arrive will find instructions on how to set up the room — with white boards, computers, radio phones (in case cell

phones don’t work) and more. It’s stocked with supplies, water and emergency command identification vests. “It’s set up to mobilize quickly,” says Evans. A back-up generator provides electricity, while separate water, plumbing and medical gas systems let the hospital operate, even off the grid.

PANDEMIC OUTBREAK Negative air pressure keeps germs contained in a room, helping prevent the spread of an airborne illness, like SARS or the new coronavirus now in the Middle East called MERS. During an outbreak, the press of a button can change the air pressure in the isolation rooms, and even each ward can be converted to negative pressure, creating a quarantine zone suited for any situation in just 15 minutes. Wide vehicle access paths — cleverly disguised as garden paths — allow for emergency response vehicles. “We’ve followed the very best practices in design and disaster planning,” says Evans.

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A greener hospital, top to bottom Efficient and eco-friendly features at the new Patient Care Centre

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NERGY EFFICIENCY IS built right in to the new Patient Care Centre, which has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification. Facilities Director Dean Anderson explains that designing for efficiency was an essential part of the building’s development process, from top to bottom.

ROOF: Green roofs help keep the hospital cooler in summer and warmer in winter. A variety of sedums and other native plants grow on two roofs at the new PCC, reducing the heat load of the building by providing an extra layer of insulation that naturally cools the roof through evaporation. This means less energy is spent on air conditioning. In areas without plants, a white solar reflective coating helps deflect sunlight, which also helps keep the buildings cooler. And the roof lasts longer — an expected 20-year material lifespan will keep materials out of the landfill that much longer.

LIGHT: Natural lighting, like the sunshine through the windows in patient rooms, saves energy, but too much sunlight can be too much of a good thing. Extended sunshades over the windows that receive direct sun help reduce the heat load in those rooms, which helps the heating and cooling system operate more efficiently.

AUTOMATICALLY BETTER: Why heat or light a room that nobody’s using? Occupancy sensors turn off the lights and heat when people leave the room. “That technology has been included wherever we can,” says Anderson.

“It’s simple technology.” Hands-free taps, with a sensor powered by a tiny turbine water wheel inside the tap itself, help save water at each of the building’s hand washing stations.

BREATHE EASIER: Fresh air helps healing, while clean air helps stop the spread of germs. The ventilation system at the PCC refreshes the entire building’s air supply every 10 minutes. This kind of system uses a lot of energy, but Anderson says the PCC’s system uses 30 to 40 per cent less than a standard one. And it filters the air throughout: “It’s the same quality as in the operating room.” And low-VOC paint and finishes throughout help keep the indoor air quality high.

CLEAN SWEEPS: Instead of volatile or toxic cleaning products, the PCC uses microfibre cloths for cleaning. These colour-coded cloths (pink for patient room furniture, blue for vertical surfaces, and so on) remove bacteria and are less damaging to surfaces. And seamless, non-porous Corian countertops mean less places for germs to hide in the first place.

EFFICIENT WORKPLACE: Because every floor is exactly the same, staff energy is saved, too. By not having to find their way around when they move between floors, staff can spend more time caring for patients, which results in efficiency at every level. ♦

IMAGE CREDIT: BILL BLAIR

WATER: The green roofs also filter rainwater, which is collected and funnelled into the cisterns that supply water for both the landscaping and the ponds in the gardens. If the cisterns

fill up, the clean overflow runs into Bowker Creek. Anderson estimates the hospital collects — and therefore saves — about 200 to 300 cubic metres of water each year, or about the volume of the Oak Bay Rec swimming pool. Low-velocity generators, powered by wind turbines, power the irrigation system.

“The pumps are completely off the grid,” says Anderson. And inside, a heat recovery system gathers warmth from the exhaust system, and transfers that to pre-heat water coming into the building.

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ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

CANCER CARE

Airy 8th floor brings peace, privacy and protection He described for me the most beautiful sunrise.

It was a special moment,” she recalls. “The view gave him great comfort and peace.

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LIZABETH WESTLAKE WILL never forget the phone call she received early one morning a year ago. Her husband, Tony, was calling from his room on the eighth floor of the PCC, where he was being treated for complications to his end-stage lung cancer.

“He described for me the most beautiful sunrise. It was a special moment,” she recalled. “The view gave him great comfort and peace.”

Although he died a few months later, the week he spent in the PCC last June was a form of refuge for the couple in a difficult time.

“It was such a terrible period, but I have nothing but good things to say about the building. The room was fabulous — so spacious and private,” she said.

Most of all, she remembers the quiet and calm. “That is not something one usually associates with hospitals, it’s usually so noisy, with intercoms and things beeping so that you can hardly sleep. But it was actually peaceful to be there.”

One night when Tony was having a rough time with hallucinations, the staff encouraged her to sleep in his room, converting the special window seat into a pull-out, single bed so she could sleep beside him. “That settled and comforted

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him. Something like that is just so important to patients and families.”

SOME CANCER COMPLICATIONS NEED HOSPITALIZATION Each year some 5,000 Vancouver Island residents are diagnosed with cancer.

Fortunately the majority are able to stay in their homes while being treated as out patients through the BC Cancer Agency, said oncologist Dr. Helen Anderson, a Professional Practice Leader at the agency.

But 10 to 15 per cent of patients experience complications during treatment that require hospital admissions, such as infections, blood disorders, swelling, pain, and more.

“These people can become very sick and they need to be in hospital where doctors can better address the issue, such as with IV antibiotics, or get their symptoms under control,” said Dr.Anderson. “The previous cancer ward at the RJH site was “old, cramped, crowded and unpleasant and despite top-notch medical care, the environment only contributed to the distress that the patient and family were going through.”

Now the new PCC has been designed “with the patient and family in mind,” said Dr. Anderson, and “the difference is like night and day.”

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Cancer patients are admitted to the eighth floor — the top floor — and every room has a stunning view. Fresh air, light, privacy and quiet all contribute to healing and the resolution of issues.

“Patients actually feel less distress because the environment is so calming — and that has a tremendous impact on staff. They feel better, too.”

IMMUNE SYSTEMS VULNERABLE People undergoing cancer treatment, with their suppressed immune systems and often high levels of antibiotics, are very susceptible to acquiring hospital-based infections. In the past, said Anderson, a Clostridium difficile (C-difficile) infection in one patient in a four-person room, for example, might cause the shut down of the whole ward and the moving of all the patients as a precautionary measure.

“It was so hard on everyone,” said Dr. Anderson. “Because of the improved infection control measures in this hospital that is not happening anymore.”

Indeed, with the private rooms, any infection that might put others at risk can easily be contained, confirms Kelly MacDonald, Infection Control Practitioner at Vancouver Island Health Authority.

“We no longer need to move cancer patients for infection concerns. And that means they can get on with the business of healing,” said MacDonald. ♦

Hearts are in good hands at VIHA’s Heart Health program

A fresh new look for patients is like a fresh new start for them.

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ARRY KOTYK KNEW for more than 10 years that one day he would have to undergo open heart surgery. The Trail, BC, ironworker was just 48 when doctors first heard a heart murmur and told him that his mitral valve was leaking. It was inevitable, he was told, that one day he would need to have a procedure that would open up his sternum, stop his heart, re-route his blood flow on a heart-lung machine, and repair or replace the malfunctioning valve.

“It wasn’t something I dreaded, exactly, I just got on with life, but it was always in the background,” said Kotyk, 60. “I was being followed constantly.”

In the summer of 2011, when his annual echocardiogram and stress test showed the beginning of enlargement of his heart and shortness of breath on exertion, Kotyk was told by his Kelowna specialist: “You need to have the operation now.”

But where? Kotyk assumed, like many, that Vancouver was the only option for someone outside the Lower Mainland, but he learned that Victoria is a province-wide referral centre with a leading, comprehensive Heart Health Program.

“VIHA has a national

reputation for excellence in cardiac care. The physicians and staff are proud of what they do, and they do it very well,” said Dr. Catherine Hodgins, Director of Heart Health and Adult Intensive Care for all of VIHA. Hodgins was at one time the Director of Heart Health at the London Health Services Centre in Ontario and came to VIHA two years ago, from Edmonton just after the PCC opened. “I was very happy when the position came up.”

NATIONAL REPUTATION; THOUSANDS TREATED In 2012, 760 open-heart surgeries, 3200 cardiac catheterizations (such as angiograms and angioplasty) and 700 electrophysiology procedures (treatments to correct electrical problems of the heart) were all conducted out of the RJH site. In all cases, patients flow through the PCC, staying as little as a day and an average five days, particularly post openheart surgery.

“Having open-heart surgery represents for most patients a fresh new start in life, and the PCC now represents that fresh new start with its fresh new look,” said Mary Ann Metcalfe, a Clinical Nurse Educator in

the Heart Health program, who has been in heart health 20 plus years.

More than 200 people work in the Heart Health program including nurses, perfusionists, cardiac technicians and technologists, sonographers, physiotherapists, social workers, occupational therapists and more. As well, four cardiac surgeons, 16 cardiologists and six internists are part of the Heart Health program.

NEW BUILDING ENHANCES STRONG PROGRAM While VIHA’s Heart Health program was known nationally for its high quality before the opening of the PCC, the new building’s design and functionality has enabled a number of enhancements.

“To me, the big thing is that the technology and design has enabled nurses to return to the bedside — where they want to be. Everything is there that they need, so they don’t need to go running down the hall,” said Metcalfe.

Colleague Cathy Whitehead, the Clinical Nurse Leader for the 3rd floor cardiac care ward, agrees: “We can do our oxygen saturations, our blood pressures www.buildingcare.ca

and temperatures and it gets entered right there and then at the bedside. It is huge for nurse satisfaction and patient care.”

Larry Kotyk couldn’t be happier with his experience. He had his surgery in August 2011, about four months after the PCC opened.

“It was unbelievable on all levels. I just couldn’t get over how great it was. The doctors, the nursing staff, the physiotherapists, even the cleaning staff — everyone was fantastic. They all seemed really happy. And my room was beautiful. It was like nothing I had been expecting.”

Kotyk has returned to good health. Newly retired from his 40year career at the Trail smelter, he is looking forward to a summer of golf, boating, walking the family dog, and perhaps even taking a trip down to Victoria — not for any health concerns but to visit family.

