Medical care, community welcome highlighted as new Valley medical professionals tour wing
A unique group of visitors to 14 Wing Greenwood August 28 came for fun, but also to put down roots in a community with a professional mission like their own.
The Mid Valley Region Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee, of which 14 Wing is a partner in attracting medical professionals to serve communities between Aylesford and Bridgetown, brought two new doctors and three nurses, plus their families, for a tour of the wing.
Military Police passed out stickers for the children after coming through a busy main gate: the Wing Security Force was actually exercising its call-up role, alongside heightened ID checks conducted by Commissionaires; they were welcomed into wing headquarters by Colonel Angie Thomas and Wing Chief Warrant Officer Justin Harper.
“WSF is not typical! It is my very great pleasure to welcome you to our beautiful wing,” Thomas said. “14 Wing has a to offer – gyms, a skateboard park, a movie theatre, community centre – we’re very integrated into the community.”
The wing provides the new medical professionals and their families access to many of these facilities and programs for their own recreational use, but also for more structured welcome activities regularly hosted by the Mid Valley recruitment committee to help everyone feel like the Valley – and their new medical roles here – is home.
This tour was a first, committee vice-chair Anne Crowell said, with support funding from the provincial Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment.
“It was a dream we had, partnering with the base, to show that the base is not just a medical clinic they’d be used to seeing; but that it is so much more operationally. And – we knew the kids would love it!”
Thomas described the base’s long range patrol and submarine hunting roles, and its work in search and rescue, including medevacs that happen on the East Coast when the wing’s military crews work with community medical services.
“And we’re very proud to do that.”
Thomas pointed visitors to a CH140 Cormorant ready for them to tour, and meet its personnel; and invited them to have a look at a decommissioned Aurora aircraft. They were then heading to the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum, and lunch at the Greenwood Golf Club.
The wing provides space for the Greenwood Health Clinic in the Morfee Centre, a partnership with the Nova Scotia Health Authority. The clinic helps incoming military families access a family physician and medical care as their service member is attended to by Canadian Forces Health Services. Extra clinic capacity is open to the community. The Mid Valley committee’s work to bring in new medical doctors, residents, nurse practitioners, dentists and other care providers – and retain current staff with extra care and tailored supports; is essential in keeping clinic staff at full strength.
