Reflecting on the Wildfires of Summer 2017

Reflecting one year after the wildfires

One year after the wildfires that changed the summer for many people across BC, Northern Health is taking the time to reflect on some lessons learned from the experience.

Last year, Northern Health committed to helping the people who were evacuated from Williams Lake and the surrounding communities. We worked to set up a temporary doctor’s office and nurse practitioner office in the College of New Caledonia in Prince George. Looking back on the response to the 2017 BC wildfires, we are proud to share the following lessons learned:

1. There is so much importance in providing the right care to the right patient at the right time.
2. Communication is essential, from the use of an electronic medical record and internal communications with staff, to external communications with the evacuees and to the community of Prince George.
3. Situations like this are an opportunity to form important connections between health care workers who normally work in different facilities or different departments in Northern Health, and with family doctors and nurse practitioners and specialists.
4. Forming partnerships between local organizations are essential (for example, we worked very closely with many, including Prince George Division of Family Practice, First Nations Health Authority, Red Cross, Health Emergency Management BC, Interior Health, the City of Prince George, etc.)
5. Team-based care (doctors and nurse practitioners working with a team of health care professionals such as nurses, occupational therapists, and counsellors, etc.) will provide the best care that the patient needs.

Do you have any more important lessons to add? Share your story in the comments!