Dr. Breanne Abbott is a primary care physician at the Stikine Health Centre, which is located on the traditional territory of the Tahltan Nation, in the community of Dease Lake. The Stikine Health Center is one of Northern Health’s most remote clinics and services an area the size of France, with the closest critical care facility nearly 600 kilometers away. Dr. Abbott first visited the area as a medical student and was amazed by the opportunities for recreation, the natural beauty, and the friendly community. After completing medical school and returning to Dease Lake to practice, she now shares the experiences of the area with her husband and son, who all love their time there. Maintaining clinical skills and competencies is key for providing quality health care, especially in urgent, life-threatening situations in remote locations. When Dr. Abbott became interested in doing a Physician Quality Improvement (PQI) project, she saw an opportunity to focus on supporting the Stikine Health Centers small but mighty team to maintain their life support skills. The aim of her project was to improve the comfort and competence of health care professionals providing cardiac emergency care in the Stikine area by 50%. To meet this goal, she acquired a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) meter and facilitated the funding and logistics to have trainers travel to Dease Lake to provide on site basic life support (BLS), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) and pediatric life support (PALS) training tailored for the local, remote context. Overall, her project was a resounding success! Not only was the project a great opportunity for team building, but the team was also able to see improvements in all measured areas of the project. Dr. Abbott has since put her PQI training to use on further projects, such as remote airway training, and improving availability of blood products. You can learn more about Dr. Abbotts project and view her storyboard here .
