The community of Parry Sound is a special jewel buried deep in Ontario’s cottage country. The Georgian Bay region has been described as rugged, remote, windswept …its spirit skillfully evoked by Tom Thomson’s paintings of the area’s iconic pine trees. Renowned as the world’s deepest natural freshwater port and home to the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve, Parry Sound is particularly famous for its 30,000 Islands.
The waters were given their name in the 19th century by admiralty surveyor, Captain Henry Bayfield, as a mark of his respect for the famed Arctic explorer, Sir William Edward Parry. The town’s site was established in 1857 at the mouth of the Seguin River: it now serves an area of about 24,000 permanent residents, swelling to a population of over 120,000 in the peak summer season.
Tucked up on a hillside near the town centre, a hidden treasure helps to keep hearts beating in this relatively isolated area. Many cottagers on Lake Joe, Rosseau and west through Georgian Bay may not realize that, if something goes wrong while they’re at the cottage, their call to 911 will take them to the West Parry Sound Health Centre. The Centre integrates inpatient and outpatient programs for year-round and seasonal residents, with six rural nursing stations for outlying areas, land and air ambulances responding to emergencies, and the administration of acute and chronic care.
While most cottagers don’t include a hospital visit in their summer plans, this isn’t the case for everyone. Mary Katherine Coady, the supervisor of Nephrology programs, explains that their dialysis unit provides services to patients in Parry Sound and the surrounding areas. “We also provide transient dialysis treatments to cottagers,” she says, “which are arranged through Health Sciences North Nephrology Satellite Program in Sudbury.” And people who need chemo treatments or cardiac rehabilitation no longer have to forego their time at the cottage, with the Health Centre’s services at hand.
The region of Georgian Bay plays host to the largest population o
f Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes in Canada, which are now protected as a threatened species under federal law. Dr. T.J. Fargher, Chief of Staff at the West Parry Sound Health Centre, is the Medical Director for the province’s Anti-Venom Depot; and he has created clinical protocols outlining best practices for both the prevention and the treatment of snakebites. His expertise is called upon throughout the province, and people have even been flown in from Toronto for the anti-venom services.
Innovative solutions meet the needs of the people served by the Health Centre. The opening of the Healing Life Room in 2007 epitomizes respect for the traditional rituals of First Nations peoples. The eight-sided room is decorated with native art and spirit catchers; and special ventilation accommodates the smudging ceremonies — the burning of herbs, such as white sage, sweet grass and cedar — used by the majority of Native North American peoples to heal the mind, body, and spirit.
More recently, a hospital wing was created with a $27,000 donation from the Parry Sound Rotary to provide loving end-of-life care in a cottage-like setting. Lena Patten, of HillTop Interiors in the Village of Rosseau, designed and decorated the four palliative care suites, the family room, and a kitchenette. The walls are painted in soothing, restful colours that keep the tones of Georgian Bay present, while the hospital beds are softened with beautiful linens and bed skirts. Comfortable furniture, including a reclining chair for overnight guests, a television, and a shelf for mementos, offers a homey atmosphere in the common area.
Within the walls of the Health Centre, a group of people works quietly behind the scenes to play a crucial role in turning this small cottage hospital into a first-class operation. The Foundation takes on the task of inspiring the gifts that provide funds for capital equipment, ensuring that the Centre is ready to handle anything from snake bites to appendix attacks to boating or car accidents.
“100% of the money needed to purchase and update our equipment comes from donations — this is essential to our services and it is not covered by provincial funding,” points out Lynne Atkinson, the Foundation’s Executive Director. In December 2014, the hospital was accredited with exemplary status, and Lynne attributes this to both their fine staff and the amazing donors. “Without the right equipment, our medical staff could not provide such excellent care,” she explains.
Lynne offers an example of the vital role that donors play in maintaining the critical care health services provided by the Centre. In April 2014, the intensive care unit was forced to close for twelve days when the ten-year-old patient monitoring system crashed and couldn’t be rebooted. “Our donors came to the rescue, and we were able to purchase the new $360,000 system and restore our services,” she says.
“The family cottage is the heart and core of the extended family,” Lynne says, “which intensifies the need for local health services that can handle any emergency.” Cottager Jim Meekison experienced just such an emergency some years ago, when he was wakened in the night by a racing heartbeat. The doctor at the West Parry Sound Health Centre brought his heart back to its normal pace and gave advice on the care that he needed. He and his wife, Carolyn Keystone, showed their gratitude with a significant gift to the Foundation, which was used to update the monitor defibrillators and contribute to the costs of the Electronic Health Records installation.
Jim and Carolyn have now inspired and seeded the new Northern Angel Council, launched at their home in Toronto in May with a personal gift of $50,000 annually for five years. Debbie Bongard, a Pointe au Baril cottager whose family is currently installing the hospital’s $200,000 unit-dose in the pharmacy, is chairing the new Council, which is committed to raising $2.5 million in new donations pledged over five years to meet the increasing equipment replacement needs of the ten-year-old Health Centre.
Summertime in cottage country means taking the time to relax, to put the workday worries behind, to just have some fun … not to anticipate accidents or health issues. But there is no doubt that it is reassuring to know that, deep in the heart of the land of lakes, up on a hilltop, there is a well-equipped and modern health centre with exceptional professionals who are committed to maintaining quality critical care in the north.
For more information on the West Parry Sound Health Centre Foundation and its initiatives, contact Lynne Atkinson at 705-746-4540, x 3346.
Select Photos: Robert Nelson
