

The Queen Charlotte Islands, home to the Haida First Nations people for more than 8,000 years, mark the first location in BC that was discovered by Europeans in 1774. Masset was originally known as Graham City, after the president of Graham Steamship, eventually being named New Masset, after a Haida village located a few kilomters south.
Masset is located on northern Graham Island – the largest of more than 150 islands that comprise the Queen Charlotte Island/Haida Gwaii archipelago.
The climate in Masset is fairly mild with winter temperatures usually around 2 degrees Celsius and summer averaging 19 degrees Celsius.
INDUSTRY:
Logging, fishing, tourism
Town Population: 793 (2016 Census)
Patient Catchment: 2,500
Ages of Population:
0-17: 21.9%
18-24: 9.4%
25-64: 57.2%
65+: 11.5% (BC Stats, 2010 Figures for Queen Charlotte)
Health Authority: Northern Health
Health Service Delivery Area: Northwest
Regional District: Skeena Queen-Charlotte
Rural Designation: RSA community
RRP Designation: A
RRP Points: 51.25
General Practitioners: 9 (www.cpsbc.ca)
Clinics
Masset Medical Clinic
1760 Hodges Street
Masett, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-4702
Haida Health Centre
Box 176
Old Massett, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-3911 | F: 250 626-3357
The Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital is an eight bed facility with a busy Emergency. It is located between the two villages of Masset and Old Masset.
Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre
Box 319, 2520 Harrison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-4700 | F: 250 626-4709
http://careers.northernhealth.ca/Communities/NorthwestRegion/Masset.aspx
Services provided include:
The hospital is staffed 24 hours per day. There are three physicians on staff.
A pharmacy outlet distributes medications sent from Pharmasave at the Vancouver airport and from the Queen Charlotte Islands Pharmacy located in the Queen Charlotte hospital at the south end.
Call is one in three with another doctor on as your back-up. Multidisciplinary rounds are held each Wednesday, where you may be asked to make a presentation.
There are no surgical or anesthesia services on-island.
Air ambulance transfers to secondary or tertiary facilities usually take 3 to 5 hours weather permitting.
The Masset physicians offer full pre-natal services. All moderate to high risk OB patients are sent to the mainland well ahead of their due date. Anyone considered low risk who would like to deliver on-island has the option to do so in Queen Charlotte.
Acute Care Beds: 4
Long-term Care Beds: 4
Major Medical Centre: Prince George(2,205 km). Air Ambulance transfers to secondary or tertiary facilities.
There is a limited service Emergency Room in this community. It is open 24/7.
Number of Visits Per Year: 2,410 (2009/2010 Statistics: NHA)
Travel distance to transfer hospital: 2,205 km to Prince George
Masset physicians offer full pre-natal services. All moderate to high risk OB patients are sent to the mainland well ahead of their due date. Anyone considered low risk who would like to deliver on-island has option to do so in Queen Charlotte.
Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre Lab
Box 319, 2520 Harrison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-4705 | F: 250 626-5335
Hrs: Mon-Fri 8 am – 10 am, 1 pm – 2 pm
There is a blood bank in this community.
X-Ray
Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre Imaging
Box 319, 2520 Harrison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-4704 | F: 250 626-5335
Hrs: Mon, Tues, Thurs 9:15 am – 11:45 am & 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm. Wed, Fri 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Mammography
Mammography services provided by BC Cancer Agency twice a year. See www.bccancer.bc.ca for details.
BC Ambulance Service provides coverage to this community, including Air Ambulance services.
Pharmasave Drugstore
2520 Harrison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-4701
Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre (5 beds)
Box 319, 2520 Harrison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-4700 | F: 250 626-5335
Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre
Box 319, 2520 Harrison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-4729 | F: 250 626-5335
In-community
Home Care Nurse
Old Masset Village Council
347 Eagle Street
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-3911
Nutrition Counselling
Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre
Box 319, 2520 Harrison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-4725 | F: 250 626-4709
Hrs: Mon, Tues, Weds 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Diabetes Education Centre
Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre
Box 319, 2520 Harrison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-3918 | F: 250 626-3989
Hrs: Mon-Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre
Box 319, 2520 Harrison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-5237 | F: 250 626-5335
Mental Health & Addictions
Northern Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre
Box 319, 2520 Harrison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-4700 | F: 250 626-5335
In-community
Northern Health Mental Health & Addictions
1545 Main Street
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-3918
Hrs: Mon-Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Haida Child and Family Services Society
Box 86, 247 Eagle Road
Old Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-5257 | F: 250 626-5287
Mental Health & Addictions
Children and Youth
Victims of Violence Support
Haida Gwaii Society for Community Peace
Box 742, 2132 Collison Avenue
Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
P: 250 626-4666 | TFP: 1 877 626-4677
www.hgpeace.ca
Masset Medical Clinic
PO Box 319
Masset BC V0T 1M0
250-626-4702
Physician Site Coordinator
Dr. Michele Leslie
Office Administrator
Gina Schnubb
Practice Profile
Masset Clinic is located in the Masset Hospital, giving physicians easy access to the ER and hospital in-patients as well as lab, pharmacy and Xray services. Shared office space with computer access. Services of visiting specialists are available through the Northern Isolation Travel Allowance (NITA) Program, or patients are referred off-island. The physicians are young and willing to teach. All are enthused about the practice and love the islands.
On-Call Schedule: 1 in 3
Office Hours: Mon – Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Family Practice Resident Site: Yes
Medical Resident: UBC
On the Community
“Fantastic. [We] went to every possible community event and found everyone to be very welcoming. You definitely have to make the effort though, I can see how others might feel isolated if they didn’t participate in community events.”
On the Experience
“Great site for giving residents lots of autonomy and responsibility for patient care with adequate back up when needed. You will get good at patient transfers and utilizing BC BedLine / BC Air Ambulance. A really unique place to live. Highly recommended for its outdoor activities (hiking, biking, running, kayaking, fishing, hunting). Work schedule is demanding (summer>winter) (lots of call).” “Honestly, one of the best summers [we] have had! Work/life balance highly favours life here. It was such a relief to get out of the city and be surrounded by the beauty here. I don’t’ know anywhere else where you can see whales from the hospital window or catch salmon on your post-call days.”
Challenges
“The biggest limitation here would be the lack of volume. This has been an issue from previous residents. The volume is lower during the winter months, as there are lots of tourists/fishermen in the Summer. In general, I appreciated the 30min appointments as it gave me time to consult specialists, look things up, etc. It was a great way to start off my R2 year. Definitely need to balance this site with something higher volume though. Also, no obs so an advantage or disadvantage depending on how much you love obs!”
Practice per Day: 36
Physician per Day: 12
Payment Modality: Fee-for-service
Do you use a consistent charting system in your practice? Yes
Is there a problem list on each chart? Yes
Is there space for the resident to have an office an an examination room? Yes
Would you expect the resident to rotate offices on a regular basis? No
Technology:
Billing
Internet
Medline
Hospital Rounds: Yes, daily.
CME Teleconferences: Yes
Conferences: Yes, there are opportunities for conferences.
Journal Clubs/Reading: No
Computer-based: Yes, there are opportunities for computer-based education.
CCFP Small Group Learning: No
Resident Interview Audit: Yes, there are opportunities for a Resident Interview/Audit.
Dr. Michele Leslie
Dr. Lawrence (“Laurie”) Fawcett