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Port Hardy mayor gives an update on the health-care crisis

Port Hardy has one new doctor moving into the community
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Port Hardy Mayor Pat Corbett-Labatt gave an update on the health-care crisis during council’s Nov. 8 meeting. (Screenshot from council meeting)

After recently attending a summit with Coun. John Tidbury, Mayor Pat Corbett-Labatt gave a brief update on the North Island’s health-care crisis during council’s Nov. 8 meeting.

“For those of you that don’t know, we [Port Hardy] are at 50 per cent capacity for our nurses and we are at 50 per cent capacity for our doctors,” Corbett-Labatt said. “We have one new doctor moving into the community, but we are in crisis mode right now and we have to protect the ones that we’ve got so we don’t lose them to sickness or burnout.”

Corbett-Labatt noted that thanks to all the hospital closures that have been happening in the Mount Waddington region over the past year, she has been advocating for rural health care on the radio and various tv programs.

“We need help, the community is open for business, we want to help … as much as we can, but the reality is we are in dire straights, and we have to balance closures [amongst the various communities in the region]. It’s not easy.”

She added she wants the community to know mayor and council are doing the best they can in dealing with the health-care crisis.

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Tyson Whitney

About the Author: Tyson Whitney

I have been working in the community newspaper business for nearly a decade, all of those years with Black Press Media.
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