Doctor finally in sight for Debert seniors?

Nova Scotia Health Authority aims to find doctor to serve both care home locations

DEBERT, N.S. – Seniors at Shannex Incorporated lodges in Debert and Truro will have medical care provided by a nurse practitioner starting this month.

Gillian Costello, senior communications manager for Shannex, said her organization is required to ensure an available physician, accessible to every resident.

Costello said earlier, “In the case of Debert and the one neighbourhood at Cedarstone, the physicians we had partnered with are no longer available, which has left us without coverage for those residents.”

The Nova Scotia Health Authority says the nurse practitioner will provide care to seniors at Shannex’s five sites in Colchester County. Efforts are continuing to recruit a doctor for Shannex residents in the Debert and Cedarstone lodges.

Nurse practitioners can perform many of the functions a doctor can, such as diagnose health issues, order tests, perform exams and prescribe medicine, according to the NSHA’S website.

“Beginning in January, a nurse practitioner will be providing coverage for an interim period, which will ensure residents are able to return to their home facility after an admission to hospital,” said Carla Adams, senior advisor for media relations at the Nova Scotia Health Authority, in an email Jan. 3. “It will also allow new admissions to vacant beds.”

Adams said the nurse practitioner will complement the existing family physician coverage at long-term care facilities in Colchester County.

“Family physicians are independent health professionals, and we encourage them to let NSHA know of their plans for retirement or changes in practice to inform our recruitment efforts,” said Adams in a follow-up message Tuesday. “Family physician recruitment continues to be a priority for Nova Scotia.”

Costello said Shannex does not employ doctors. Rather, they treat residents at their homes and are compensated the same way they would be for their individual practices. In Truro, Shannex has traditionally partnered with a physician to care for a group of residents.

Shannex runs a total of five lodges in Colchester County. These include the Parkland Truro and Cedarstone Enhanced Care facilities in Truro, Vimy Court in Bible Hill, Elk Court in Brookfield and Debert Court in Debert.