Pender Harbour Health Centre

12/05/2025

Given our recent exciting announcement about Dr Williams joining the Health Centre, we have heard from patients of Dr Bazilli who have concerns about her ongoing role at the Health Centre. We are happy to confirm that at this time Dr Bazilli has given no indication that she is planning on leaving the Health Centre. If you are attached to Dr Bazilli, you will remain attached to Dr Bazilli when Dr Williams joins the Health Centre in the New Year. Moving forward, we are excited to have two physicians working at the Health Centre and we are confident that Dr Bazilli and Dr Williams will enjoy working alongside each other.

The Health Centre Board and leadership would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge how fortunate we are to have Dr Bazilli and thank her for stepping forward for her community when we desperately needed a physician. We know how appreciated she is by her patients and the team at the Health Centre.

12/04/2025

Clinic Holiday Announcement

In order to give our team some much deserved time away with family and to allow us to prepare for 2026, the PHHC Clinic will be closed from 12pm on Christmas Eve (24th) and will reopen at 8am on Monday January 5th. This means there will be no physician access, clinic nursing, dietitian, CDM and Better at Home supports during this time.

If you are a patient of Dr Bazilli or need to access the clinic nurses, we encourage you to call and schedule an appointment before we close for the holidays.

We appreciate your understanding and we wish you all the best for the upcoming holiday season.

If you have any questions, please reach out to nick.gaskin@penderharbourhealth.com

12/03/2025

Pender Connections: Bringing Resource to Pender Harbour is back on Thursday December 11th from 1pm - 3pm in the Health Centre lobby.

At the upcoming session you can learn more about the Sunshine Coast Resource Centre and their community volunteer income tax program and also connect with the Resource Centre Seniors Community Connector. This will be last the Pender Connections session of 2025.

As always we would like to thank the Sunshine Coast Foundation and the BC Government for the funding for this program from the Sunshine Coast Prosperity Fund.

🌊 Pender Connections: Bringing Resources to Pender Harbour

We’re excited to continue our monthly outreach in partnership with Pender Harbour Health Centre , and supported by the Sunshine Coast Foundation.

📅 Thursday, December 11
🕐 1:00–2:30pm
📍 Pender Harbour Health Centre – 5066 Francis Peninsula Rd

This month’s visiting resources:
✨ Community Volunteer Income Tax Program – Free tax filing support for people with modest income & simple returns (2024 + past years).
✨ Seniors Community Connector – Helping seniors access community supports, apply for government programs, and more.

Can't make it but have questions? Just Ask! Email help@resourcecentre.ca

12/02/2025

New Physician Joining PHHC

The Pender Harbour Health Centre would like the community to join us in welcoming a new physician to the Health Centre team. Dr Derek Williams will be joining the Health Centre in early January 2026 and will be attaching local patients from the provincial Health Connect Registry.

Dr Williams is joining us from Montana in the US and has been practicing medicine for 25 years. During this time, he also served as a medical doctor for the US Army in the Middle East and South West Asia. Dr Williams brings many years of experience and knowledge to the Health Centre team, and we are excited to partner with him as he builds his practice on the Sunshine Coast.

Outside of work, Dr Williams is married to “the nicest woman he knows” and is the father to three grown children. When not working, Dr Williams can be found wing foiling, skiing, fishing, or spending time in nature. With access to nature right on our doorstep, we are sure Dr Williams will enjoy living and working in Pender Harbour and the Sunshine Coast.

The Pender Harbour Health Centre Board, staff and patients would like to extend our warm welcome to Dr Williams and his wife and we thank them both for choosing the Health Centre and the Sunshine Coast as a place to practice medicine and call home.

There is no need to call the Health Centre to get attached to Dr Williams. Patients will be attached to Dr Williams and the Pender Harbour Health Centre through the provincial Health Connect Registry. In December, those patients who have been attached to Dr Williams will be sent a letter and encouraged to make an appointment with Dr Williams in January. If you do not have a physician and are not on the provincial registry, we encourage you to sign up at https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/find-care/health-connect-registry

If you have questions, we encourage you to reach out to Nick Gaskin our Executive Director at nick.gaskin@penderharbourhealth.com.

Pictured: Dr Derek Williams, Family Physician and Nick Gaskin, PHHC Executive Director .

11/13/2025

Today as part of the Pender Connection: Bringing Resource to Pender Harbour series, the Health Centre will be hosting the Sunshine Coast Community Action Team (CAT) from 1-3 in the reception area.

Representatives from the CAT will be available to discuss the current work being undertaken by the CAT and plans for the future. Naloxone training will also be available.

If you use substances, are supporting someone using substances or would like to learn more about the current drug poisoning epidemic and how you can help lower stigma and save lives, then we encourage you to come along.

