WORKING AT GROUND ZERO

"Medicine at the bedside. Medicine in your community. Medicine for all of Ottawa."

The doctors in today's show are all working at ground zero. They work with dying patients in their home. They work in medical clinics inside grocery stores or travel to small communities to help those that have no one. They work with the whole city reducing health burdens like obesity, smoking, narcotic addiction and homelessness. These are the soldiers in the trenches. They are the infantry. They suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (to quote a relatively unknown bard that used to sell Avon products).

Dr. Vera Etches is Assistant Medical Officer of Health. She started as a family doctor, worked in Africa, in the Northwest, and recently moved to Ottawa. She has made Ottawa her home and her mission is to improve the health of Ottawans. You will hear her resolve.

Dr. Priscilla Bright is a family doctor extraordinaire. She actively looks after her aging population as she drives around town seeing them in their home. She is only a phone call away. She has been doing this house call service and palliative care (making the end as dignified and symptom free as possible) before it became popular. She was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for her loyalty and warmth. She is truly an inspiration to those that believe in the full service family practitioner.

Dr. Victoria Udoeyop is also new to Ottawa. A Nigerian doctor working in the UK and then immigrated to Canada to work in Cornwall. Both her and her husband live in Ottawa but travel back and forth to Cornwall to deal with their patients that no one will absorb. She feels obligated to look after them despite the 60 to 75minute commute. Her commitment is more than an arrangement, it is a covenant.

You will learn that actions you do help you support yourself and this city. You will learn that more doctors are offering house call service. Finally, you should acknowledge that you should treat your doctor with kindness since they are giving more than you know.

I look forward to bringing their stories to you.
Humbly, DR. A squared

To be continued...