She was always there for us and we're going to miss her, said one local resident in reaction to the multiple sclerosis (MS) office closing in downtown Prince George at the end of February.
"When you're feeling crappy, you'd go talk to Joann," said Danny Abbott, 51, a local resident who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006. "There are many times where you get very depressed about your health and talking to Joann would help."
Joann Smiley was the community services coordinator for the local chapter of the MS Society located at 490 Quebec St., who declined to make a comment about the sudden office closure.
Abbott received a notice that told him of the closure and said he doesn't see how it won't hurt the community despite reassurances from the MS Society of Canada's head office in Toronto and the BC and Yukon office in Burnaby that will now service the northern region from afar.
"This is very sad for a lot of people," said Abbott.
A statement provided to Abbott and posted on the MS Society Prince George Chapter website said: "As of the end of February (February 24, 2016), the MS Society of Canada's Prince George office space has been closed in order to ensure that we are more effectively directing funds to where they are needed most -- in serving British Columbians and Yukoners living with MS.
"This will be achieved through a variety of efficiencies and savings (e.g. cost of office space lease) that will be realized over a period of time. We will continue to provide uninterrupted, high-quality programs and services to approximately 150 people living in the Prince George area, such as support offered through the Equipment Provision Program (i.e. financial support for those who meet the eligibility criteria to purchase medical equipment, like a wheelchair or hospital bed, or to make in-home modifications, such as installing washroom grab bars) and public education sessions hosted alongside community partners."
The statement came from Tania Vrionis, president of the British Columbia & Yukon Division with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
There are about 12,000 people in B.C. living with MS but there are no clear numbers for the north or more specifically for Prince George, according to the MS Society of Canada representative.
The MS clinic located at UHNBC is staffed by a full-time clinic nurse Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The clinic serves about 600 patients from throughout the north, said Heidi Johns, manager of ambulatory service and diagnostics at UHNBC.
There is a traveling clinic that goes to Fort St. John including the MS clinic nurse and a physician who travels from Vancouver. It is an interdisciplinary clinic typically held once a month where patients are seen by a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, and consultations are available with the clinic nurse and the physician as well a fellow who is usually in training in neurology with a focus on multiple sclerosis, Johns added. Those traveling clinics are booked about a year in advance.
"Where the high demand also takes place is for the physician," said Johns, who added that the MS clinic nurse can consult with a physician located in Vancouver if required.
"All of the physicians are aware of the patients so they are able to consult and help," said Johns.
There is only one specialist in Prince George and that is Dr. Lyle Daly, a neurologist, she added.
"And one person isn't enough for the need," said Johns.
Million Steps Walk
In honour of his partner, Tim Michalchuk from Bella Coola is taking A Million Steps to Save My Shannon walk, to help Shannon Dickson in her fight against multiple sclerosis. Michalchuk will walk from the MS clinic at the University Hospital of Northern B.C. in Prince George to the Vancouver clinic at the University of B.C. in an effort to raise enough funds for a stem cell treatment that could improve her circumstances.
The walk begins April 2 and will take about four weeks, said Dickson, who has lost all feeling in the left side of her body and right leg and needs assistance with most day-to-day tasks.
To support the effort visit his gofundme account, here.
