Community Stands up for Nurse Practioner

From Nova News Now and Digby Courier

Community stands up for nurse practitioner
by Leanne Delong/Digby Courier
View all articles from Leanne Delong/Digby Courier
Article online since October 20th 2009, 13:36


Island Consolidated School gymnasium was packed last night by residents concerned by loss of the island’s only full time nurse practitioner. Leanne Delong photo View all pictures Community stands up for nurse practitioner
People crowded the doorway of the Islands Consolidated School gymnasium on Monday to sign a petition against the loss earlier this month of nurse practitioner Karen Snider at Islands Health Clinic in Freeport.


Approximately 230 signatures were added to the petition by the end of last night’s public meeting in Freeport.

Islands resident Andy Moir charged that Snider had been disciplined for speaking out against reduced hours for support staff at the clinic, for telling her collaborating physician about it, and for discussing it with fellow nurse practitioners.

She had the audacity to speak up on an issue that affects the area’s health care, said Moir, who co-chaired the meeting.

“If every health professional who complained about the cutbacks that have been made in health over the last 10 or 15 years was released from their job, there would be darn few left,” said registered nurse and Islands resident Joanne Whitenect. “I’m just shocked and appalled they would do this to Karen, I think she is excellent.”

South West Health has said its decision not to renew Snyder’s contract was not because of a clinical issue, but that further explanation would breach personnel confidentiality policies.

Snider moved to the Islands from British Columbia about a year ago to work at the clinic and was still within a probationary period.

“It appears to us it is an injustice to not only the nurse practitioner but to the members of this community because we have in Karen, a nurse practitioner who’s committed to be here until she retires and she’s something that we certainly haven’t seen in a long while,” said Municipality of Digby warden Jim Thurber.

Thurber mentioned how hard it is to keep health care professionals in the municipality.

“Twenty years ago, we had full-time doctors here on the Islands, the Digby hospital had doctors, we had an emergency room open all the time, you could even have babies in Digby,” said Thurber.

When it became difficult to recruit health care professionals, the community worked with the Department of Health and supported the nurse practitioner and paramedic program, he said.

The program has grown over the years and Thurber feels over the past six months to a year, the program has operated at full potential.

MLA Harold Theriault apologized for not being able to attend the meeting through a video message.

“We’re watching this step by step and I guarantee you, that we’ll be getting this vital service for Digby Neck and Islands back in service pretty soon,” he said.

“As far as the district health authority is concerned, Karen is toast,” said island resident Andy Moir.

The warden agreed, and read a letter from South West Health that proposed a meeting with the Islands health liaison committee to discuss health care services at the clinic and recruitment of a full-time nurse practitioner.

One person in the crowd stood up and said Snyder was the best they ever had for health care.

“That nurse has been God’s gift to my family,” said Tiverton resident Wonda Johnston. “I will stand up for her and I will support her because I know the good she has done.”

Tiverton resident John Ivens asked, “This health authority is supposed to have our best interest at heart. So, how are they helping us by getting rid of a resource here that can help everybody on the Island?”

“How does the freedom of information act apply to this situation?” wondered Freeport resident Robert Thurber. “The only other place I know of that you can just get rid of somebody and give no cause to the public is Russia.”

Moir responded by saying it’s a privacy issue and even if Snyder said they could throw her record open, the health authority would still “hide behind the Privacy Act, which says they cannot tell us why they make the decisions they make.”

“I am very upset over what has happened to her,” added Johnston.

ldelong@digbycourier.ca
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