In fact, proving the new PCC is acting as a magnet that attracts staff who are happy and want to stay, his daughter recently got a job with VIHA as a Diet Technician: “She works in the PCC, walking through all the wards getting patients’ diet reports. She is on the cardiac ward in her rounds every day and she is just loving it,” he said. ♦ BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

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CARDIAC CARE

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IMAGE CREDIT: BILL BLAIR

PCC ACADEMICS

Room to learn:

research and medical education built into the PCC design

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T IS 12 NOON ON A FRIDAY. IN four locations around BC — including the new state-of-the-art lecture theatre in the Patient Care Centre — doctors, medical students, biostatisticians, and health researchers have gathered to take part in an interactive presentation by a noted California researcher.

Dr. Richard Lewis, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, is being broadcast live from St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver to more than 50 academics and researchers around the province. The title is a mouthful: “The Motivation, Promise and Success of Baysian Adaptive Trial Design.” Its details would be lost on all but a sophisticated medical academic audience.

But the mere presence of such an event at the PCC— and other such academic talks that now happen regularly at the site — positively impacts the quality of healthcare received by all people on Vancouver Island, says Dr. Con Rusnak, Executive Medical Director, Academics and Clinical Engagement for VIHA. QUALITY CARE, AND MORE DOCS, TOO “The ability to support medical education and research is what keeps healthcare current, it helps attract and retain leading medical staff, and it connects us to the wider world,” said Dr. Con Rusnak, whose job is to help integrate medical academics into VIHA’s clinical sites. Statistics repeatedly show that supporting medical education and research

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creates higher quality care. It helps reduce and the Regional Associate Dean, Vancouver doctor shortages, too. The majority of doctors Island, of UBC’s Faculty of Medicine. eventually end up practising in the region The 60-seat ramped theatre on the main where they were trained. floor is one such space. It not only holds In the past, said Rusnak, no dedicated regular guest speakers, like Lewis, either in space for teaching existed in the old RJH person or piped in from Vancouver, but also wards. Interns and residents had difficulty regular “medical rounds” where difficult or clustering around the cramped bedsides, nor complex cases are discussed among staff. could they easily or privately discuss cases Across the hall from the theatre is in the crowded, dark halls. Traditionally, the another large meeting space with multiple majority of undergraduate and postgraduate interactive screens enabling simultaneous medical education all took place in Vancouver interactive hook-up to UBC in Vancouver. at the University of BC (UBC) and its Other meeting rooms with videoconferencing associated teaching hospitals, so therefore capabilities abound, including meeting rooms none of the existing hospitals in Victoria had on each floor. been built with teaching needs in mind.

In addition, every unit in the PCC has Since 2005, however, the Island a common area behind glass doors, called Medical Program (IMP) at the University the Collaboration Centre, situated by the of Victoria (UVic) has been accepting 32 main unit nursing station. Here nursing staff, UBC undergraduate medical staff, allied medical students each health professionals, The ability to support medical medical residents and year and training education and research is what interns can all mix and them here. Now a total of about 128 mingle, discuss cases, keeps healthcare current medical students, check medical records from all four years, on computers or look are learning in and around VIHA hospital up medical information. sites. As of June of this year some 160 “This space right on the ward makes new doctors will have graduated from the a huge difference,” said Casiro. “The staff program. and students don’t have to leave the unit to talk about a patient’s care. It can happen COLLABORATION MADE EASY right there, night or day. The learning and “A striking quality of the new PCC is how interactions are constant as well as efficient beautifully it has integrated teaching space and dynamic. I have never seen anything into the design,” said Dr. Oscar Casiro, head so functional for promoting learning and of the Division of Medical Sciences at UVic collaborative patient care.” ♦

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LAST YEAR, Dr. Graham Nichol, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington, in Seattle, came to Victoria to deliver a speech about leading-edge heart treatment now under study — the use of rapid cooling of the blood and cardiac vessels to the heart during heart attacks.

As the National Co-Principal Investigator of the Velocity Study of Ultrafast Hypothermia in ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction, Nichol is leading a multi-centre trial to see if the technique leads to reduced muscle damage

and better patient outcomes. Dr. Nichol gave his lecture in the new lecture theatre and had a tour of the PCC. “It’s a beautiful physical plant. It makes it very conducive to discussion and collaboration,” Nichol said.

After his visit, Nichol invited the Victoria cardiology team, supported by the Victoria Heart Institute Foundation, to be one of only two Canadian sites — Toronto being the other — to join his 13-site North American study of the rapid cooling technique.

“It was a real coup for Victoria. These sorts

of studies almost always go to Vancouver,”: said Dr. Eric Fretz, an interventional cardiologist and local principal investigator for the so-called VELOCITY study. Fretz said while VIHA cardiologists have been using “cooling protocols” for about five years, the trial will expand the range of use.

“We invited Victoria to participate because they are known to provide very good care and they are known to work well as a team, and now they have an environment that supports high quality research,” said Nichol. ♦

INFECTION CONTROL

Infection protection

Halting the spread of hospital-acquired infections

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per cent of all hospital admissions — pick up ELLY MACDONALD IS ONE an infection while in hospital. About 8,000 of of six designated Infection Control those patients die, almost 3,000 more a year Practitioners working at the Royal than deaths from breast cancer.

Jubilee Hospital campus whose job is to do everything possible to reduce the risk PRIVATE ROOMS; SEPARATE that any patient or staff picks up a hospitalSTORAGE FOR SOILED ITEMS acquired infection.

The PCC has numerous design elements And these days, because of the PCC, she to reduce or contain infection spread: 1,400 is loving her job. hand washing sinks; hundreds of strategically “We are doing a better a job of protecting placed hand sanitizing dispensers; nonpatients and that is a core value for me. And porous surfaces and bacteria-repelling paints; we are helping staff more effectively, too. private rooms and private, easily cleaned I feel we can do it — we can significantly bathrooms; separate storage and elevators for reduce the impact of hospital-acquired soiled or potentially contaminated items. infections,” said MacDonald.

“It is not just the building, it is the whole In fact, statistical results from VIHA’s culture now in place,” explained Kibsey.

Infection Prevention and Control program For example, shows that the PCC if a patient has an is already achieving The PCC rate of C.difficile infection, gowning notable results. infection is now significantly up for staff is now “We now have lower than the rest of Canada. easy since every some of the lowest patient room has infection rates in the supplies right at the door. All patient Canada,” said Dr. Pamela Kibsey, Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control admissions are screened for multi-resistant organisms and any outbreak can be much for VIHA. “And we know that because of the more easily contained and isolated without PCC design features and our staff care plans disrupting patient care. In addition, hand for handling infections that we can and will washing rates are audited. bring rates even lower.”

Already these design features and This is something to truly celebrate, processes are having an impact on the because hospital-acquired infections are transmission of two of the most common and among the most serious and costly patient concerning organisms: safety issues now facing Canada’s healthClostridium difficile is a virulent care system. Since 1995, their incidence has bacteria that causes severe diarrhea, which increased 10-fold across the country and is is particularly lethal to the elderly. The PCC estimated to now cost the system $1 billion rate of C.difficile infection for 2012 was 4.0 annually. Now each year in Canada an cases per 10,000 inpatient days, compared estimated 222,000 Canadians — or about 10

to the average of 6.25 cases for the rest of Canada. The latest monthly figures for the PCC have it as low as 3.6 cases per 10,000 inpatient days. “It is coming down each month,” said Kibsey.

MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) is an antibioticresistant bacteria that is easily transmissible from silent or symptomatic carriers or contaminated surfaces and can infect any location in the body. It is estimated that MRSA infections alone cost the Canadian healthcare system up to $59 million annually. But the PCC rate of MRSA is now 2.4 cases per 10,000 inpatient days, compared to the average of 5.54 cases for the rest of Canada.

WHOLE WARDS CAN BECOME NEGATIVE PRESSURE ZONES As well, should an outbreak of an airborne infection occur, like SARS or the new coronavirus in the Middle East called MERS, the PCC has been designed with the capability of not only creating four negative pressure rooms on each floor, but also converting entire wards into negative pressure zones. This can help protect patients and staff from the threat of the spread of a pandemic virus.

These design features are making for happy staff and safer patients.

“Everyone is feeling very positive and energized. We are building a really great infection control team. And the design of the PCC just makes it so much easier to do the job right,” said Valerie Wood, Director, Infection Prevention and Control. ♦

www.buildingcare.ca

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

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BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

International heart attack research underway

IMAGE CREDIT: ALI BLYTHE

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

MENTAL HEALTH

Wellness in mind and spirit: Mental health integration allows healing with dignity A SAFE, WARM, NATURALLY LIT AND QUIET SPACE, WHERE FRESH AIR ENTERS FROM WINDOWS THAT OPEN ONTO A GARDEN — THIS IS THE PATIENT CARE CENTRE’S NEW MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY.

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ITH PRIVATE ROOMS, more casual lounges, and even computers for patients to use, the new integrated adult mental health ward is a great improvement from the previous facilities at Eric Martin Pavilion.

While that building is still in good condition and is used for meetings and day patients, the new PCC facility provides a dignified and welcoming space for patients living with depression, severe anxiety, eating disorders, schizophrenia or other mental illnesses.

And the fact that the mental health facility is integrated into the main hospital — but with its own entrances and areas — acknowledges that while mental illness benefits from privacy, it need not be separated from other care, which in the past reinforced stigma.

“It’s so much more of a therapeutic environment,” said Dr. Richard Crow, Executive Medical Director, Mental Health, Family and Public Health Services. “It’s a state-of-the-art facility and having these services integrated with all other hospital services means if patients need treatment for physical ailments they can be quickly and

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BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

efficiently treated.”

The facility’s natural light and soothing colours help create a sense of comfort and safety, said Crow, and patients feel calmer.

“Anecdotally, the staff are seeing less agitation, and quicker de-escalation. Having a private room to go to is ideal for patients facing troublesome symptoms, and can result in less need for the staff to take extreme measures like sedation or strict seclusion.

Plus, there’s more dignity for each patient, with a more normalized environment, common eating areas and a less hospital-like atmosphere.”

FRESH AIR An outdoor garden space is available for all hospital patients, plus a separate additional garden that provides privacy and quiet specifically for patients in the mental health area. This outdoor courtyard is accessed from the mental health area only, to provide a tranquil spot to get some fresh air.

As well, the doors open onto the corridors of the mental health unit, which lets a breath of fresh air into every patient’s treatment.

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HOLISTIC WELLNESS Mental wellness is enhanced by physical activity and creativity, so the new mental health unit has been designed to allow patients to increase these aspects of their treatment. A dedicated fitness area within the mental health unit allows patients to get regular exercise, which has been demonstrated to improve mental well-being. And a wall of artwork created by patients in art therapy groups demonstrates that creativity helps recovery, too.

