BY SARA KEDDY

Kings County Register

The health of Berwick’s old hospital is stable, and that’s just the way volunteers running the facility like it.

“Anyone around eight or 10 years ago will remember how unstable it was,” said WKM Health Society manager Hartt MacKinlay at the society’s annual meeting June 18.

“We have just one office empty right now, and our physician recruitment team is hoping to fill that.”

MacKinlay said the future looks good for the Western Kings community, and the demand for health services at the WKM Health Centre is growing.

“Our main focus will be in maintaining the facility - you know how old this building is, especially with utility costs.”

Society chairman Charlie Fraser thanked MacKinlay for his day-to day work with society staff in the WKM, and also credited the volunteer board for making it an easy job to be on the board.

“The success of the WKM board is in its directors and the facility manager.”

The WKM’s investments grew from $166,356 in 2007 to $208,691, mainly held in GICs, auditor Gavin Brewster reported, as the society decides what to do with the money. Last year, $19,000 was spent on the building’s boiler, windows, a lawn tractor and pump. Rents ending March 31, 2008 were up close to $10,000 to $513,033, based mostly on a three per cent increase on some rents and the renegotiation of the contract with EMC for the building at the southwest corner of the property. Utilities were “up and over budget,” he said, mostly attributed to a $14,000 overbudget expense for fuel. Total equity is valued at $2.3 million.

The society gave $70,000 to community health projects and services, including $40,000 to the VON, which operates its Adult Day Centre on the main floor. School nutrition, community fitness and playground projects, accessibility and support initiatives also benefitted.

Stop smoking push as primary as you can get

Tying the primary health care focus of the WKM Health Society’s mandate to Valley tobacco-free initiatives is easy, said guest speaker Gwenyth Dwyn.

She’s the prevention and health promotion coordinator for Annapolis Valley Health’s tobacco policy, and she highlighted some of AVH’s work at the WKMHS annual meeting.

“It’s all slow, persistent work,” she said, “but there is a lot of work going on in a lot of places.”

AVH worksites - indoors and out - became smoke-free in 2003 for staff, patients and visitors. With that came measures to support people wanting to quit or cut back - easy to offer in a workplace setting, Dwyn said.

She also reviewed some of the support groups available in Valley communities, school and youth-targeted programs and survey work that has tracked those programs’ effectiveness.

“The tobacco strategy is eight years old - then, 30 per cent of Nova Scotians smoked, and that topped all the provinces. Now, we’re about 20 or 22 per cent. Who is still smoking, and how do we shift that?”

Seeing smoking as not “normal” behavior in workplaces, theatres and restaurants has been the biggest change in recent years; now, addictions services are actually looking at some of the same messages’ ability to change perceptions around alcohol.

“Eighty per cent of Nova Scotians use alcohol, and that’s incredibly normal for us. Twenty per cent use it harmfully, and we know what that means for increases in violent behaviour, unplanned sex, drunk driving and addictions.”