Agassiz and Hope will soon have access to Mini Medical School, an annual community education initiative run by the Chilliwack Division of Family Practice.
Every Tuesday in April, local health care professionals will give presentations to the community on topics identified as important by patients and local doctors.
Each evening begins with a one-hour talk from a local expert and is followed by a one-hour Q & A with a four-person panel consisting of the night’s speaker and other topic-applicable community partners.
“Everyone that goes says it’s this great opportunity to be able to spend an hour [or] two hours with physicians asking question,” said organizer and palliative care physician Dr. Chantal Chris. “You never get that long.”
Mini-Med has been a community success in Chilliwack for 10 years, and Chris is excited to see it run in Hope and Agassiz for the first time.
“Because they’re smaller, more close-knit communities…we’re really trying to keep it all very much in the family so that you can hopefully then feel a little bit more comfortable to talk with the people that you do see in health care in your community.”
The first two sessions will take place in Hope at the Fraser Canyon Hospital in the downstairs conference room, and the last two in Agassiz at the Community Recreation and Cultural Centre.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a resource fair that offers information from local partners and agencies. Sessions are from 7 to 9 p.m. No registration is needed and all ages are welcome.
Mini Medical School: Canyon Edition schedule
April 3: A guide to chronic respiratory illness and what you can do about it
April 10: Taking care of your mind and body through mindfulness and self care
April 17: A small town outlook on the big opioid crisis
April 24: A rural guide to health care