LOW-STRESS ENVIRONMENT By removing the feeling of an institutionalized space, which many people find stressful, the new mental health unit helps create a low-stress environment for recovery and treatment.

It’s also a quieter environment with fewer overhead announcements, made at a lower volume. This helps keep the distractions in the unit to a minimum.

“Together it all makes a significant difference,” said Dr. Crow. ♦

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

Donor stories

 Donor gifts help equip the Patient Care Centre

 HOW A GRIEVING FAMILY TURNED LOSS INTO GENEROSITY IMAGE CREDIT: MEDIA ONE

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 From left to right: Russ, Geoff, and Bruce Courtnall.

HE COURTNALL family name has been associated with the Royal Jubilee Hospital since 2003, when the family started the Courtnall Celebrity Classic golf tournament as a way to raise funds to build the Archie Courtnall Centre, our community’s psychiatric emergency services centre. It was named in tribute to the father of brothers Russ, Geoff and Bruce.

“We lost our father to suicide back when we were quite young,” said Bruce Courtnall, explaining that the family now makes a concerted effort to support mental health services in Victoria. “We’re dedicated to creating awareness and speaking out about what we went through as kids.” Bruce Courtnall is now

on the Campaign Cabinet for Building Care Together.

Over the years, the Courtnall family has donated almost $1.5 million to support the Archie Courtnall Centre. With the opening of the Patient Care Centre, they continued their commitment by raising money for the new hospital’s Mental Health Unit.

Clearly, the Courtnalls’ story has touched hearts. “We’ve had a lot of support from the community,” says Courtnall.

In 2011, the third star-studded Celebrity Classic raised $1.15 million for the Building Care Together campaign to help fund programs and equipment at the Patient Care Centre’s Mental Health Unit, which provides a next step for those

patients transitioning from the emergency services area.

Courtnall says the spacious patient rooms, new meeting rooms, and outdoor areas as features make the facility “second to none.” And, he adds, “It’s inviting and warm … it gives people a chance to heal faster.”

Courtnall encourages everyone to address mental health concerns. “There are lots of great professionals who are ready to help,” he says. “People should get help, not keep it inside.”

When people seek help, they’ll access support from professionals, the community, and the Courtnalls, too.

“It feels great to be helping as many people as we can,” said Courtnall. ♦

 WHERE TOM SIEMENS LEADS, OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FOLLOW

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FTER 12 YEARS IN VICTORIA, Tom Siemens has become deeply involved in key areas of city life.

He sits on the boards of Pacific Opera and Camosun College and is on the Campaign Cabinet for the Victoria Hospitals Foundation’s $25 million Building Care Together Campaign.

“I choose to be involved in the community in three areas — arts, education and health,” says Siemens, who is Vice President, Commercial Financial Services, for the Royal Bank of Canada on Vancouver Island. “Culture helps support community wellness and

vibrancy, education creates actualized citizens, and healthcare steps in when we are ill.”

For Siemens, joining the Campaign Cabinet to raise funds for the Building Care Together campaign was a natural choice. The Royal Bank of Canada has pledged $350,000 to the campaign and Siemens has been leading the drive to bring all of Victoria’s financial institutions together for a total community gift of $1 million.

“My personal goal is to have every financial institution in the city giving, and we are almost there,” he said.

Siemens says he has toured the PCC so

many times that he “could give the official tour,” but adds it never fails to impress him. “The attention to detail is astonishing.

Everything has been thought of for the patient, the family and the staff .... But we need to equip this place so that it can reach its full potential. We need to keep going.”

Supporting quality healthcare through his volunteer work with the Victoria Hospitals Foundation resonates with Siemens. “Many of us are sandwiched between aging parents and raising kids, and it makes you very aware of the need for strong and thriving health services in our community.” ♦

www.buildingcare.ca

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

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 THRIFTY FOODS GIVING BACK

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INCE OPENING ITS DOORS 35 years ago Thrifty Foods has been giving back to the community, improving the lives of people across Vancouver Island. When it came time to help support the Victoria Hospitals Foundation’s Building Care Together campaign to equip the new Patient Care Centre with leading healthcare technology, donating to the cause was a natural fit.

“Helping to equip this incredible hospital is important to us because excellent healthcare is critical to everyone’s lives,” said Vivian Chenard, Thrifty Foods Manager of Community Relations. “It means healthy

communities and healthy families. The Hospitals Foundation has been part of our giving program, right from the beginning, and the work this campaign is doing is significant.”

While Vivian is grateful that so far she and her loved ones have not required a stay in the Patient Care Centre, she has toured the building.

“It is so beautiful; I just can’t believe all the thought and care that went into it to make it feel not institutional. The colours are so warm. The whole place is so calming. You don’t even feel like you are in a hospital at all.”

To help fund Building Care Together and

equip the Patient Care Centre with the latest healthcare technology Thrifty Foods launched a fundraising campaign in 2012, donating $1 from every bag of Buck Brand navel oranges to the new hospital and raising $31,000.

“If the money is raised here, it stays here. That is our policy,” said Chenard.

And Chenard encourages other companies to follow Thrifty Foods’ example: “Government simply can’t provide all the necessary funding. Equipment is expensive, technology is constantly changing. New procedures keep coming. It is our hospital to own and take care of.” ♦

IMAGE CREDIT: GARY MCKINSTRY

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

DONOR STORIES CONT’D

 Strong supporter of VHF, Barbara Meek

 LEADING-EDGE EQUIPMENT IMPORTANT TO DONOR BARBARA MEEK

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S A RETIRED NURSE AND former patient in the new Patient Care Centre Barbara Meek can clearly see how the new hospital is changing healthcare delivery for medical teams and the patients they serve.

“The contrast between old and new is quite amazing and I really appreciate the new building both as a patient and a professional,” says Meek. “It is very pleasing to see the stateof-the-art technology and innovation, the bright and comfortable setting for the patient, the ease of communication between patient and staff, and the convenient and step-saving measures for the healthcare team.”

Meek has had four joint replacements at the Jubilee Hospital in recent years and for the last one was a patient in the newly opened Patient Care Centre. “I was really excited by the differences and especially impressed with the magical Smart Beds!

As a former health professional Meek knows the importance of leading-edge equipment in a hospital, and is a strong supporter of the Hospitals Foundation, including the Building Care Together

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BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

campaign for the purchase of the Smart Beds.

She added “How can you not feel optimistic about the future of healthcare?

Because of developments such as in eye surgeries, joint replacements, heart procedures and kidney transplants, to name a few, we are living so much better. Our healthcare system is doing much, much more

www. buildingcare.ca

than imagined in the early days. I feel strongly that it is up to us, the public, to provide support where we can if we want to receive the benefit of these advances.”

At 83 Meek is in good health and still “jumps coasts” each year for an annual visit to Prince Edward Island (and is able to climb the 72 steps up and down to the beach!). ♦

 GIVING IS A FAMILY TRADITION FOR HUDSON MACK

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OST PEOPLE IN VICTORIA recognize Hudson Mack from his role as News Director and nightly anchor at CTV Vancouver Island News. But Mack believes it’s a job that comes with a duty: to support the community he reports on every day.

“My father and brother, who were also broadcasters, instilled in me that when you are in the public eye, it is a privilege that has been loaned to you and you should use that

position to give back,” said Mack. “For me it’s the people here that make Vancouver Island such a special place to live. They are generous and really care about how our communities grow and develop. Contributing to that growth, by supporting important community causes, is very rewarding.”

Since the 1980s the Victoria Hospitals Foundation is one of Mack’s charities of choice, and as a local media group CTV has helped support the Building Care Together campaign. Media spots provide continuous public awareness on the campaign and the new Patient Care Centre to help people

understand the importance of the new hospital and the equipment that needs funding.

“The work the Foundation does is critical to continually improving patient care in our community,” said Mack. “We should never take our healthcare system for granted. We need to make sure the right services and equipment are there for everybody, every time.”

“My mother was a RN,” said Mack. “She worked long hours and I know she would have loved to have the chance to work in a hospital like the Patient Care Centre.” ♦

IMAGE CREDIT: GARY MCKINSTRY

THANK YOU FROM THE CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIRS

Building Care Together

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N BEHALF OF MYSELF AND the Honorable Ted Hughes, I wish to say how proud we are to be Co-Chairs of the Building Care Together campaign, alongside a dedicated Campaign Cabinet of 12 outstanding community leaders. From the beginning, the Victoria Hospitals Foundation has succeeded because of the generosity of our community. Your support led to the success of our two previous capital campaigns, both of which exceeded their goals. Your highly valued support of the Building Care Together campaign will be another important investment in the future of healthcare in our community.

Together, we are improving the lives of so many people who require hospital care.

As you can read in this magazine, the Patient

Care Centre is already having a positive impact on patient care here in Victoria and across Canada. Representatives from hospitals across the country and around the world are touring our new hospital, and we are sharing our innovative care delivery model and best practices.

We hope you are inspired by the stories that share the first-hand experiences of our caregivers and the patients they serve.

Day after day our medical teams work tirelessly to ensure patients receive the best care possible. Donors to the Building Care Together campaign can take pride in their contributions, knowing they are supporting the utmost in care for all patients in this magnificent hospital.

This is the most significant campaign ever undertaken to improve healthcare on

Vancouver Island. To complete equipment funding for the new hospital we have launched a Community Matching Gift Challenge, which you can learn about on page 12 of this magazine. Banding together as a community will allow our new hospital to reach its full potential.

We envision that we will reach our objective and transform the way care is delivered at the Royal Jubilee Hospital site, now and in the future.

Let’s work together to build a legacy of better healthcare for our community and generations to come.

Leslee Farrell Co-Chair, Building Care Together campaign

www.buildingcare.ca

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

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BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

DONOR STORIES CONT’D

IMAGE CREDIT: BILL BLAIR

IMAGE CREDIT: GARY MCKINSTRY

» SPECIAL PUBLICATION CELEBRATING VICTORIA HOSPITALS FOUNDATION

giving makes us all better

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VICTORIA HOSPITALS FOUNDATION WILSON BLOCK, 1952 BAY STREET, VICTORIA BC V8R 1J8 www. buildingcare.ca PHONE: 250-519-1750 FAX: 250-519-1751 WWW.BUILDINGCARE.CA

BUILDING CARE TOGETHER

HEALTH & WELLNESS

The super-food powers of tomatoes Few fruits can rival the flavour of a just-picked, ruby-red tomato still warm from the summer sun. It turns out tomatoes are hard to beat when it comes to nutrition, too.

