Tuesday, January 29, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916
Northern B.C.’s first sonography program starts Citizen staff Eight College of New Caledonia students have started taking classes in the first sonography program available outside the Lower Mainland. The Northern Diagnostic Medical Sonography program opened at CNC’s Prince George campus on Jan. 7. It is one of only two publicly funded sonography programs in British Columbia. “A sonography program at CNC will help tackle waitlists, while providing the opportunity for northern graduates to succeed and thrive closer to home,” said Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark. Diagnostic medical sonographers play a critical role by providing key information leading to earlier diagnosis and support ongoing patient management using ultrasound technology. “Too many people are on lengthy waitlists for critical medical care, such as ultrasounds,” said health minister Adrian Dix. “We’re working to increase the number of sonography graduates throughout the province, with more spaces at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, as well as the first sonography program outside the Lower Mainland, so more people can get the care they need.” At CNC, sonography students get training in both cardiac ultrasound and general ultrasound, which looks at the abdomen, pelvis and obstetrics. “Here in the north, there is a great need for sonographers trained in both general and cardiac ultrasound,” said Glenda Vardy Dell, CNC’s dean of the school of health sciences. “CNC students are in a unique position, because they will be equipped to offer dual skill sets to the hospital or clinic they work in.” CNC’s sonography lab is equipped with eight state-of-the-art ultrasound machines and ultrasound simulators. The highfidelity simulators use augmented reality
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Students Devyn Gowan, (laying down) and Sasha Eidsvik demonstrate the sonography equipment of the newly-opened College of New Caledonia Northern Diagnostic Medical Sonography program at the college’s Prince George campus. to facilitate engaging and intuitive learning in cardiac, lung, abdominal and obstetrics/ gynecology ultrasound. “CNC students are trained on the newest technology available in the field of sonography,” added Vardy Dell. Admission preference was given to northern B.C. candidates, to address regional demand by encouraging students who are from the north to study and continue to work in the area. Of the eight students in the first cohort of the program, seven are
from northern B.C. “We are very pleased to see the start of this important addition to health care education opportunities in the north,” said Dr. Shyr Chui, Northern Health medical lead, diagnostic imaging. “CNC’s sonography program has been a remarkable experience so far,” said Sara Wiggins, a student in the CNC’s first cohort. “Using ultrasound machines to learn about the human body is really exciting.” The province is providing $640,000 in
Indigenous complaints about pipeline builder to be probed by gov’t, police Amy SMART Citizen news service The British Columbia government says it will inspect the site of a planned natural gas pipeline southwest of Houston following allegations that the company building the project is violating its permits. Members of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation and supporters have alleged that Coastal GasLink is engaging in construction activity without an archaeological impact assessment and also destroyed traplines and tents unnecessarily. The Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources says in a statement that joint site inspection will be conducted by the province’s Environmental Assessment Office and the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission next week. “We anticipate that it will take some time subsequently to determine whether any non-compliances are evident and, if so, the appropriate enforcement action,” the ministry said.
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Members of the Gidimt’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation issued a statement Monday saying the company “wilfully, illegally, and violently destroyed” its property this weekend... The RCMP also said it has received complaints from both the Office of the Wet’suwet’en and Coastal GasLink regarding traplines and the removal of personal property items. “We are following up on all complaints and continue to facilitate ongoing and direct dialogue be-
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Biting suspect arrested A woman is in custody, accused of biting off part of another woman’s bottom lip. Hailee Marie Kowalchuk, 26, has been charged with aggravated assault, assault and breaching probation, RCMP said Monday. She was arrested after RCMP were called to a North Nechako home on Friday at about 1:30 a.m. “Members attended the residence and found an adult female missing a portion of her bottom lip,” RCMP said. “Paramedics transported her to hospital for treatment. “Investigators believe the lip was bitten during a physical altercation between two persons known to each other. Alcohol was a factor.” Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched in the name of the alleged victim, identified on social media as Kennedy Barker. “This is to ease the stress of my surgery, medication costs. As well as my time missing from
work,” she says on her Facebook page. “I was skeptical of starting one of these but my family deserves to have their stress relieved. Don’t feel obligated to donate but it would be a big help.” According to a posting on the GoFundMe page, Barker had been having dinner and drinks while visiting “a person she thought was her friend.” But while she was sleeping, the “friend” tied Barker’s hands behind her back, then beat her senseless and threatened her life before biting her, according to the posting. “She managed to get away and lock herself in the bathroom until RCMP came and arrested the attacker,” the posting says. Kowalchuk is known to police and the courts. In September 2017, Kowalchuk was sentenced to 18 months probation for assault after spending 19 days in custody. And in June 2016, she was sentenced to 17 months probation for mischief to property. Kowalchuk remains in custody.
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tween all parties regarding various issues,” the RCMP said. Coastal GasLink is working to build a natural gas pipeline from northeastern British Columbia to LNG’s export facility on the coast as part of a $40-billion project. Members of the Gidimt’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation issued a statement Monday saying the company “wilfully, illegally, and violently destroyed” its property this weekend, while the company said its actions have been permitted and lawful. Jen Wickham, a member of the Gidimt’en clan within the nation, said Coastal GasLink bulldozed three tents constructed with timber and canvas in an area along a logging road not included in the company’s plans. “CGL workers just tore down all our stuff, threw them in (shipping containers) and said we had until the end of the day to pick them up or they would be thrown in the dump,” she said. — see ‘THESE AREAS, page 3
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annual funding – $400,000 for one-time startup costs and capital funding of $1.5 million for equipment and renovations. The number of students enrolled in the program’s second cohort is expected to increase to 16 during the next intake. In 2018, B.C. had about 740 sonographers and there will be an estimated 370 job openings between 2018 and 2028. The median wage rate for sonographers is $37.11 per hour and the top 10 per cent earn $48.56 per hour.
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