Another Notable Sighting

The paparazzi in this town (me…all the other tourists are smart and in Mexico this time of year) have had a field day meeting with the local celebrities. Earlier this week, I met Isabelle’s daughter, the Calender Girl. Yesterday, I met a pamphlet queen. Her name is Saskia and both she and her mom were on a brochure created about the new Health Centre and dated 2006. Obviously, the photo of Saskia and her mom were taken some time before.

The photos inside show a newly installed xray table and Marie Tiktak, our resident Basic Radiographer, standing proudly beside it. Also, there is a group shot showing the centre staff at the time. Looking over the brochure I can only see a few that I have met…Sam A. and Sam T., Marley and Marie. The other faces are not known to me and some are standing in behind others so they may be there but unrecognizable. The one side is written in English with the other one in Inuktitut. It talks about the future plans of the health centre.

Some of those plans are currently in a holding pattern for the same reasons that hospitals and communities in the south share. There are shortages of trained medical personnel…nurses, doctors, midwives and technologists both medical lab and medical imaging. Currently we (notice that now that I am an employee) have a full time position for an ultrasonographer. The interesting thing about the posting is that it claims The closing date is “OPEN UNTIL FILLED” and housing is “allocated for this position”.

This just shows what turnover there is here in the great white north. The ongoing juggling of medical staff coming in here is quite remarkable. That it works and continues to do so is even more interesting. I now have a roommate at the apartment. His name is Joe and he is from Selkirk, Manitoba not Ontario. This is his second trip to Rankin and he’s here until February 2. He has travelled to a lot of other sites in Nunavut with his job.

This week he’s been busy with some support work for the health centre workers, friends and the family of our recent tragedy. He is with the Mental Health program. It’s a good thing I’m not a resident of Nunavut. He might have me committed by noon Saturday.