Rich in antioxidants, flavanoids, Vitamins A, B1, C, and K, manganese, potassium, chromium, and fibre, the jeweltoned fruits also supply impressive amounts of folic acid, magnesium, niacin, riboflavin, copper, and Vitamin E. ď § By P. J. Nicholls

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Can’t beat lycopene Not surprisingly, regular consumption of tomatoes can benefit your health in a number of ways. Lycopene, just one of the many disease-fighting antioxidants that abound in tomatoes, has been studied extensively for its cancer-preventing properties. The results are impressive — according to a Harvard Medical School review of 72 different studies, lycopene can reduce the risk for prostate, breast, lung, stomach, pancreatic, oral, colon, and throat cancer. Researchers believe lycopene may deliver its knockout punch against cancer by activating key detoxification enzymes in the body.

So why not just pop a lycopene tablet from the vitamin store? According

tomatoes that confers its health value.

Two such nutrients are the protective chlorogenic and coumaric acids found in the crimson fruits. These nutrients block the formation of nitrosamines — deadly carcinogens produced by the nitrites in tobacco and food preservatives.

Tomatoes are heart helpers If you’re not impressed yet, consider this — tomatoes’ disease-fighting potential goes way beyond battling cancer. They can also help ward off heart disease. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women with the highest intake of tomato-based foods had a

Lycopene, just one of the many disease-fighting antioxidants that abound in tomatoes, can reduce the risk for prostate, breast, lung, stomach, pancreatic, oral, colon, and throat cancer. to nutritional scientists, whole food tomato products are significantly more effective at battling cancer than isolated lycopene supplements. They believe it’s the synergy of lycopene with other nutrients naturally present in

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significantly reduced risk for all forms of cardiovascular disease. Considering the array of heart-healthy nutrients in tomatoes, it’s hardly surprising. Folic acid helps lower deadly homocysteine levels, lycopene helps break down cholesterol

(keeping your arteries free-flowing), and potassium lowers blood pressure.

Guzzle that tomato juice The good news story doesn’t end there. Italian researchers have discovered that a daily glass of tomato juice can lower one of the primary markers of inflammation (TNF Alpha) by a whopping 35 per cent in as little as one month. This finding is of particular significance, as inflammation has been linked to a veritable shopping list of chronic diseases. But wait, there’s more — imbibe that daily glass of tomato juice and you’ll also be strengthening your immune system. Several nutrients in tomatoes encourage your body to produce more T-cells, white blood cells that attack foreign substances like bacteria and viruses. In addition, you’ll be warding off the possibility of developing a stroke. Finnish researchers recently discovered that high serum levels of lycopene can significantly reduce the risk for developing any type of stroke.

Consider going organic Tomatoes are undeniable super-foods, but if you want to reap all the health benefits they have to offer, it may be advisable to opt for organically

grown varieties. A recent study conducted at the University of California at Davis found that organic tomatoes had 79 per cent more flavanoids than conventionally grown produce. What’s more, conventionally grown tomatoes — even those proudly declaring themselves “hothouse-grown” — are often coated with petroleum-derived waxes produced in eco-unfriendly petroleum refineries.

The waxes are used to slow ripening during transit, keep the tomatoes firm and bright, and seal in post-harvest fungicides. Several animal studies have indicated they may be carcinogenic.

Fat aids lycopene absorption Tomatoes’ über-healthy antioxidant, lycopene, is fat-soluble. That means it is better absorbed by the body when it is consumed with some fat. The take-home message: don’t drizzle a tomato-rich salad with a fat-free dressing — you’ll lose out on both flavour and nutrition. Of course, you don’t have to relegate tomatoes to the salad bowl to get their healing benefits. While cooking them does decrease their Vitamin C content, it actually increases the amount of lycopene and other antioxidants they contain. The difference is quite significant: scientists from Cornell University found that cooking tomatoes over medium heat for half an hour increased their lycopene content by 35 per cent. It’s enough to make a pasta- or pizzalover swoon!

With the myriad delicious ways to enjoy tomatoes, both fresh and cooked, we should all celebrate the humble fruit and include it in our culinary repertoire as often as possible. The evidence is irrefutable, whichever way you slice them — tomatoes do a body good.

Simple Tomato Bread Salad Adapted from 200 Healthy Feasts by Jo McAuley, Hamlyn Publishing, London 2 ½ cups (625 ml) chopped tomatoes 4 slices day-old sourdough or ciabatta bread, cubed 5 fresh basil leaves, shredded ½ cup (125 ml) pitted black olives 4 tbsp (60 ml) good quality olive oil 1 tbsp (15 ml) balsamic vinegar Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

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Toss all ingredients into a large bowl and serve.

Note: To enhance the lycopene content of the tomatoes, roast them in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 15–20 minutes or until they begin to wrinkle and soften. Allow to cool before adding to salad.

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FOOD & WINE

Rock the Block

 by cinda chavich

They say good fences make good neighbours, but if you really want to make friends in your ‘hood, throw a block party.

Find neighbours on your street and plan for a weekend potluck, an outdoor event where everyone’s invited and all can contribute.

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Block parties are a great summer tradition. In my last neighbourhood, we even had the local firefighters on hand at our annual block parties, often with a truck to show off to the local kids.

While I’m not sure it was ever actually sanctioned, someone usually had fireworks to end our evening of food and fun.

And we always toddled back to our doors in the dark, dragging our lawn chairs and feeling just a little more connected to our community.

 Planning ahead is key Your party can be as simple or as elaborate as you like, from a simple backyard barbecue or pancake breakfast to a full-on street festival. If you opt for the latter, make sure you have time for significant planning: closing a city street, even in a suburban neighbourhood, requires consensus among a majority of your neighbours and a permit from your local municipality.

In Victoria, for example, the permit is free and street barricades are provided, but block parties can only be held on weekends or statutory holidays and there are rules about music, alcohol and emergency access that organizers need to consider.

In Oak Bay, the Oak Bay Community Association offers a block party checklist on their website, with ideas for posting information about your party, asking neighbours to RSVP, name tags, games and cleanup. Check with your municipality for the specifics in your neighbourhood, including what is and isn’t allowed at a block party event.

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 For organizers:

planning activities and menus Block parties should be inclusive, casual affairs where everyone from kids to seniors can mingle. If you are able to block traffic on your street, plan a bike rodeo for kids or a street hockey game down at one end of the block. Get a bocce tournament going on a long gravel driveway, lawn or alley. And ask some of the longtime residents to design a quiz so that everyone can learn more about their neighbours and their neighbourhood, whether it’s pointing out the oldest house or the tallest tree.

Maybe there’s someone in the ‘hood who could bring out a guitar for a sing-along after the sun goes down.

A block party is the perfect occasion for a potluck menu. It’s easy to organize: ask those on the even-numbered side of the street to bring a salad or starter, and get those on the other side to contribute desserts. Pull a few propane barbecues onto the street for BYO protein grilling. Or, supply hamburgers, hot dogs or even prepare a big barbecue baron of beef or salmon bake for a small fee.

Ask everyone to bring their own dishes and serving utensils.

It’s the greenest solution, and keeps garbage to a minimum, too.

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 For guests: choosing what to bring When you’re planning your contribution to the feast, think about sturdy salads that won’t go limp and desserts that are easy to eat out of hand.

Victoria caterer Cheryl Schultz of Cheryl’s Gourmet Pantry is known for her creative selection of portable salads, and has this advice: “At a block party or barbecue, salads are going to have to

sit out for awhile without refrigeration, so stay away from anything with mayonnaise or anything green that will wilt,” she says. “But make it stylish — your contribution represents who you are.”

Sturdy salads like potato salads, pasta salads or couscous salads are perfect for a potluck. Schultz has several good choices in her deli case, from a colourful

butternut squash salad with goat cheese to her popular kale and cabbage slaw.

When it comes to desserts, think about cookies, cupcakes and squares, like brownies or lemon bars. Schultz suggests cutting brownies into small rounds and serving them on sticks like lollypops for a fun, casual presentation.

Cheryl Schultz of Cheryl’s Gourmet Pantry offers three recipes for portable salads:

Cheryl’s famous kale & red cabbage slaw This is one green salad that actually benefits from wilting. It’s best made several hours or even a day ahead of time as the dressing helps tenderize the kale. It tastes even better the next day.

2 heads of green kale ½ head of red cabbage 2 large carrots 1 bunch of green onion ½ cup (125 ml) pumpkin seeds

Vinaigrette: ½ cup (125 ml) apple cider vinegar ½ cup (125 ml) grape seed oil ¼ cup (60 ml) tamari or soy sauce ¼ cup (60 ml) honey Salt & pepper

Remove and discard the tough centre ribs from the kale and coarsely shred the leaves. Finely shred the red cabbage. Grate the carrots. Chop the green onions. Spread the pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and lightly toast in a 350ºF (175ºC) oven for five minutes.

In a large serving bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients until well combined. Add the kale, cabbage, carrots, green onions and pumpkin seeds and toss with the vinaigrette.

Allow the salad to marinate for several hours.

Serves 8 or more.

GRAB AND GO POTLUCK

 Be the bread person. Stop at one of Victoria’s artisan bakeries — a rustic boule or baguette from Fol Epi, an oliveNo time to craft the rosemary loaf from Fry’s Bakery perfect potluck salad — and slice and serve on your or homemade dessert? best tray with a bowl of good Here are some tasty lastolive oil for dipping or a slab of minute suggestions: soft, unsalted butter.

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 Have fun with fruit.

Slice some juicy red and yellow watermelon, or cut it into cubes and thread it on skewers with strawberries and pineapple for a pretty presentation.

 Go for a take-out salad or cheese tray from a local deli. Get something sturdy, like the Niçoise potato salad with green beans at Cheryl’s Gourmet Pantry or the Israeli couscous salad from Truffles Catering, and haul it to the party in your best salad bowl.

No one will be the wiser.

French potato & green bean salad A perfect salad for a block party — it has no mayonnaise, so it’s fine left at room temperature for a few hours.

2 lbs (907 g) red or Yukon Gold potatoes (or a combination of the two) 1 lb (454 g) green beans (French filet beans are the best) 1 cup (250 ml) cherry tomatoes, halved ¼ cup (60 ml) capers ¼ cup (60 ml) pitted black kalamata olives 1 red onion, thinly sliced 2 cups (500 ml) baby arugula or ½ cup (125 ml) chopped fresh dill Dressing: ¾ cup (180 ml) of good quality olive oil Zest and juice of 2-3 lemons 3 tbsp (45 ml) whole grain Dijon mustard Salt & pepper Cook potatoes in salted water until barely cooked (easily pierced with a knife, but still maintaining their shape). Cut potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on size.

Blanch green beans in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and then plunge into ice-cold water to stop the cooking (this also helps them keep their bright green colour).

