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The Citizen, 2008-01-24, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2008.The Brussels Clinic took a big stepforward last week by holding anopen house for the people of Brussels to see their new clinic and to meet the people who will keep them well. The event, on Jan. 15, was hosted by the Family Health Team and the municipality of Huron East, and eventually everyone found it quite tough to move around in the cozy clinic space because of how many people were there. “We were very pleased with the open house, very pleased with the turnout and very pleased with the opportunity to share with the community what we’d like to do with the Family Health Team and to also have an opportunity to hear the questions and concerns of the community,” said Barb Major- McEwan, administrative manager for the Family Health Team. The people of Brussels were able to meet Major-McEwan, as well as several others who are involved in the project at different levels. Cate Verberne was there, the nurse practitioner who will call Brussels home on Tuesdays, as well as several other members of the Family Health Team and council members who made it happen. Major-McEwan says that in the beginning, the Brussels clinic will have Verberne, the nurse practitioner in on Tuesdays, as well as a nurse and an administrative assistant. They are hoping to open for their first Tuesday in mid-February with hoursspanning from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. At first, Verberne, who will have aphysician on call if she has questionsor requires assistance, will operateon her own. However, the Family Health Team is always looking to expand upon what they have right now. Major-McEwan says that she hopes to soon add another nurse practitioner, who can operate on another day of the week and then possibly expand to include time in Brussels for the Family Health Team’s dietician and their social worker as well. Major-McEwan says that whether or not Verberne will be seeing orphaned patients or not is still up for discussion. It is something that they’d like to do, but they have to take it slowly, and integrate more pieces of the Family Health Team puzzle as time goes on. In addition to integrating more staff and more divisions into the Brussels Family Health team picture, Major-McEwan hopes to incorporate some programs in the future as well. Verberne brings a very diverse background of work to Brussels. She did all of her training in London, and has worked in psychiatry, orthopedics, general surgery and emergency. Verberne is part-time with the Family Health Teams working two days a week in Seaforth and soon she will be working a third in Brussels. Verberne is confident that her experience will serve her well in her work with the Family Health Team.“Any experience you bring in isgood and in family practice, you seeeverything,” Verberne said. “You’llsee people with everyday aches andpains, but here I’ll work with one thing I never have before, preventative medicine and screening for diseases.” It was Verberne’s job to stock the clinic with all of the medical equipment that it needs to open. The final touches are being put on an electronic recording system which will make it easier for data to be exchanged between Brussels and Seaforth and hopefully many other hospitals in the future. “I’m hoping in the future that we’ll be able to accommodate more of the community. We hope to see it open and stay open and we hope to see it open more than one day a week,” she said. “This is always going to be a work in progress and as we get more staff, we’ll be able to look after more patients and as we do that, we’ll be able to accommodate more of the community.” Good turnout for clinic open house Can you quit smoking for the month of March? If you can, you could win a 2008 Toyota Prius in the Driven to Quit Challenge! The Huron County Health Unit encourages anyone who wants to quit smoking to join this province- wide challenge. To register for the Driven to Quit Challenge, go to www.driventoquit.ca by Feb. 29. This site has contest details, registration forms and tips to help you quit. The Challenge is open to all Ontario residents who are 19 years of age and older. Participants must be daily tobacco users who have smoked cigarettes, cigars, or pipes, or have chewed tobacco for at least one year. Prizes also include one of seven $3,000 Future Shop gift cards. To join the Driven to Quit Challenge, participants must find a buddy who will support them in their quit attempt. Buddies are eligible to win a prize valued at $250. A buddy must be over 19 and a non-smoker. Huron County residents who participate are eligible to win a $350 voucher for the Little Inn in Bayfield. The non-smoking buddy will get a prize worth $100. There has never been a better time to quit smoking. There are services available to support those who want to quit. You can call the Canadian Cancer Society's Smokers Helpline. The number is 1-877-513-5333. It's a free, confidential service. You can get support, advice and information about quitting. Challenge participants can use quit-smoking aids. These include buproprion or nicotine replacement therapies like nicotine gum, patches or inhalers. There is also a new medication – Varenicline Tartrate – that can assist you in your quit attempt. Contact your primary health care provider to find out what is right for you. The Driven to Quit Challenge is presented by the Canadian Cancer Society Ontario Division and is funded by the Government of Ontario. For further information about the Driven to Quit Challenge, please call the Huron County Health Unit. You can reach us at 519-482-3416 or toll-free 1-877-837-6143. Are you driven to quit smoking? Take the challenge Open house Gwen Devereaux, Huron’s hospital recruiter, centre, was one of the many hosts of the Jan. 15 open house at the soon-to-be-opened Brussels Clinic. After a massive overhaul, the clinic is up and nearly ready to open. Brussels is the first satellite of the Family Health Team in Seaforth and will be home to a nurse practitioner and a nurse every Tuesday starting in mid-February. (Shawn Loughlin photo) 404 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792 541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114 We have lots of books for your next project at... TThhee CCiittiizzeenn Pass away the Winter Blahs with a new project We have the books & CDs to get you started! 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Please give generously when a Canadian Cancer Society volunteer knocks at your door this April. www.cancer.ca HELP US MAKE CANCER HISTORY.