Health Care Services
If you have a mishap on Hornby you can count on a myriad of volunteers and health care professionals to make things right. We have a dedicated core group of fire department volunteers trained as first responders and there is a doctor on call 24 hours a day. Visit the new Hornby Island Medical Clinic for your routine medical appointments and the Dental Bus for those chipped tooth emergencies! Below find listings and information for our various health care facilities and providers. Click here for the full story on the building of our new Clinic - a tremendous community undertaking.
Hornby Island Medical Clinic & the Dental Bus
Peter Walford, patient & assistant
The Clinic and Dental Bus are both located next to the Hornby Denman Community Health Society building at 1065 Sollans Road. Hornby is indeed lucky to have on island access to these important services.
Our Doctors
We have two Doctors, Dr. Laura Chalfin and Dr. John Chapman who rotate bi-weekly. The Doctors are on call 24 hours a day when on duty and will attend to any emergency no matter the time. Dr. Laura and Dr. John are also important members of our community in a social and artistic way. Dr. Laura has participated in local theatre and sits on the Hornby Festival Board and although Dr. John is relatively new to Hornby he is quickly integrating himself into island life. The new Clinic was built by extraordinary volunteer energy of a great many Hornby residents and with funds raised by countless others. This new and gorgeous facility opened April 2011.
Our Dentist
Hornby can also offer an unusual trip to the dentist. Dr. Peter Walford has been serving Hornby & Denman Islands for over two decades and has used his wonderful and innovative woodworking skills to upgrade a 1974 Bluebird bus into a work of art that is 38 feet long, has air brakes, and weighs 18,000 Kg. The current dental bus replaced an earlier bus, which served for 17 years before being retired to Sandpiper as a guest house and jazz studio. It takes a whole community to build a dental bus - over 50 Hornbyites lent their talents to aid Dr. Peter in the 3000 hour project of refurbishing and converting the bus into a mobile clinic. It wouldn't be what it is without all this wonderful help. It is the smallest practice in BC at 304 square feet, and the only permanent mobile clinic, employing two Certified Dental Assistants and a Dental Hygienist.
Dr. Peter is a triathelete, a wacko musician, an avid sailor and a boat builder. He plans to retire in less than a decade. Recently he has taken up a new career as an educator, mentoring a study club, publishing an educational website, and lecturing to dental groups on different aspects of dental technique. A good part of his subject matter derives from Hornby Island's needs - how to solve big problems with small budgets, innovatively pushing the limits of known technology.
Hornby and Denman Community Health Care Society
This society was formed in 1979 to provide home support services to community members 'to maintain their optimum function, socially, emotionally and physically, minimizing complications in illness, stress in crisis, and physical and emotional deterioration in the aging.' It owns and maintains a Centre on Hornby (1965 Sollans Rd) and, in association with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, it manages the Doris Savoie Medical Clinic. It provides the following services:
- Home Support & Home Assist Services
- Equipments loans
- Lending Library
- Counselling Services
- Youth and Family Programs
- Food Security Programs
- Volunteer Services Community
- Self-help and Support Groups
Call 250-335-2885 for more information
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