Whisk together the dressing ingredients to lightly emulsify.

Toss the slightly warm potatoes with the dressing and allow to marinate for at least one hour at room temperature. Once the potatoes are cooled, add the remaining ingredients. If you are not serving the salad within an hour or so, wait to add the arugula until just before serving so it keeps its colour and does not wilt.

Serves 8.

 Opt for a supermarket solution. A smoky President’s Choice Cedar Plank Brie topped with their Tuscany Balsamic Vinegar and Fig Sauce makes an easy appetizer, with good crackers or bread on the side. Or, be the fun-loving neighbour and bring a s’more kit, a box that’s complete with graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows to toast on the barbie.

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Quinoa salad with cranberries, mint, & lemon This is one of the best-selling salads at Cheryl’s Gourmet Pantry and is perfect for a block party or picnic — it is fine at room temperature for a few hours and tastes better after several hours (or even the next day).

4 cups (1 L) quinoa ½ cup (125 ml) olive oil salt and pepper 1 cup (250 ml) sundried cranberries

1 bunch of green onions, chopped 2 carrots, coarsely grated 1 cup (250 ml) toasted

slivered almonds 1 cup (250 ml) slivered fresh mint Zest and juice of 4-5 lemons Salt & pepper

To cook the quinoa, heat ½ cup (125 ml) of oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the quinoa and gently toast for 2-3 minutes. (This helps to remove the somewhat raw taste quinoa can have). Add 8 cups (2 L) of cold water and salt and pepper to taste. Once the quinoa comes to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer about 20 minutes, until cooked. Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork.

Meanwhile, toast the slivered almonds on a sheet pan in a 350ºF (175ºC) oven for 5 minutes. Use a zester remove the yellow zest from 4-5 lemons and juice the lemons.

Transfer the quinoa into a large bowl and add the cranberries, green onions, grated carrots, toasted almonds, mint, lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and allow to marinate for several hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.

Serves 8 or more.

The Lighter Side —

no analysis required

By Sharon McLean

Save the serious wine talk about “balance” and “complexity” for another day. For your block party, just relax and enjoy your favourite wine with old and new friends.

Bubbles are always social. Spanish Cavas and Italian Proseccos are great value; most are under $20.

My new favourite Cava is the Villa Conchi. It’s soft and approachable with floral, peach, apricot notes and a hint of toast ($19.40 at Vintage Spirits, the Hotel Rialto). Don’t forget coolers or buckets of ice to keep your bubbles — and other beverages — chilled.

Dry roses are perfect for summer. The 2012 Mission Hill Five Vineyards Rose (BCLDB $15) is a reliable crowd pleaser. Made from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot noir, it has a fuller body than some other roses and shows strawberries, raspberries, red plums and a dash of refreshing citrus.

Sweet red wine blends have jumped from dusty bottom shelves to the trendy top. While I prefer much drier wines, I love that there are no pretenses here: people are enjoying them without caring whether they fall in some expert’s definition of a good wine. Watch for big variances in sweetness levels, though — it’s not always obvious from the label, so ask if you are concerned. At the less sweet end is 2011 Folie a Deux Ménage à Trois Red, a California blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (BCLDB $19). It’s a plump, soft wine with blackberries, plums, red currants and spices that goes down ever so easily. Meanwhile, the 2012 Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz from South Africa (BCLDB $15) is unabashedly sweet, with big smoky, espresso and blackberry notes. It’s a great fit for the dessert table.

Of course, there’s always beer — a mainstay for any Canadian summer gathering. My recent introduction to Stiegl Radler Grapefruit beer (BCLDB $3) reminded me of a lager shandy with a refreshing grapefruit twist. At only 2.5% alcohol, it’s a great option for long, hot afternoons.

For your block parties or lazy summer gatherings, grab your favourite wine, go outside and simply enjoy it.

Leading the Way: Pacific Centre Family Services Association encourages healthy living for all.

PACIFIC CENTRE FAMILY SERVICES ASSOCIATION (PCFSA) is dedicated to maintaining outstanding services for the community through education, counselling and creative programming. Originally registered in 1968 as a non-profit society, the PCFSA is celebrating 45 years of serving families and individuals in Greater Victoria. Mitzi Dean, Executive Director, oversees a professionally trained counselling staff that includes social workers, counsellors and child, youth and family care workers. “We offer services in the way they’re needed and the time they’re needed,” she says. While serving all areas of Greater Victoria, PCFSA has established itself as the leading family and youth serving agency on the West Shore.

PROGRAMS TAILORED TO INDIVIDUAL NEEDS YEARS OF SERVING FAMILIES & INDIVIDUALS IN GREATER VICTORIA

 AFFORDABLE COUNSELLING: Aids those

 SAFER FAMILIES PROGRAM:

dealing with depression, grief, relationships, workplace issues, or other concerns.

Encourages men who have behaved abusively to show respect, self awareness and empathy.

 ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS PROGRAM:

Helps clients cut back or stop alcohol and/or drug use through free assessment services.

 STOPPING THE VIOLENCE: Develops

self-care, confidence and safety plans for women who have experienced abuse.

FOR MORE STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY MAKING A DIFFERENCE, WATCH CHEK NEWS AT 5PM EVERY SUNDAY FOR VITAL PEOPLE

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

VITAL SIGN: HEALTH & WELLNESS

Our goal is to help families and individuals live safe and healthy lives. – Mitzi Dean, Executive Director

YOUTHTALK PROVES YOU’RE

IMAGE CREDIT: ALEXIA FOSTER

NOT ALONE

 REACH DAYCARE: Offers parents daycare for young children while they pursue educational and personal development.  YOUTH SERVICES: Fosters skills and

connections at home, school and in the community to youth aged 10-19.

VICTORIAFOUNDATION.CA

250.381.5532

No matter what their background, young people often face difficult situations when it seems like there’s nowhere to turn. Whether they seek advice on abuse or challenges at school, they can find anonymous support from Youthtalk. This PCFSA program, created with assistance from the Victoria Foundation, offers online e-counselling in a safe and supportive environment. “Youthtalk provides access to youth who wouldn’t reach out in traditional ways” such as face-to-face or by phone, says Dean. The program is the result of an effective partnership with NEED2, who operate the online portal, youthspace.ca.

While Youthtalk is designed as an online support option for those seeking help

anonymously, other services are available, including meeting face-to-face and involving other agencies when required. A certified child and youth counsellor responds to each email personally, offering support for common issues like bullying, sexual concerns, cutting, addiction, relationships, conflicts with parents, depression, and anxiety. Dean expresses how proud PCFSA is of this program and how successful it has been to date. “Some youth have come back to say how important it was to them at that time in their life,” says Dean.

While youth are the most common users of this fast-growing program, parents have also found support and resources for youth in their care. Youthtalk is there for anyone who needs a conversation in a non-judgmental, confidential environment.

 COMMUNITY OUTREACH PREVENTION AND EDUCATION (COPE): Provides at-risk

youth with support services and guidance.  SEXUAL ABUSE INTERVENTION PROGRAM:

Uses art and play therapy to help children who have been sexually abused or have sexual behaviour problems.

pacificcentrefamilyservices.org

FRONT ROW  by robert moyes

ACTORS ON WHEELS!  A converted pickup truck will set the stage as the mobile performance space for Smalltown: A Pickup Musical.

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Given that Theatre SKAM once put on a play where the audience sat in the back of a 1979 Volare, it’s maybe not surprising that their latest coup involves converting a pickup truck into a mobile performance space. “We’re taking the box off the back and putting a deck on it, along with a small lighting and sound rig,” says SKAM artistic producer Matthew Payne. “And with the crew cab, it can carry up to six artists on the road when they tour.”

They are starting out local this month with Smalltown: A Pickup Musical, which have will xxxxx xxx previews at several CRD parks before a 13-day run at the Vic High school field xxxxxxxx (accessed via the Belfry lobby, thereby offering refreshment and washroom options). In development for several years, Smalltown recounts how a hamlet’s seven citizens are being seduced by a multinational that wants their natural resources and makes big promises to win them over. “The show feels so timely right now, what with all the concern over pipelines and coal mines,” explains Payne. Despite the serious topic, this is still a catchy musical complete with a three-piece band and instrument-playing actors. “It’s funny and cheeky … absolutely a family-friendly comedy,” Payne adds. “Kids really respond to it.”

Running from August 13–25, 7 pm, at Vic High. For locations and times of preview performances, see skam.ca.

 Matt Mathiason, Fran Patterson and Travis Stanley, with his donkey head, star in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

BARD ABOVE THE BEACH

Victoria embraced a most auspicious theatrical debut last summer when Victoria’s Shakespeare by the Sea set up their tents at Holland Point Park and put on a rollickingly clever and very funny production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “Not only did we make a slight profit, but people were phoning for reservations a month after the show had closed,” grins event founder Robert Light, whose Dream got fantastic reviews and standing ovations. It was a no-brainer for Light to remount Dream for his second season, along with Romeo and Juliet, the two classic plays running alternating nights. Aside from the expanded programming, the tents are relocating to the much more visible Clover Point. It’s all part of Light’s ambitious plan to launch his own version of Vancouver’s famed Bard on the Beach. “We are in the pilot project phase and have lots of challenges to come,” he admits. “But if we reach our audience goal of 2,000 this summer I’ll know we’re on target.” Light, who has worked in theatre for over 30 years, including being an actor and writer in Vancouver for a quarter century, moved to Victoria in 2011 expressly to start Shakespeare by the Sea. Working with (mostly) young actors, Light crafted a whimsical, modern-dress version of the play that included several levitating characters and a deft blending of humour and pathos. “The audience reaction was better than I’d hoped for,” says Light. “And this year we’re adding several performances in Sidney … it’s our first tour!”

Running from August 13–September 1 at Clover Point, plus September 6 at Mary Winspear Centre and September 7–8 at Sidney’s Clamshell Park (at the bottom of Beacon Avenue). For tickets, see vicshakesea.ca.

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 Stomp hits Victoria for the first time ever this summer, running August 27 through September 1.

MAKING A JOYFUL NOISE An exuberant entertainment juggernaut for over two decades, Stomp is finally thundering into town. This unique theatrical tour de force fuses percussion and choreography via eight performers who, equipped with everything from hubcaps and radiator hoses to supermarket carts and garbage cans, conjure evolving cascades of primal rhythms. “The comedic element is also very strong, and the characters on stage are gradually built up through each vignette,” says Vancouver-based promoter Henry Kolenko. “Even without dialogue, it

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has a loose narrative through line,” he adds.

