Editor:
For the past two years, Cacye Laviolette has done a great service to our community as patient navigator for the Sunshine Coast Division of Family Practice. In this capacity, Laviolette has helped many people, including a significant number who have mental health or addiction concerns, get connected with health care and other social services they need. However, the funding for the patient navigator position has now run out, leaving many of our most vulnerable citizens at risk.
People struggling with mental illness or addiction often have little idea of what community supports are available to them. Even if they are aware of these services, navigating the bureaucracy may be beyond their capacity. The patient navigator guides such people through the process, taking the time to listen to their stories and assess their needs before connecting them to appropriate services.
What a humane and practical approach to helping our citizens get the care they require! And what a sensible approach to creating a more efficient health care system.
The Sunshine Coast Branch of the BC Schizophrenia Society strongly urges Vancouver Coastal Health and the Division of Family Practice to make patient navigator a permanent position in our community health system.
Donna Motzer, Sechelt, for the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society, Sunshine Coast Branch
