Read the full story in the June 21 edition of The Interior News.
Northern Health has hired three new resident psychiatrists to work in the Northwest, filling a gap in a much needed service. Currently there isn’t a psychiatrist working in Smithers and only one in Terrace.
Dr. Rafael Mayone is coming from Ireland and will be working in Terrace. Dr. Rosemary Abu is also moving from Ireland and will be stationed in Smithers in the next month or so.
Northern Health has been actively recruiting psychiatrists for sometime now.
“This is fantastic news for the Northwest,” said director of specialized services in the north Clare Cooper. “It has been a long time since Smithers has had a resident psychiatrist so this is wonderful news for that community.”
Dr. Brett Broster is also one of the new hires and is currently working in Prince Rupert and has been providing outreach to patients in Smithers for the past couple of months. Now that Smithers is getting its own psychiatrist, he can spend more time in Prince Rupert as well as other under resourced areas, such as Dease Lake.
“I already have a fair bit of knowledge about the patients in Smithers so I’ll be helping her with transition and passing along important information,” he said.
Cooper added the new psychiatrists from Ireland will also serve other smaller communities surrounding Smithers and Terrace, offering a more timely access to psychiatry care.