“And it’s just such a spirited, high-energy show — there’s a special creativity and magic in the way it captures and entertains audiences.” What started as funky street theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has become a global phenomenon seen by over 25 million people in 50 countries.

And thanks to Kolenko’s promotional panache, over a thousand people got a taste of Stomp in February when a few of the “Stompers” came to town to put on a mini-show at the Atrium as part of Dance

Victoria’s Dance Days. As Kolenko is the same man who broke records at the Royal Theatre with his sold-out run of Mamma Mia! last August, it’s not surprising he got the nod to present the Victoria portion of this tour of Stomp, which comes directly from New York City. “I’ve seen the show 20 times over the years and I’m still fascinated by it,” he says. “Plus, they’ve added several new pieces to help keep it fresh.”

Running from August 27–September 1 at the Royal Theatre. For tickets, call 250-386-6121.

 Art & Music in the Gardens celebrates its 19th season this year.

ART IN BLOOM

“The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific is a learning centre … it’s a complement to a show garden like Butchart’s,” explains Roger Charles, executive director of the HCP. Founded in 1979, the HCP focuses on gardening that is environmentally sustainable, and features plantings — from floral exotica to humble vegetables — that are either indigenous or appropriate to Pacific Northwest ecosystems. The Centre promotes community education via courses and workshops, and more formally is the second-largest gardening college in BC. It’s also a spectacular showcase: nine acres of gardens divided into 34 different areas, including winter plantings and Canada’s largest bonsai garden. “We attract about 30,000 visitors a year, from wedding parties to touring groups of gardening enthusiasts from as far away as Texas,” says Charles. About a tenth of those annual visitors descend on the Centre during its two-day Art & Music in the Gardens, their annual fundraiser. Comprising approximately 60 artists and 25 musicians, the event is designed to gently stir the senses. “This is our 19th season for Art & Music and it’s meant to be ethereal — we choose musicians who complement the art and the garden environment,” adds Charles. “We have everyone from guitarist Brad Prevedoros to lute players and classical trios.” Charles likens the family-friendly event to a living outdoor art gallery. “It’s a beautiful, relaxing way to get a broad understanding of what can grow in the Pacific Northwest,” he adds.

Running from August 10–11, 11 am–5 pm at 505 Quayle Road. For information, see hcp.ca.

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 Kinesis Dance somatheatro, from Vancouver, performs ODDessay, based in part on Homer’s Odyssey, at ROMP! this year.

A FREE SHOWCASE OF ECLECTIC DANCE

For 16 years, dance provocateur David Ferguson has mounted ROMP!, a showcase of modern dance. It started out very grassroots, but has evolved over the years, changing venues and attracting non-local performers.

Its current home is Centennial Square, an outdoor venue whose choice was inspired by a 2008 trip to Korea where Ferguson performed al fresco as part of a large festival. “I love dancing outdoors because of the feel of the air and the sense of freedom … it’s like skinny dipping,” he laughs.

Designed to overlap with the launch of the Fringe Festival, ROMP! is a free, five-day event featuring about 50 dancers.

One of the highlights will be Bounce in the Square, which is curated by noted Victoria performer Treena Stubel and throws a spotlight on local dancers. Present/ Tense 8 will feature writers reading from their work while dancers improvise to the words. And Vancouver’s Kinesis Dance somatheatro interprets Homer’s Odyssey. “The choreographer is Greek and he includes some material based on his experience serving in the Greek army,” says Ferguson. Also worth noting is Kiki, which is part of the Fringe Festival and features Ferguson’s dance partner Jung ah Chung cavorting on an eight-foot inflatable chair. “It’s performance art for kids … dreamy and fun,” says Ferguson of the first piece he ever choreographed specifically for children.

Running from August 20–24, 6–7 pm, at Centennial Square.

For information, see suddenlydance.ca.

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*

we also

recommend:

Symphony Splash: Join 40,000 Victoria residents and visitors in the Inner Harbour for music, food, souvenirs, and the main event, a live performance by the Victoria Symphony.

August 4, family zone from 1–4 pm, music from 4–10 pm, Inner Harbour, victoriasymphony.ca.

Eclectica — Expressionist Perspectives: Featuring the works of Suzanne Jensen, expressionist on canvas; Sharon Bussard-Grove, abstract expressionist with ceramics; and James Roberts, abstract expressionist on canvas. Opening reception August 10, 2 pm–5pm. August 5–Sept 1, Thursdays through Sundays, 12 pm–5pm, Metchosin Art Gallery, 250.478.9223, metchosinartgallery.ca.

Harlem to Paris: 2012 winner of NYC’s prestigious “Best of the Best” JazzMobile Competition, Emily Braden returns to Victoria for a night of Gypsy Swing with Brishen, Jaron FreemanFox, Chris Sartisohn & Brett Martens. August 9, 7 pm doors/8 pm show, White Eagle Hall, oliverswainmusic.com.

Jimmy Wright, A Retrospective: An Artist with an Attitude, Jimmy Wright died in August 2008. To mark the fifth anniversary of Jimmy’s passing, we are pleased to announce this first retrospective of his work. August 10–22, 7–9 pm (opening), Martin Batchelor Gallery, 250.385.7919, jimmywrightart.com.

Bowker Creek Brush Up Art Show and Sale: Enjoy the artwork and demonstrations of over 40 artists, guest artists and youth artists while strolling along the shady banks of Bowker Creek in Oak Bay. Paintings, pottery, sculpture and more on show. August 11, 11:00 am–4:30 pm, Bowker Creek Park on Hampshire St. between Oak Bay Ave. and Cranmore St. 250.595.6502. dr agon boat festival: The Canada Dry Dragon Boat Festival includes competitive and recreational teams from Canada and the US racing for victory. Other events include the Lights of Courage Lantern Celebration, free walking tours of Chinatown, the Paddlers’ Air Band Contest and entertainment for all ages. August 16–18, Inner Harbour, victoriadragonboat. com.

A Boarding Kennel that loves your pets as much as you do.

• Comfortable, clean & healthy fresh air environment • Quality, nutritious foods • Exercise yards up to one quarter acre • Feline “Cuddle Time” • K-9 Playschool course • All managerial staff are Certified Kennel Technicians • Recommended by Veterinarians • Full grooming services available

A Full Service Animal Care Facility

250-652-2301 • puppylove.ca • email: info@puppylove.ca 2918 Lamont Road, Saanichton Just minutes from Victoria Airport & BC Ferries Terminal

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World Accordion Championships: The 66th annual Coupe Mondiale, the world’s largest accordion event, comes to Victoria. Events include the Accordion Parade, the World Accordion Orchestra, and numerous free daytime concerts.

Performers include Renzo Ruggieri, Ludovic Beier, and Alexander Sevastian. August 19-25, mostly at Alix Goolden Hall, coupemondiale.org.

Artist’s Talk: Mowry Baden will speak about his artistic practice during his tenure at the University of Victoria. In conjunction with the Core Samples exhibition. August 24, 1:30 pm, Legacy Art Gallery, 250.721.6562, uvac.uvic.ca.

Saanich Fair: The 146th annual Saanich Fair includes of 5,000 exhibits, midway rides, homemade treats and homegrown veggies. August 31–September 2, Saanich Fairground, 8 am–9 pm Saturday and Sunday ($11/8; midway $41), 8 am –6 pm Monday ($10/7; midway $36), saanichfair.ca.

Visit our website, blvdmag.ca, to submit arts and culture event details online. Listings for the September issue must be received

by August 8 to be considered for inclusion.

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TRAVEL NEAR

“G

o to the front of the first lane,” we’re told. “Park up beside those motorcycles.”

Ah — music to the ears of anyone who avoids taking the ferry on a summer long weekend.

On this trip, we were lining up for the Sidney/Anacortes ferry en route to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Cars need to reserve more than 24 hours in advance, but motorcycles and foot passengers do not. So our scooter it is. Not only could we be spontaneous, but we would also be kind to the environment and our pocketbooks, too.

Zipping up next to two Harleys and a couple of BMWs, we remove our helmets and join the motorcycle camaraderie at the front of the line.

“Is that a 125 cc?” asks a solo rider on a massive Fat Boy Harley, with at least 1500 cc between his legs.

“No, just a 50 cc,” says my husband.

“Oh, I thought it must be bigger with two of you on it,” says the rider. “So how do you find it on the highway?”

“We don’t ride on the highway because it tops out at 60 k,” my husband answers.

“We just ride the back roads.”

In fact, back roads are all part of the attraction for Victoria residents like us. A scooter is the perfect vehicle for exploring the small nearby islands, both Canadian and American.

Gas for 100 km = the price of a latte A scooter’s advantages are many. Like a bicycle — but without the sweat and exertion — the scooter forces us to take the slower, more scenic routes where we can smell the freshly cut hay, experience the warm winds that waft off the fields, and then feel the cool drafts that signal

we are nearing the ocean. We don’t hesitate to motor up a hill just to see what’s on the other side. A fill-up of the tank — which will cover more than 100 kilometres — is about $3.25, the price of a cappuccino.

We drive an Aprilia, Italy’s top-selling 50 cc brand, but its weight limitation doesn’t allow us to carry much gear. Our trunk, a small box on the back of the bike, provides a back rest for me and space for storing toiletries and a modest change of clothes.

For the weekend trip to the San Juan Islands, we started with a pleasant hourlong ride on the back roads from Victoria out to the ferry terminal in Sidney. Lopez Island was our ultimate destination, but since it is not possible to reach directly from Vancouver Island, we stayed the first night in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.

And being first on the ferry means we

Really easy riders Roaming the San Juan Islands by scooter  by Laureen O’Dowd

The author and her husband pass a farmer’s field on the Saanich Peninsula en route to the Sidney/Anacortes ferry.

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are also first off. We had reserved a room at the Bird Rock Hotel in Friday Harbor, chosen online for its central location, eclectic décor and complimentary breakfast. When we travel by scooter, we typically book rooms in B&Bs or rustic motels near restaurants and other amenities that we can travel to on foot at night to avoid riding in the dark.

From the Bird Rock Hotel, it was a short walk to the heart of the village (population 2,162), where we ate a seafood dinner at The Bluff Restaurant overlooking the harbour.

The ferry dock in the harbour serves both the Sidney/Anacortes ferry and the ferries connecting to other islands in the San Juan group.

Strolling through town after dinner, we found the vintage Palace Theater, San Juan Island’s only movie theatre, and took in a first run movie. While the theatre’s clapboard cladding and art deco tiled

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entrance were memorable, the Julia Roberts’ show that night was not. Back at the hotel, a couple raved about the food and live music at the Rumor Mill restaurant close to the dock.

