New GHCF website!
Welcome to the Gabriola Health Care Foundation’s new website!
Our refreshed Internet presence reflects the GHCF’s commitment to advocate for improved primary health care and wellbeing on Gabriola Island.
The new site is a great starting point for information and resources about health care on the island. It also explains what the Foundation does, and how you can join us in helping ensure that our community has access to the health-care services we need.
The GHCF is a volunteer-run non-profit organization whose roots stretch back to the early 2000s. It was created to support the development of the Gabriola Community Health Centre, which was built with community donations, government funding and a huge amount of volunteer skill and labour.
The purpose of the GHCF is to play a leadership role in understanding the health-care needs of the community and to work with island partners to improve the health and wellbeing of the entire Gabriola community.
In addition, two of our primary activities include:
- Owning, operating and maintaining the Gabriola Community Health Centre facility.
- Supporting the Gabriola Medical Clinic, which is a separate entity that leases space in the Health Centre from the Foundation. The GHCF supports the Clinic in a variety of ways, including an ongoing campaign to recruit and retain doctors and other health-care providers.
Speaking of recruiting, the Foundation has also recently refreshed its doctor-recruitment website (beourdoctor.ca), which features a new video that introduces physicians to the many benefits of living on the island and working in the Gabriola Medical Clinic.
The refreshing of both the GHCF and the Be Our Doctor websites coincides with the development of the Foundation’s new five-year strategic plan. This plan envisions an integrated and transformative model for health care and wellbeing on Gabriola Island. At the core of the proposed model is a community-designed and owned system that serves everyone on the island and enables our health and wellbeing providers to work at the top of their abilities.
As we launch the new GHCF website, there are many who deserve thanks. First and foremost is board director Harvey Graham, a founding member of the Foundation who has contributed significantly to the GHCF in many capacities over the course of nearly 20 years.
One contribution needs highlighting here: Harvey built maintained the Foundation’s first website. The platform he created nearly 15 years ago was the digital face of the Foundation and served us well until earlier this month, when this, our new website, went live.
Others who deserve recognition include former board member Carol Ferguson and current member Dyan Dunsmoor-Farley, who together led the website project and, with the skilful help of web developer Bravenet Marketing, moved the site close to the finishing line. Others, including Foundation president Jeff Malmgren and board member Kevin Crowley, worked with Bravenet to guide the project to completion.
Please explore and enjoy the new website. And while you’re at it, click the Membership button and become a Foundation member. It’s free and keeps you engaged and informed about health care on Gabriola Island.
