What Judy Warren loves about her job as a primary care nurse at Edmonton Southside Primary Care Network is the autonomy she is given. She’s been working out of the Justik Medical Clinic for 30 years, even before the PCN was created in 2005. When she started at Justik as a registered nurse, her duties…
Working at Edmonton Southside Primary Care Network has always been an experience for Marcy Figas. She was one of the first primary care nurses hired in 2006 and had to define her role for the family doctors she worked with. “The concept was new. It was scary, to be honest, because it was considered out…
Family doctors have improved the way they practice medicine since joining Edmonton Southside Primary Care Network 10 years ago. Dr. Brian Ritchie, of Ermineskin Medical Clinic, was one of the founding members of Edmonton Southside PCN in 2005. He recalls how doctors had to refer patients to services outside of his clinic and when it…
The concept of a primary care network was planted in Dr. Rick Spooner’s head after reading a paper from the College of Family Physicians of Canada. The idea sat and gathered dust until negotiations began between the Alberta Medical Association, Alberta Health and the health regions in 2003. “It was proposed that we start to…
Crystal Degenhardt noticed that there were some mental health patients stuck in a cycle of hospitalization when they didn’t need to be. She wanted to find a way to prevent this cycle and thought a job opportunity at the newly formed Edmonton Southside Primary Care Network in 2005 could hold the answer. “It can’t always…
Janet Schultz had no idea what her job would entail at Edmonton Southside Primary Care Network. She was one of the first employees hired in 2005 and a PCN was a new concept to the health care system in Alberta. “I knew next to nothing about primary care when I first started. I came from…
Don Kupina isn’t ashamed to admit that he’s an addict. It’s an addiction he’s been struggling with for most of his life. “If I was a drug addict, I would stop taking drugs and that’s it. If I was a smoker, I would stop smoking. If I was a drinker, I would stop drinking. But…