WEDNESDAY
S I N C E
DECEMBER 18, 2013
Tiger still roaring after 50 years
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Vol. 118, Issue 199
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
MONTROSE
Residents, Trail doctor honoured for achievements Sunil Ghosh was council protest Dr.pivotal in many innovations for decision to end diagnosing patients recreation deal in Greater Trail BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
A decision made by three people during a closed meeting left Montrose Mayor Joe Danchuk feeling “blindsided” and “disappointed” with the outcome along with many active residents in the village. The three-person Beaver Valley Recreation, Parks and Trails Committee (BVPARTS), comprised of Area A director and chair Ali Grieve, Fruitvale Mayor Patricia Cecchini (alternate director) and Montrose Coun. and regional district director Don Duclos, announced its decision not to renew, renegotiate or extend the recreation services agreement with the City of Trail on Dec. 4. “Montrose was totally in the dark about this decision,” said Danchuk. “The unilateral decision to withdraw from the recreation services agreement was made without consulting anyone else,” he continued. “Which has left me and our residents disappointed that the political state in our area is missing the point of recreation for all.” All residents of Montrose, Fruitvale and “Montrose Electoral Area A will be was totally subject to higher rates in the under the Trail Resident Program (TRP) in the dark about year, for facilities this decision.” new covered by the agreement including the Trail JOE DANCHUK Aquatic and Leisure Centre, leisure programming, the Willi Krause Field House and Haley Park. Danchuk said the village has received numerous calls from a cross-section of people who regularly use the Trail facilities, including swim club kids, people who train at the aquatic centre, ball players, pickleball members and gym users. “After listening to all the people and the phone calls we’ve been getting I cannot say how disappointed and saddened I am by the fact that this decision was made without consulting people in the community.” A group of concerned Montrose citizens approached council Monday night to address the decision which could have village residents paying double the fees on Jan. 1. “I have been using the Trail gym for 15 years,” said Montrose resident and first-time council attendee Fran Jones. See VILLAGE, Page 3
BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
A Trail internist is receiving recognition for his instrumental achievements in the medical field in Trail. Dr. Sunil Ghosh, 78, is now an honorary member of the 2013 Canadian Medical Association for his contributions to the community. “They pointed out what contributions I made to this community and that was a big thing for me I think,” he said, pausing to reflect on his work. “You know you're busy, you work and have a family, all kinds of things happen. “You don't realize that you have made some difference to the community.” Ghosh has spent most of his career, 38 years, as an internist at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital and is known for promoting compassionate care, mentoring peers and advancing medical capacity. By pursuing advanced training and learning bronchoscopy, a procedure that allows doctors to look inside a patient’s lungs, Ghosh brought a Level 2 pulmonary laboratory to the region. He also started a renal unit, pioneered local cardiac risk stratification and stress testing and formed a diabetic team to deliver care. The soft-spoken doctor has a reputation as a keen teacher, but feels recognition is also due to mentors Ken Wagner, John MacKay and Len Scotland, who influenced his career path. “I think they helped me a lot,” he said. “What I am today is because of their
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Dr. Sunil Ghosh’s long and distinguished career helping patients at the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital was recognized by the Canadian Medical Association. help and the honour that I got, they are due the same.” Ghosh graduated from Calcutta University and Medical College in 1960 before he trained at the Royal Infirmary in Dewsbury, England, and continued on with residences at Lincoln County Hospital and King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. After earning his certification in internal medicine in England in 1969, he moved to Canada – first to Thompson, Man., and then to Trail. Though his wife hailing from Castlegar may have been the initial pull to the area, Ghosh said he decided
to stay in Trail because he had more opportunity. “I dialyzed patients, I put in pacemakers, I did stress testing, I did look after sick, diabetic patients,” he said. “All of these things I couldn't have done in a bigger place.” Ghosh has watched and been part of medical developments over the years but admits that health care has become fragmented over time. “The responsibility that we had then is a lot more than now,” he said, adding that there are more physicians covering specific areas in the hospital now. “When I came here, this
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hospital had a lot more beds, there was 130 acute beds, now it's half,” he added. Ghosh acknowledges the strides made in outpatient care, which may speak somewhat to bed reduction, and also points to the regionalization of care by sending, for instance, heart patients to Kelowna when most care was previously done at the Trail facility. Though his hair has changed in tint over time, Ghosh said he still feels fit to work and plans to continue to do so. “I would like to work as long as I can,” he said. “I'm in good health and I enjoy work.”
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