Patients of the Sooke Food Bank (SFB) medical outreach service are getting better service in a more comfortable setting thanks to a new set of four wheels.
The outreach service has operated, free of charge, since 2023, serving Sooke and beyond. Until recently, it operated out of a blue tent adjacent to SFB. While functional, the team and its patients will no longer be exposed to the elements, thanks to their new medical van provided by Island Health, which made its Sooke outreach clinic debut this June.
"The benefit of the van is it's well stocked with supplies and we can use it to do more in-depth exams because we have an exam table, we have proper exam equipment and things like that," said Fiona Hutchinson, the nurse practitioner who began at the outreach clinic in December.
The outreach service was made possible in part by the efforts of Kim Metzger, the president of the SFB, who communicated with Island Health on the need for outreach services during COVID-19. Eventually, they came to an agreement where the SFB would provide the tent, security, power and internet, while Island Health would send the nurses.
Now, Metzger is hopeful the upgrade can make their service even better.
"I have watched them save lives out here. Seriously, two weeks ago, a guy saw them on Thursday and by the next Tuesday, he was having emergency surgery – he would have died," she explained.
"I'm excited. I want people to come out and use it. I don't want people to feel like they have no access."
So far, Hutchinson said most clients have been positive and excited about the change; however, facilities are not often their main concern.
"If they're really needing health care they were fine coming to a tent; this just looks a bit more professional," said Rebecca Littlejohn, the registered certified nurse working alongside Hutchinson.
The van has given them more of a "presence", Littlejohn explained, and seems to be encouraging more people to try out their services.
This is a welcome outcome, especially considering the time it's taken to build up relationships within the community.
"I'm not from Sooke, so it took months to start to earn relationships with people. The volunteers at the food bank have been a huge part of that," said Littlejohn. She listed plenty of reasons why people don't access primary care, from scheduling to lack of services, to just general anxiety.
"It's super rewarding when someone is willing to come and see you and you can tell that that was a really hard choice for them – they're being very vulnerable to come and it's so rewarding to know they've trusted you in their time of need."
While many of their clientele are those who lack primary care or those familiar with their services through the food bank, Littlejohn and Hutchinson have made it clear that their services are open to anyone.
"We will see people who are attached and unattached, meaning they have a longitudinal nurse practitioner or family practitioner," said Hutchinson.
"We will still maintain services for food bank users, but they don't have to be [one]. They can be unattached to the community – if they haven't had a screening for years, we can provide screening services. If they have a medical concern and they're not able to access care some other way, they can certainly come see us and [we'll] see them just like any physician would."
The two nurses said that the range of services they offer is greater than many expect. Between them, they offer any service found through primary care, including screenings, diagnoses, ordering tests or writing prescriptions.
While the outreach service is largely an attempt to fill a gap in local healthcare and provide greater accessibility, it's something the pair of nurses expect to stay – even if Sooke services increase.
"When the plan for Sooke to have its own community health centre comes to fruition, we don't see this going away. We'll probably link into all the services as we do now," said Hutchinson.
The outreach clinic will be open and available for all who may need it on the first three Thursdays of every month from 9 a.m. until noon at the Sooke Food Bank.
