Seniors' clinic in northeast Edmonton halts medical services

A clinic that's cared for thousands of seniors in northeast Edmonton will stop providing medical services on Thursday when its only two medical staff retire.

Alberta Health Services said the clinic is not closing and the department will recruit a new geriatrician and nurse practitioner, butDr. Douglas Duke saidthe community is losing a criticalservice for frail seniors.

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Duke, who announced his retirement last December,said there is no one to pass along the model they've developed.

"To our mind, we have a very effective and useful program and now that's not going to be perpetuated," Duke told CBC Newson Wednesday, a day before his retirement.

AHSthanked Duke and nurse practitioner Teresa Genge for their "excellent care."

In a statement, spokespersonKirsten Goruk said the department will work with the community and those providing care to older adults "to review the services offered and discuss how staff can better meet the needs of their patients."

In the meantime, long-term patients will be treated at a family clinic in the same building, Gorukadded.

'Guerilla-style warfare'

Duke said when he and his team first launched the clinic in 2000, the goal was to develop the best model to serve frail older adults.

He said the "guerilla style warfare" model involvedconnecting patients with resources and maintainingclose contact with their hospitals andhome-care providers, as well as home visits.

It also meant there was a "go-to" person available at the clinic in this case Genge to discuss questions and concerns.

"We're all over the place working with people, but also bothering people," said Duke. "If you don't do that, everything gets fragmented, the patients get lost, the families get frustrated."

Ruth Adria with the Elder Advocates of Alberta Society praised Duke for speaking out strongly in defence of Edmonton seniors.

She said with peopleliving longer, the specialized care of older people is more important than ever.

"The care of the frail elderly is a specialty just like gynecology or pediatrics and you have to physicians and nursing staff that are knowledgeable," said Adria.

Goruk said administrative staff at the seniors' clinic will continue to answer phones, greet patients and make sure people are connected with a physician. New patients will be referred for specialized care through a centralized intake system, she said.

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Duke, who first voiced his concern by publishing an advertisement in the Edmonton Journal, said he decided to speak out because "the system is failing this population."

He said his concern is that programs like his are managed by peoplewho are "at arm's-length or further away from the actual patient care.

"To tell you the truth, seniors' care at best has gone sideways if not down," said Duke. "I don't see the services are any better now. It seems more fragmented. There is no cohesive plan for what they call the aging tsunami."