Health Care and Education Community Campus

When we look around our communities we can assess the state of the educational facilities in our neighbourhood. In areas with young families, the school is likely very busy and professional education staff are actively engaged in serving the community. In neighbourhoods with more mature people, the school facility may be underutilized or perhaps the students are bussed in from other locations. Matt Galloway, CBC the Current, on Nov 4 2022 talked to B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix; and Vancouver family physician Dr. Rita McCracken, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Medicine.

Dr. McCracken compared a renewed structure for family health care to the infrastructure in place in Canadian provinces for education. She pondered a health care system that was structured like the education system, where health professionals, family physicians, nurse practitioners, extended scope nurses and others worked in clinics analogous to education professionals working in schools.

Cobequid Community Health and Education Centre

Perhaps the analogy can be extended further by considering government construction of multi purpose buildings or a campus serving community needs for education, health care, recreation, and social services in one location. As the nature of the community evolves with time, resources offered in a particular location may shift from mostly education to mostly health.

Just as the mission to provide primary and secondary education to communities is managed by the government and the educational staff is paid from public funds, the health care professionals on site would be compensated in a similar manner. The planning of human and equipment resources for the multi-use facility can be forecast and addressed in accord with community needs and the obligations incurred by the government to provide services. Education and training of health professionals can be planned in universities and colleges to staff the multi-use facilities.

We have generally accepted the benefit of primary, secondary, and post-secondary education to the social and economic success of our provinces. A structure that brings primary and secondary health care to communities under an education-like structure will elevate the general health of the province, reduce overall health care cost, and increase equity in access to care.