An alarm was sounded last year by Texada Health Services Society president Barb Egglestone about the imminent retirement of the island's longtime physician, Dr. Kevin Black.
Without a potential doctor replacement, there was concern that Texada Island residents would have to travel to Powell River for medical services. But, just in the nick of time, a new full-time physician named Dr. Diane Rothon was found and started under the mentorship of Dr. Black in June, with an official start date of July 1, 2024.
"She happened to be visiting here on the island and for Dr. Black to see if there was a position for a locum (temporary doctor)," said Egglestone. "That's when he announced to her that he was looking for a replacement."
Rothon was interested in relocating from Vancouver to Texada, but one of the conditions was finding suitable accommodation.
"That's where the health society came in," said Egglestone. "We diligently looked [for accommodation] and presented her with a number of options, and she finally found one that suited her needs, so we were ready to go."
Texada Health Services Society acts in an advisory role to the medical centre and advocates for the needs of Texada residents. The island community, which is Electoral D of qathet Regional District, is unique among other Gulf Island communities because of its medical services, which fall under Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH).
"We have very qualified medical staff including two nurses, a doctor, ambulance paramedics and volunteer firefighters,” said Egglestone, in a previous interview with the Peak. “Even if there is an emergency the medical staff will arrange for medivacs to transport people to the hospital.”
The health society has been around since 1993 and has advocated for doctors to access equipment they need, and also funded courses for nurses.
"We try to support the health centre and acquire anything that's needed and will end up being a benefit to the residents of Texada," said Egglestone. "It took a lot of hard work and push to get it [replacement doctor] done, but we managed to get through all that."
Vancouver Coastal Health sent an email to the Peak about the doctor replacement on Texada Island: “Vancouver Coastal Health has been working with our partners in the community including the Texada Health Services Society and the qathet Division of Family Practice (qDoFP) to recruit a new physician to take over the role at the Texada Island Health Centre. VCH is pleased to announce that Dr. Diane Rothon will be joining VCH as primary care provider for the Texada Island Health Centre.”
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