GORE BAY – The Gore Bay Medical Centre (GBMC) has been very pleased with the addition of physician assistant Renee Roy.
“We are so happy to have Renee here with us,” said Dr. Chantelle Wilson when contacted by the Recorder this past Sunday. “Renee has been a wonderful addition to our team.”
As a physician assistant, Ms. Roy helps with patient assessments, physicals, patient care, chronic care and diabetic applications as well as simple lacerations, among other things. “As a physician assistant exclusive to the doctors, I make their lives easier,” said Ms. Roy. “I assist with simpler mechanical tasks and evaluations. Physician assistants can do joint injections, anything doctors want to train us for that falls under our scope of practice.”
Ms. Roy was previously a kinesiologist working and living in Sudbury. She spent seven years as a kinesiologist at Health Sciences North and a couple years in the mines in Sudbury as a physical demands analyst. This is a second career for Ms. Roy. “I went to the University of Toronto and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine program for two years; it was a three-year education condensed into two.” Ms. Roy also holds a master’s degree in interdisciplinary health from Laurentian University.
She started work at GBMC last October as soon as she had finished the program and graduated. Since January of this year her position has been funded as a joint venture with the Little Current Family Health Team. She spends three days in Gore Bay and two in Little Current.
Ms. Roy assists Dr. Wilson with care at Manitoulin Lodge as needed. That could include bloodwork, immunization, blood pressure checks and medication. “We do quite a bit of bloodwork at the office also, much of it monitoring chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure,” she said. “I make sure people are properly screened for bloodwork and make suggestions if blood pressure is too high, for example. We do a lot of preventative care.” She performs biopsies in Little Current and works at vaccination clinics in both Little Current and Gore Bay.
“Renee has been really helpful, especially since pandemic cleaning protocols have closed us down, but with her help there is increased capacity for us to see people,” said Dr. Wilson. “We could probably use more Renees. We’ve got a fully-trained physician assistant working in Gore Bay and Little Current. Finding someone with her skill set would have been so challenging. She is definitely part of the health care team here now and as a former kinesiologist, she has a knowledge of anatomy and movement which is helpful as well. She has that extra training that is an added bonus.”
Ms. Roy has lived in Gore Bay with her partner and a son for three years this summer. She completed the whole program while living here. “It’s been a wonderful fit for all of us. I’m part of a great team here at the medical centre. This is an awesome opportunity.”
