Health Matters - Apple Magazine Health Matters Fall 2016 | Page 5

Britt Fowler
Three years ago, when Britt Fowler
was pregnant for the first time, she
turned to the South Calgary Primary
Care Network for answers. Fowler’s
family physician, Dr. Nasim Karim,
referred her to the PCN’s Maternity
Care program.
“When you’re pregnant you always
have concerns,” says Fowler, 28,
who also went to the clinic for her
second pregnancy. “The staff were
great. They’re friendly, and they’re
very accommodating.”
Fowler appreciated the clinic’s
organization. “Everything is on
file, so every time you go in for
an appointment, staff have the
whole history of your pregnancy,”
she explains. “You have so many
questions and they take the time to
answer every question.”
Deb Jensen of Strathmore says her PCN “helped set me on the right track to better health.”
Deb Jensen
Deb Jensen says taking health
classes through the Calgary Rural
Primary Care Network in Strathmore
was a life changer.
“It really helped in every aspect of
my life,” she says.
The more classes I took,
the better I felt
Dr. Emile Muller, Jensen’s family
doctor, referred her to a PCN
program in 2008 after diagnosing
her with Type 2 diabetes. In 2014, she
was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Jensen, 63, has taken a range of
classes through the PCN: a diabetes
education program; an exercise class
for people with chronic health issues;
a walking class; a yoga class; a quit-
smoking class; and a class about
food triggers, as well as a chronic
disease and chronic pain classes.
“I jumped right in,” Jensen recalls.
“The more classes I took, the better
I felt.”
With help from registered nurse
Dori Lee, Jensen learned to use a
pedometer and work with her local
pharmacist to keep track of her
different medications.
“The Primary Care Network can help
with so many areas that doctors
might not have time to look at, such
as the exercise program and the
eating properly program,” Jensen
says. “My PCN has been a lifesaver
for me. It’s helped set me on the
right track to better health.”
When she was pregnant, Britt Fowler found
answers to all her questions at her PCN.
FIVE 6
applemag.org
mypcn.ca
SUMMER 2016
FALL 2016