Perhaps that was the better way to spend the evening.

HOW CAN A ROCK COUCH BE SO COMFORTABLE?

Sore muscles motivate us to explore The next morning, a 45-minute ferry took us to Lopez Island, our true destination. Lopez is small — just 20 km long — and relatively flat, perfect for exploring by scooter. We took in the entire island, from the ferry dock in the north to Agate Beach County Park on the southern tip, in the two days we were there.

Riding the scooter makes us both a little saddle sore, motivating us to explore on foot more than when we take the car. In one of our frequent breaks, we stopped at Spencer Spit State Park on the northeast side of Lopez to stretch our legs and learn a little about the early European settlement in the area that dates to the 1850s.

Lopez, the third-largest island in the San Juan group, does not boast a wide selection of accommodation, but there are a handful of B&Bs, the Lopez Lodge in the village, and a couple of higher-end inns.

We booked a room online at the old Lopez Island Resort, located in the middle of the island. The rooms could use updating, but all have ocean views and cooking facilities.

Sitting in the resort restaurant by the water, we enjoyed watching diving seabirds, kayakers and lucky fishermen.

The next afternoon, while scooting along Fisherman Bay Road, an OPEN sign at the gate of Lopez Island Vineyards enticed us to descend a gravel driveway, winding down a slope planted with rows and rows of grapevines. The owner of the small family-run winery beckoned us into the tasting room where he was about to pour for another couple. We tasted a variety of wines made from his estate grapes as well as those grown in other areas of Washington state.

Afterwards, while he poured us a glass of wine on the brick patio, we chatted with the owner. “You came from Canada on a little scooter like that?” he remarked. “Well, good for you.”

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The Sidney/Anacortes ferry runs only in summer months.

Check their website for schedule times. Although the San Juan Islands are as close as the Gulf Islands, you need to remember your passport for this trip. See wsdot.com/ferries.

Scooter retailers and renters:

An Aprilia scooter retails for about $2,500 and is available from SG Power on Hillside and other locations in Victoria. See sgpower.com.

While you can rent scooters for $69 a day from Cycle BC Rentals on Humboldt, the company does not advise taking one outside the local region because they could not provide repair support. Note, however, that Susie’s Mopeds in Friday Harbor rents scooters for $70 per day. See susiesmopeds.com.

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$5,388,000

BOULEVARD

Lisa Williams 250-514-1966 lisawilliams.ca

REAL ESTATE

THIS MAGNIFICENT gated waterfront estate includes an elegant 5,800 sq. ft. main residence, 3 bdrm guest house, & 2 delightful boathouses w/ over 280’ of shoreline, manicured grounds & world-class views! The finest materials were used throughout, w/ incredible detail, featuring soaring high ceilings, HW floors, massive great rm, gourmet kitchen, glass-roofed grand dining rm, main floor master suite w/ 8-pce ensuite, & so much more! Totally private setting, w/ low bank oceanfront access and tons of sunshine. Mins from the airport & 30 mins from Downtown!

Wildwoods on Saltspring

Boulevard magazine supports Southern Vancouver Island's top Realtors representing the region's finest real estate. In our pages, we hope you will find your next home, whether it is in the listings of the Great Homes/Great Realtors or here in the Boulevard Luxury Real Estate listings. Both of these monthly advertising features bring you the finest selection of homes and condominiums Victoria has to offer.

$2,985,000 Darlene Hobbs 250-537-1778 sothebysrealty.ca

$2,198,000 Lynne Sager 250-744-3301 lynnesager.com Camosun

LUXURIOUS AND PRIVATE 6,000 sq. ft. country manor house with outstanding views of the ocean, mountains and Vancouver city lights. Gourmet kitchen. Great Room. Formal Dining. Conservatory. Library.

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Spectacular South West facing property in Ten Mile Point area. This elegant 6,500 sq. ft. home offers entertainment sized rooms, and has 180˚ views from the Olympic Mts. to the sandy shores of Cadboro Bay. Spectacular living room with vaulted ceilings, gas F.P. and feature bar/conversation area.

Spacious separate dining room, 30x13 family room (also with F.P.) adjoining kitchen. Master on the main with private lounge area. 5 bdrms, 8 bath, gorgeous sea side patio complete with dingy launch. Mins from village shopping. Sensational waterfront!

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$1,150,000 Margaret Leck 250-413-7171 margaretleck.com

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Floor to ceiling windows capturing a panoramic inner harbour view. Covered 240 s.f. balcony to enjoy outdoor living all year. Gourmet kitchen for the chef in the family. 2 master suites for optimum privacy. Separate room with a view for a library, office, TV/family room or dining room.Exterior is surrounded by mature landscaping, waterfalls and a putting green. SHOAL POINT a place you would be proud to call home!

YOU WILL LOVE THIS immaculate 1989 4 bedroom home, nestled at the end of a cul-de-sac, with a gorgeous south-facing patio & stunning private garden!

Master bedroom on main with renovated ensuite. New kitchen in 2010 with maple cabinets & new appliances.

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Don’t miss this gorgeous likenew Craftsman style home tucked in an undiscovered private lane where Fairfield meets Oak Bay. Extremely versatile space with three bedrooms up, one bedroom down plus a large den on the main. The very bright living and dining areas and family room all with maple floors $1,395,000 overlook the beautifully landscaped easy care garden.

Sharen Warde & Larry Sims Spacious and modern open 250-592-4422 kitchen with granite eating wardesims.com bar and double oven stove.

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$1,089,000 Peter Veri 250-920-6850 peterveri@gmail.com

This spacious, almost 4,000 sq. ft., 2008 built home in Upper Gordon Head has 5 bdrm, 5 bath and room for the entire family including, bright 2 bdrm legal suite, with separate laundry. Quality built home with 5 years of warranty remaining. The upper level boasts a chefs kitchen with ample cupboard space, powered island & heated tile! The spacious dining and living rooms will fit even the largest families.

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Camosun

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FINANCE

with

by Tess van Straaten

W

 illustrations by pip knott

featuring Cedric Steele

hen Cedric Steele came to Canada from South Africa in 1966, he had $1,000 in capital to invest. Believing that buying and holding well-located real estate would pay off, Steele parlayed that small investment into a multi-million-dollar real estate empire that includes office buildings and the Prospect Lake Golf Course. An Honorary Navy Captain for 16 years and a former “Citizen of the Year” award recipient, Steele also believes

community involvement plays a big role in business success. Tess van Straaten sat down with Steele in his office overlooking Victoria’s Inner Harbour.

 It takes a lot of money to buy prime real estate. What’s been your most important money lesson?

Cash management is the most important one. Cash is king! I’ve had to extensively leverage some purchases in the past, and it’s not a good thing to run short of cash when you’re servicing debt. Hopefully we learned from the financial crisis the importance of liquidity, cash flow and not over-leveraging.

Course and the other is doing a business degree). What did you teach them about money?

I’ve told them to be reasonable and to look at costs and benefits. When I buy a car, I buy a nice car that’s about three years old so I don’t pay a lot of the depreciation, and I think my sons have learned the same. Not necessarily to be frugal, but to balance the cost and the benefit. No matter what the purchase is, ask yourself, “What’s the most reasonable thing to do?”

 What’s your best advice for other business people?

I would say if you’ve got your own business, as soon as you can buy your own premises, the better. Own the real estate, whether it’s a strata unit in an office building or a gas station and you buy the land, because I think at the end of the day, most people who have done extremely well are those that have acquired real estate and used it as a revenue-producing generator. For those

 What was your worst investment?

My worst investment was getting involved in the stock markets and trying to start a worldwide real estate network, because I started it before the Internet was a reality. We had to develop our own communications systems, and I travelled all over the world trying to interest people in using a computer to look at real estate in Vancouver.

 Both of your sons are involved in business (one runs the Prospect Lake Golf

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 Why do you think you’ve been so successful?

I’m a great believer in buying real estate and holding it for a long time — as long as the real estate is revenue generating. So many people buy raw land that they hope to develop and then they get into trouble when the debt servicing becomes expensive. Starting out, I would say the secret for me was that I managed to put together some small syndicates, getting a few people involved to help me purchase some of the properties when I didn’t have enough money to purchase them on my own. As time went on, I gradually bought their interests in the properties.

that can’t buy their own real estate, I’ve suggested they look at buying a real estate investment trust (REIT) because you can get 6.5% return on the money and a unit you can cash in any day, so you’ve got liquidity and you’re participating in the growth of real estate.

There’s more to success in business than making a profit or gaining assets. It’s also about working with a community, being part of a community, and spreading the wealth.

 So if you had $100,000 to invest right now, how would you spend it?

I would buy a real estate investment trust unit; I like a few of them — there’s ARTIS and RioCan. They’ve got properties across Canada, so you have the benefit of cash flow without management. The risk is, if interest rates move up dramatically, how well the companies have preplanned for taking that risk into consideration.

 Where do you see the real estate

market going on Vancouver Island?

It’s all dependent on interest rates; so many people don’t look at the fallout if interest rates went back to the historic level of eight or nine per cent. When we bought a building, we always made sure the numbers worked at a nine per cent interest rate and we had to make them work when rates went to 21 per cent. But now, most people are used to sub-four per cent interest rates.

I used to advise people many years ago to buy the biggest house you can in the best location in town, but I’m a little bit concerned now because so many people have not lived through high interest rates and only look at the (current) monthly payment when deciding if they can afford it. I think one should look very carefully at making a purchase of a house or commercial building if they aren’t prepared to handle a rise in interest rates to double what they are today.

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 Any other parting advice?

I would say to be successful in business today, involvement in the community is the most important thing. Sitting on boards or committees and giving input where you can, lending your talents and, in turn, building up a group of connections that you can support and they can support you is key. There’s more to success in business than making a profit or gaining assets. It’s also about working with a community, being part of a community, and spreading the wealth.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

Tess van Straaten is an award-winning journalist, television personality and fourth-generation Victoria native.

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Ask anyone of any age what their best memory of summer is, and most of them will say camping. And the camping gear you can get now is nothing short of amazing. It can be pricey, but think of it as emergency preparedness for when the big city is overrun with zombies, aliens, or a natural disaster. Grab your camping kit and run!

Getting your daily buzz Number one on my list is the coffee rig. I go nowhere without my AeroPress Coffee Maker ($39.99 at Capital Iron).

All you need is hot water, coffee, and a mug. If you get the timing and the temperature of the water right (74° to 80° C), it makes a near-perfect espresso. Its paper filter can remove flavourful oils, but you can get a stainless steel filter disk from Amazon for $15. Serious coffee aficionados will want a portable coffee grinder. Amazon sells the $49 Porlex Mini, which is designed to store in the plunger of the AeroPress.

