CANSO — After nearly five decades of service to the community, the Canso Medical Centre Professional Co-operative is asking residents to step up to help it survive.
The group hosted a public meeting on June 8 at the Canso Lions Club to share the story of how the medical centre came to be and invite new members to get involved. It has served as a space for many medical professionals since the 1970s.
Barry Lumsden, who has served on the board since 1977, feels that without fresh participation, the future of the co-operative and its building are uncertain.
“Our co-operative is getting old, and our members are getting old too, including myself,” he told The Journal. “So, we want new members that will carry the co-operative onward. We have things to do but we need to do them with young bodies and more people involved.”
The June 8 event featured guest speaker John Aylward from the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council and offered a chance to reflect on the co-operative’s roots. Lumsden said many in the community may not realize that the Canso Medical Centre – a cornerstone of local healthcare access – was born entirely out of community effort.
“[Before] the co-operative was born in the ’70s, we had an office for patients and so on, and doctors worked in that office; that particular location wasn’t satisfactory enough and didn’t fit the bill,” he explained. “So, people in the community wanted to do something about that ... they formed the co-operative and raised money in the community. We had some government assistance, and we built a facility, and it turned out to be a great decision and a great place for our doctors and our patients.”
Today, the centre’s sustainability is tied directly to community involvement and rental income.
“We rent out the first floor to the Department of Health [and Wellness], and downstairs the space is not being rented at the present time,” Lumsden said. “So, we have no income from that at all. We’d like to develop it but, again, you need people to do that.”
The building provides the physical infrastructure for health services, but Lumsden says there’s a wider need to understand how it all works.
“We need participation. I don’t think people know exactly how the medical centre came about, how it’s operated or how much it means to the community.”
Canso, like many rural communities in Nova Scotia, continues to face challenges around healthcare staffing, particularly at Eastern Memorial Hospital. But Lumsden feels the local team there is doing its best.
“We have a good staff in the hospital and a good community group, and they’re working as hard as they can to attract good medical people,” he said. “They’re trying their best. It’s a situation that’s happening all over the province, not only in Canso.”
While attracting doctors is a provincial issue, keeping the Canso Medical Centre viable is a local one. The co-op has about 100 co-op members/shareholders still on its books, but many have either left the area or passed away. The board sits at seven or eight members. Lumsden is secretary and has previously served as chair.
“I’ve been a member of the co-operative since 1977, so I’m in my 48th year now,” he said.
He added that while the co-op holds an annual general meeting each November, this earlier public session was a chance to bring in new voices.
“We’d like to see some people step forward and say, ‘I would like to join.’”
That call is driven by more than just a need for numbers. Lumsden said the board needs renewal.
“Getting old is one problem, but the other problem we have is people having one position for too long,” he explained. “Being secretary for too long or treasurer for too long ... that’s not a good thing for an organization and positions should be changed out.”
According to the co-op’s bylaws, one-third of the board should change annually. But, with limited participation, that’s proving difficult.
“You can’t attract people to be in a position in an organization if they’re going to be there for life,” Lumsden said.
If community interest continues to wane, the future of the building could be at risk.
“If we can’t keep the building going, I guess what would happen is it would need to be sold. And the people that buy the building may not continue with the same services that are there now.”
He’s hopeful the meeting will spark action.
“From the meeting, if people don’t want to participate in the co-op, at least tell us the way we should go,” he said. “The Canso Medical Centre came from people who got together, saw a need, and they did something about it.”
