Sunshine Coast Division of Family Practice

12/19/2025

12/17/2025

Yummy holiday deliveries to Family Physician's, Nurse Practitioner's and Specialist clinics!

Thank you Good Friday Cheese for the beautiful grazing platters 🎄

12/02/2025

New Family Physician Joining the Pender Harbour Health Center!!🎉

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 .

11/11/2025

We remember

Our office will be closed Tuesday, November 11th in observance of Remembrance Day

09/29/2025

On September 30th, we encourage everyone to wear Orange to remember and honour Indigenous children who attended Residential Schools

We are proud to acknowledge in support of First Nations communities

Shishálh Nation

09/26/2025

09/04/2025

Exciting news! Foundry Sunshine Coast has a home! We’re thrilled to share that Foundry Sunshine Coast has officially found its location. Our new centre will be right in the heart of downtown Sechelt, in the former Bank of Montreal building at the corner of Wharf Avenue and Cowrie Street.

Foundry is a safe, youth-friendly space where young people ages 12–24 can access mental health care, physical health care, peer support, and work and education support – all under one roof. While our physical doors aren’t open yet, youth and families can already connect with Foundry BC’s virtual services through the Foundry BC app, available now on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Pictured here are Foundry Manager Myriam Juda and Nievelina Carmona, Indigenous Youth and Caregiver Engagement Facilitator (along with SCCSS unofficial mascot Ruby), outside the new location.

To celebrate this milestone, we’ll be hosting a “We’ve got a spot” site celebration in September – stay tuned for all the details!

08/29/2025

Vancouver Coastal Health is notifying people who dined at Sea Monkey Coffee — located onsite at Sunday Cider in Gibsons (1632 Sunshine Coast Hwy.) — about a possible exposure to hepatitis A from Aug. 1 to 25 inclusive.

Note: this notification is only for people who dined at Sea Monkey Coffee on the noted dates. It is not intended for customers of any other business at the address, including Sunday Cider, or for people who dined at Sea Monkey Coffee outside these dates. People who consumed only drinks from this venue are also not at risk of exposure.

Symptoms of hepatitis A include:

• Feeling very tired
• Feeling sick to your stomach and not feeling hungry
• Losing weight without trying
• Pain on the right side of the belly, under the rib cage (where your liver is)
• Fever
• Sore muscles
• Yellow skin and eyes (jaundice), dark urine, and clay-coloured stools

Getting immunized with one dose of hepatitis A vaccine can help to prevent infection if given within two weeks of exposure. Therefore, VCH recommends anyone who dined at Sea Monkey Coffee from Aug. 14 to 25 receive a hepatitis A vaccine as soon as possible.

A free dose of hepatitis A vaccine is available for those who are eligible at clinics and pharmacies throughout the VCH region.

A current list of locations — as well as information about causes, tests, treatments and prevention — can be found at https://www.vch.ca/en/health-topics/hepatitis-a.

08/27/2025

CBT Skills Foundations In Person Group!

Check out all the details with the below link or in poster

https://divisionsbc.ca/sites/default/files/Divisions/Sunshine%20Coast/CBT/CBT_Mind_Space_September_2025.pdf

08/08/2025

MINDFULNESS GROUP MEDICAL VISITS FOR ADULTS

WHEN: September 29th - November 24th | MONDAYS

HOW TO REGISTER:
Talk to your primary care provider to get referred to the program

Download poster here:https://divisionsbc.ca/sites/default/files/Divisions/Sunshine%20Coast/Mental_Health/Mindfulness%20poster%20v.2_Fall%202025%20groups.pdf

08/08/2025

📰 This Week’s Just Ask Column in the Coast Reporter : How to Access Healthcare and Find a Family Doctor on the Sunshine Coast?

Many Sunshine Coast residents don’t currently have a family doctor — but there are ways to access care and support in the meantime. From registering with the Health Connect Registry to using local health services and telehealth options like Avee, there are steps you can take while you wait, including reaching out for help navigating the system.

💻 Use sc.fetchbc.ca to explore local healthcare services in your area.

🔍 This overview is not comprehensive — we recommend contacting local health organizations directly for the most up-to-date info.

📖 Read the full article: https://resourcecentre.ca/just-ask-how-to-access-healthcare-and-find-a-family-doctor-on-the-sunshine-coast/

Sunshine Coast Division of Family Practice Pender Harbour Health Centre

07/24/2025

MedTalks is a health and wellness educational event series produced by Sechelt Hospital Foundation in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health, various subject matter experts, local staff and resources available here on the Sunshine Coast.