Of course, for coffee (or tea), you need water. Sure, you could pack around dozens of plastic Evian bottles, but why not use a manually operated portable water purifier? Capital Iron carries First Need systems that use 0.1 micron microbiological filters, which can remove bacteria, cysts and viruses. The filters are usually good for about 600 litres.

Don’t forget the basics Flashlights are passé. Get a Princeton Tec hands-free LED headlamp from Capital Iron. The 100 lumens Remix model ($49) is very popular. The LED bulb lasts forever on three AAA batteries and puts out an amazing 70-m beam of bright light.

It has a red light setting, which doesn’t cause your pupils to shrink when viewing the night sky or spotting creatures in the dark.

A good knife is also mandatory. Keep it in pristine condition. Both Leatherman and Swiss Army knives are great choices.

An emergency wind-up AM/FM radio is also a good idea.

Capital Iron sells a couple of models from Kaito. You can get them with a built-in LED flashlight and a USB charging port.

The survival guide of choice is John “Lofty” Wiseman’s SAS Survival Guide Handbook. The nifty app versions of the book for Android, iPhone, and Windows 8 contain the full text and a few other tricks, including a feature that turns your screen into a Morse Code signalling device.

Wiseman recommends you stock your emergency kit with a tea-light candle, condom, sewing kit, whistle, safety pin, pencil and waterproof paper, waterproof matches, fishhooks and line,

compass, small sharp knife, and water sterilizing tablets.

Stuff it all into an Altoids tin along with some cotton wool padding (doubles as kindling), and then seal it up with a strip of 1" Gorilla “To-Go” tape (way better than conventional duct tape). Keep the kit with you always. Why the condom? It’s a remarkably effective water carrier. Don’t laugh.

Get cooking A campfire ban during the dry season can be disappointing. Where to roast the marshmallows? There are a few safe “portable camp fire” options, such as the propanepowered “Little Red Campfire,” but I really like my BioLite CampStove ($129 from MEC). It burns “sticks, pinecones, pellets and other biomass,” it’s only 1 kg, and it claims to boil a litre of water in under five minutes. Here’s the kicker: it generates electricity to a USB port that will charge your cell phone while you cook. S’mores any time, any place.

How about a Hydro Flask 64-oz. wide-mouth, vacuum insulated, stainless steel growler? ($49.99 at hydroflask.com) Before you leave, fill the growler at your favourite brewery (mine are Phillips, Hoyne, and Driftwood). When you arrive, drink the beer, and then cook your next meal in it. Seriously!

Just fill it with oatmeal, pasta, quinoa, or whatever, add boiling water, and then take it with you for the hike. After couple of hours, it’s ready to eat. Check out thermoscooking. com for tips and recipes.

Extra indulgences Take care of pesky insects with the Mosquito Shield Bug Zapper Racquet ($7.99 at Canadian Tire). I used to think of these as gimmicky until I tried one. They actually work remarkably well.

A waterproof camera? My Fujifilm FinePix has been going strong for years, and we’ve taken loads of terrific snorkelling shots with it. On dry land, the pictures don’t compare with our DSLR, but for the great outdoors, the FinePix is a great choice ($179 at Futureshop.ca).

Still determined to bring the 48" TV along to watch the PGA Championships? For only $1,150, you can have your own super-quiet Honda EU2000i 2,000-watt gas generator with plenty enough juice to run the TV and the beer fridge.

One final safety tip: If you’re on the road, keep an old cell phone along with a cigarette lighter-style charger in your vehicle’s glove box. Any working cell phone can be used to dial 911 in an emergency. It could save someone’s life one day.

Now, get out there and enjoy your trip!

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WRY EYE

south island boulevard ad green h.indd 1

1/7/13 12:12:42 PM

Cyclist and Driver the Road to Peace  By

Barbara Julian

 ILLUSTRATION SHELLEY DAVIES

When I need to get from place to place, I, like many

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others, combine cycling and driving — and it’s making me schizophrenic. When I put on my Cyclist hat (or helmet, to be exact), I notice that there are a whole bunch of cars in my way, but when I’m out there as Driver, it’s the bikes that swerve in front of me twice a block. It’s interesting how our perceptions of traffic change depending on where we sit.

Most cyclists also drive, when circumstances require it, and most drivers ride, will ride or have ridden a bike. Media reports often reflect an “us versus them” mentality between drivers and cyclists, but in fact we are all the same people.

I’m sure that the cyclist who cuts me off by whizzing diagonally through an intersection while ignoring the stop sign is the same person who speeds and honks impatiently when behind the wheel of a car. It’s my theory that behaviour on the roads is more about personality type than the method of transport chosen.

Don’t be afraid I must admit that I generally get more courtesy from drivers when I ride than from cyclists when I drive. At an intersection, as Cyclist I often notice that a car approaching the stop sign opposite slows down metres before it needs to because the driver is nervously hoping I won’t choose her wheels to end some crazy suicidal manoeuvre under. I know she is thinking this because it’s what I think when, as Driver, I’m approaching cyclists at an intersection, be they grimfaced commuters in spandex and earphones or aging women (like me) wobbling along with shopping bags swaying heavily from handlebars.

As Cyclist, I revel in the lanes and semi-hidden cutthroughs I cannot access as Driver, and I avoid bike lanes whenever possible. Inside them, I am out of the path of cars, but not of aggressive riders flying by at breakneck speed a hair’s breadth from my shoulder — and this without insurance, should their riding style cause a collision with those who didn’t know they were in the Tour de France. And why, I wonder, glaring downward to the left, are these lines here that protect no one, at great expense, since this is where bikes go anyway? If there’s room for a lane, we don’t need a line. I am old enough to remember riding these same routes decades ago on my way to school, when kids rode without the benefit of lines and lanes and certainly without a “master plan.” Get on bike, pedal, arrive: that was the plan.

The omniscient idiot Really it’s all about courtesy, and for many of us dual-users of the paved landscape, our impatience toward the other is toward our own alter-ego. When are you more polite: driving or cycling? Ah … the other driver/cyclist is impolite. Even while travelling our busiest roads and calling each other stupid idiots, Driver and Cyclist each assume the stupid idiot is nevertheless omniscient. You assume he has eyes in the back of his head and somehow knows at all times what you are about to do — and that his job is to get out of the way.

Who among us has the right to cast the first stony look?

What can be done to lower the temperature and level the transportation field? The physical road is always easier for the one with the mechanical engine, but freedom from licence and insurance fees makes for a gentle downhill cruise for the cyclist. There is an accountability discrepancy here, and I also wonder why, if road upgrades are to benefit me as Cyclist, I as Driver pay the cost? I as taxpayer wince. Another voice in my head! But I heal these schizophrenic splits by remembering that there isn’t really an “us and them,” there’s only us — bikes, cars, and the unity of all wheeled things.

Of course, as Walker I merely say, “A plague on both your houses.”

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SECRETS & LIVES

By shannon moneo photo by gary mckinstry

 You’ve decided to stay as leader of the

party. Why? I was asked to by Andrew Weaver and the party executive. I think there’s an opportunity to use the next year to capitalize on the momentum we gained in the campaign to organize provincially. I thought I could play a useful part in that.

At some point, I will step down. I’d like to do that when the party could host a leadership contest with several quality candidates. I have no federal aspirations.

 How do you deal with repeated defeat?

There’s a personal, repeated defeat when you don’t get elected, which is discouraging. I thought I could do a really good job. I believed I was going to get elected. But I think I added a level of intelligence, honesty and credibility to politics beyond the Green Party. It was refreshing and a

JANE STERK, 66 LEADER OF THE GREEN PARTY OF BC 86

model for how politics could be.  Will the Green Party ever win big or is it destined to remain a minor player?

Our strategic plan is to form the official opposition in 2017 and be government in 2021. It’s very optimistic. We also planned to have four or five people elected in 2013. When we get a Green government, one of our first acts will be to bring in proportional representation, which would bring the end of majority governments and require coalitions and co-operative government. We’ve always campaigned on that.  Do you feel your party contributed to the NDP’s defeat? The only party that contributed to the NDP’s defeat was the NDP. Their party platform was vague.

Whenever they were asked a question about what they would do, they said they’d prepare a report — an avoidance technique. They had no substance in their campaign. As a consequence of misreading the electorate, they believed they could campaign on not being the Liberals. Dix will not stay as leader. The NDP eat their own leaders. There’s a bunch of people in NDP backrooms that have been there forever. Those are the people that should be held to account.  The Greens have been criticized for lacking a strong fiscal policy. How would you pay for what you promise? We have a strong fiscal policy. We talk about transitioning to strong local economies from the current model.

The other parties throw up a financial plan which everybody knows is nonsense and is simply an election budget. They put numbers together and say, “this is a balanced budget,” and everybody agrees. The Green Party knows that we need a plan to implement a different kind of economy and how we would pay for it. That’s our task for 2017. It becomes more complicated, because making a change from what we have now to an economy we envisage is a 25- to 50-year plan. You have to take a static amount of revenue

that the government gets from sources that will exist 25 or 50 years from now and produce credible numbers. It’s a formidable job.  Will Northern Gateway ever go through?

The BC government’s rejection was a ploy, although Andrew Weaver is taking them at face value. I don’t think it will be built for two reasons. One, the First Nations are opposed to it and they will keep it in court for 20 years. There is a great deal of sorrow in that; we rely on First Nations to mount court cases that cost them a huge amount of money to do what we should be doing.

Two, British Columbians will stand in front of the bulldozers.  What’s so bad about fracking to extract natural gas? It poisons our land, air, water and human and animal health. Other than that, it’s fine. It’s a destructive process that forever takes water out of the hydrological process. Because of dispersion of the gas, it profoundly alters and damages the landscape so that it’s unrecognizable — an industrial wasteland.  Has your PhD in counselling psychology

from the University of Alberta helped you navigate the minefields of politics?

It allows me to connect with people. I’ve always believed that if I could talk to every individual in British Columbia, the Green Party would win. I can make a connection.  Your guiltiest pleasure? I like to take a

very long steam and a very long, hot shower after a workout. For a person who believes in conservation, I feel a bit guilty.  If you had $25 million, what would you do with it? I would donate some to the Green Party, pay off my kids’ mortgages and my own. I might experiment with some of the entrepreneurial stuff Victoria Councillor Lisa Helps is doing with community microlending. I believe that with kids who are into risky behaviours, a lot of those behaviours could be entrepreneurial if they were channelled in a particular way, so I might put money into that.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

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