More information can be found in the post below. Thank you to the Sunshine Coast Resource Centre, the Sunshine Coast Foundation for your collaboration and support.

🌊 Pender Connections: Resource Centre Outreach at Pender Harbour Health Centre 🌊

Pender Connections supports seniors, low-income residents, and the wider community in accessing services like transportation, government programs, and local supports.

Next week, our Community Action Team Peer Worker will be on-site to offer:
• Peer connection 🫶
• Friendly conversation ☕
• Local resource information 🗺️

No appointments needed — just drop in and say hello 👋

📍 Join us twice a month at Pender Harbour Health Centre (5066 Francis Peninsula Road) for rotating resources and information

This initiative is supported by the Sunshine Coast Foundation

11/04/2025

On Thursday October 30th, our Executive Director Nick had the opportunity to attend a Lobby Day at the BC Legislature as part of a team from the British Columbia Association for Community Health Centre’s (BCACHC). The aim of this Lobby Day was to advocate for the work of BCACHC and all 38 Community Health Centre’s that exist in BC.

The day consisted of time in the Legislature watching question period followed by meetings with Ministers and MLAs in the afternoon. Great conversations were had, and solid advocacy was undertaken. A more thorough update will be provided in the December edition of the Harbour Spiel and soon on our website.

A special thank you to MLA: Hon Randene Neill for the warm welcome and introduction to the Legislature.

Pictured below (L-R): Nick Gaskin, PHHC Executive Director and BCACHC Treasurer, Val St John, BCACHC Executive Director. Chelsea Wozniak, Director of Luther Court CHC and BCACHC President, Melinda Markey, Executive Director REACH CHC and BCACHC Board Member, MLA: Hon. Josie Osbourne, Health Minister, MLA: Susie Chant, Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors Services and Long-Term Care, Mary Chudley, Director Cool Aid Society and BCACHC Board Member.

10/30/2025

Today our Executive Director Nick is at the BC Legislature for Lobby Day. Nick is part of a team from the British Columbia Association for Community Health Centres (BCACHC) who are there advocating for Community Health Centre’s, rural healthcare and the Pender Harbour Health Centre to be recognized and funded appropriately. Today we have hope for a brighter future for rural healthcare.

governmentofbc bcachc BC Rural Health Network

10/28/2025

Flu Shot Season

Vancouver Coastal Health Public Health Team are providing opportunities for Pender Harbour community members to flu vaccines at the Madeira Park Legion this fall.

The next clinics are scheduled for:
• November 6: 0930-1530
• November 20: 0930-1530

If you would like to get vaccinated on either of these dates, please book an appointment by scanning the QR code below (getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca) or by calling 1-833-838-2323 (toll free).

10/27/2025

Pender Harbour Health Centre leadership would like to respectfully remind community that we have a ZERO tolerance approach to rude, abusive and disrespectful behaviour towards our staff and volunteers.

Any patient or community member who is abusive or disrespectful to our staff or volunteers will be asked to leave PHHC immediately and may lose access to the services and programs that we offer. We take our staff, volunteers, partners and patient safety seriously and we won’t tolerate behaviors that harm others.

PHHC Management.

10/27/2025

The Pender Harbour Health Centre Better at Home program is seeking a motivated and compassionate team player to join our Better at Home team as a Program Assistant.

If this is you or someone you know, please check out the job posting below or on our website and drop an application to us at nick.gaskin@penderharbourhealth.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

10/15/2025

PSA: The phone lines are currently down at the PHHC and we are working to restore service ASAP.

In the meantime, if you need to reach out to the clinic on an urgent matter please contact admin@penderharbourhealth.com

We apologize about the inconvenience.

PHHC Management.

10/06/2025

At our recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday September 28th, the Pender Harbour Health Centre received our first donation of the year from the Pender Harbour & District Health Centre Auxiliary Society. Pender Harbour Health Centre our Board of Directors, staff and patients would like to highlight and acknowledge the wonderful team of board members at the Pender Harbour & District Health Centre Auxiliary Society and the staff, volunteers and customers of the Bargain Barn for their recent donation of $60,000.

The annual support and funding provided by the Bargain Barn is vital to the operations of the PHHC and goes to support administrative costs and the operation of programs such as Harbourside Friendships. Thank you to the volunteers and staff at the Bargain Barn and Auxiliary for your continued hard work and support for health and wellness in your community.

Pictured below (L-R): Nick Gaskin, Executive Director of the Pender Harbour Health Centre, Lesley Durrant, President of the Pender Harbour & District Health Centre Auxiliary Society & Diane Hopkinson, President of the Pender Harbour Health Centre Society at the recent PHHC AGM.