HEALTH: Prescription drugs more difficult to afford A8 Wednesday, February 1, 2012 Cold Snap ends with some hot tunes on a warm night A14
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DeLynda Pilon
Tim McEwan leaving IPG
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Opening delayed ■ Family Practice
The scheduled opening for the new health clinic for unattached patients in Prince George has been reset for the summer rather than spring, as originally hoped. Dr. Barend Grobbelaar, the vice chair of the Prince George Division of Family Practice, said they originally hoped to go forward with an RFP (request for proposal) once a location was chosen for the clinic, however it has become clear that the project requires a full tendering process. The Prince George Division of Family Practice is a provincially funded not-for-profit group of physicians working in conjunction with Northern Health and funding partner The Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation to get the clinic off the ground. It will help address the problem of people without family doctors within the region. “The holdup is primarily to do with what is going on within our division,” Grobbelaar, who also cochairs the Collaborative Services Committee, a board made up of representatives from the division, the Ministry of Health, the B.C. Medical Association and members of the public, and which oversees all primary care innovations in the area, said. Grobblelaar said the division board, together with the project manager and construction and design consultant, shopped extensively for a site for the clinic. “Once one was chosen we hoped to rapidly progress to select a contractor,” he said. “Then it became clear because of the size and complexity of the project, it warranted a full tendering approach.” This means going through the tendering process, selecting a contractor, then allowing time for the work to be completed, pushing the hoped-for opening of the clinic from the spring to summer. “It pushed the opening time back to June or July. That actually is a good thing because there is still quite a lot of work to be done with Northern Health to develop programs and recruit.” He added though the PMA (physicians master agreement) negotiations between the province and the BCMA are confidential, with only those on negotiating teams having access to details, he doubts the outcome will impact the clinic.
Flippin’
■ City
Over Winter
DeLynda Pilon
A llan WISHA RT/Free Press
Colton Jensen is airborne as he comes off a mogul during the Winterfest events at UNBC on Thursday.
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place. “That’s very significant for the city as is the evolution of Effective Jan. 5, Heather the downtown. I think we’ve Oland became acting CEO for past the tipping point there,” he Initiatives Prince George after said. “I’ve really enjoyed workTim McEwan resigned from the ing with a number of partners within this job.” post. He pointed out McEwan said Oland, who has his last day will be been with IPG Feb. 17, four years since August, is to the day since he a longtime city took on the posiresident, and tion. His resignaputting her in tion, he said, has place as CEO will nothing to do with mean a seamless city council’s decitransition for the sion not to increase organization. the fee it pays IPG Tim McEwan Oland, forthis year, but rather -IPG president and CEO merly the directo leave funding tor of planning at the 2011 level. Instead McEwan is making the for L&M Engineering, took on move because he says it is time the position as vice-president of strategic initiatives, working on to take on new opportunities. “It’s time after four years files like business recruitment to do exciting new things,” he and retention, looking at skill said and pointed out he was at shortages, promoting the city his previous position for five- in advance of the Canada Winter Games, representing IPG on and-a-half years. “There’s a cycle to a job like the Northern Innovation and this and it’s been a terrific run Entrepreneurship Partnership here. It’s a great city full of board and bettering the city’s transportation hub. exciting promise.” “She is very capable and will McEwan said he’s proud to have helped ‘set the table’ for do a great job. I’ve said many the decade of economic oppor- times that we’ve built a tertunity the North is entering, rific team here, and I’m very and is particularly happy with proud that five of our seven the success they’ve achieved staff members are UNBC gradputting together a complement uates.” McEwan wouldn’t share of light and heavy industrial what his next venture will be land for the city. Some of those table set- nor whether he’ll remain a resiting items include getting the dent of the city but simply said Boundary Road connector in “stay tuned.”
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