The doors are open at the new needle exchange at the corner of Third and George Streets in Prince George, but Northern Health continues to work on the possibility of putting together a new special health centre that would be located in the downtown core.

That was the third part of the three part plan developed to replace the needle exchange after a fire destroyed the old one.

The needle exchange was replaced with an outreach health centre, which is located close to services used by the disadvantaged and homeless in the city, namely thrift stores, and the St. Vincent DePaul soup kitchen.

“We are working with Central Interior Native Health on a couple of different program discussions” says Northern Health CEO Malcolm Maxwell.

One of those discussions is the development of Nurse Practitioners, a program that is currently offered at UNBC and would not only provide an educational component for those enrolled in the program, but would allow Northern Health to extend the types of services it offers in the downtown core. “We’re also following developments in undergrad medicine for medical students there” says Maxwell.

The CEO for Northern Health says it is a balance between education and health service delivery “As we become more certain of the numbers of positions we can look to for both ongoing service in the downtown area and the educational activity that could take place in that location we will begin the process of translating that into space and needs and work with Central Interior (Native Health Services) on defining a new facility for the downtown area.”

Maxwell says they’re at the early stages of that process “We’re looking at what we can do to extend the programs and services and then translate that into space and then that in turn into a building concept.”

Maxwell adds that at this point, there is no firm timeline for a new facility “I don’t think we will complete it in the current fiscal year, we have looked at a timing in the fall in terms of getting together an overview of the educational programs so work will proceed on it over the next number of months, but I think it is going to be some time before you see a specific physical solution proposed there.”