Health Matters - Apple Magazine Health Matters Fall 2016 | Page 3

No one—not even the federal
government—expected them to be
the success they have become
Marny Conlon helped lay the groundwork for a new form of
healthcare for Albertans – the Primary Care Network.
no one—not even the federal government—expected
them to be the success they have become.”
Conlon says the three most important things to
come out of PCNs are: physicians and the healthcare
system working together toward a common goal;
health professionals seeing a direct link between their
contributions and patients’ improved health; and
physicians gaining a sense of community through
their PCN.
PCNs offer local solutions for the communities
they serve. “I’ve always said a favourite hobby in
south Calgary is having babies,” says Conlon.
“So one of the first things we did was start our
maternity care program for the young families in
our area.”
Dr. Chris Gorrie helped set up the Calgary West
Central PCN. At first, he and a small team met in a
colleague’s basement before they moved to a rented
room in the Westside Recreational Centre. Gorrie
recalls trying to get skeptical doctors to join the
primary care model.
“We were like telephone solicitors,” he says. “We
had a heck of a time getting people to join us.”
But join they did. “From beating bushes in 2006,
Calgary West Central PCN now has 450 doctors,
329,000 patients and 130 support staff—all from a
handful of doctors eating sandwiches in a colleague’s
family room.”
The teams creating the PCNs were adamant on three
points: what’s best for the patients would be the
motivation behind all decisions; PCNs would address
local challenges in their area; and PCNs would be
sustainable, starting small and building on that
success.
“PCNs are an Alberta solution,” says Dr. June
Bergman, one of the people who helped establish
PCNs in the Calgary area.
PCNs are an Alberta solution
“Physicians came together to improve conditions so
they could better serve their patients,” she says. “I am
proud to have been there from the beginning.”
mypcn.ca
FALL 2016
THREE