Niverville has had various medical services over the years. The current medical service shows much vision and foresight of the town council in the 90s and the last decade. They foresaw the need for medical services to support the planned growth, and in partnership with others, created a space that is now part of the Heritage Centre. Service initially was provided by either a physician from Winnipeg coming down for occasional visits or a regular afternoon service, 1 or 2 days a week, provided by the physicians from Saint Pierre.
The Burnetts moved to Canada in 1997, initially to Boissevain but moved to Niverville in 2005 to start the medical clinic. Initially Dr. Mairi provided full-time service while her husband Dr. Chris worked part-time as well as working for mental health. In 2009 he became full-time, and in 2007 we also added a third full-time physician as well as moving into a recently renovated space on the second floor. In 2010, in grateful cooperation with the Regional Health Authority we had a nurse practitioner placed with us and we continue to have one.
The clinic is a private venture, fully incorporated and also a proud member of the local business community. Its physicians are paid on a fee-for-service basis, this is a method used by the government that remunerates the physician for each service, or patient, he or she sees. They invoice the government twice a month for services provided. From the money that is paid, the physician must pay for rent, staff salaries, equipment and supplies. As is explained later on, there are several services that are not funded by Manitoba health and require a separate fee. The fee-for-service arrangement is negotiated between Doctors Manitoba and Manitoba Health.
From the very beginning there was a desire to create a healthcare team of which this would be a first of its kind in Manitoba. This has now become the Patient Medical Home model, a term that since has been coined by politicians but in reality we can claim that we were doing the function of this. From the very beginning there was a collegial atmosphere and a readiness to cooperate in the care of clients that was multidisciplinary. This became the Niverville Primary Care Team that incorporates both Regional Health and Private Partnerships
We will continue to strive for an approach that is client centered and endeavors to meet the needs of the community and his members. This team still meets every 6 weeks to look at how we can better cooperate together, better utilize resources and how to promote primary health in the community. This is not the work of one individual but truly that of a team whose strength is in its diversity and commitment to care.
You will also note that we often use the term clinician rather than physician to collectively describe healthcare providers.