Linda Parrish
Physician Assistant
Community: Bassano
A devoted physician assistant who helped Bassano during a difficult period without a local doctor is being called a hero in the community.
Linda Parrish was recently nominated for a Rhapsody Rural Healthcare Heroes Award, an annual award established by RhPAP to recognize rural healthcare providers that demonstrate superior commitment to their patients, healthcare team and community.
“Bassano Health Foundation is proud to nominate Linda Parrish for being a positive light, for skillfully providing healthcare for over a decade in Bassano and for being responsible for the [Bassano Health Centre] to operate,” notes Kelly Christman in her nomination application on behalf of the foundation.
“She is our hero.”
Parrish has practised as a physician assistant (PA) in the community for 11 years after training in the Canadian military. She was instrumental in keeping the Bassano health facility open by liaising remotely with on-call physicians from the Brooks Health Centre when the community was without a physician for six months in 2022.
“She has adapted time and time again to ensure the Bassano [hospital] could continue to serve our residents,” writes Irv Morey, mayor with the Town of Bassano.
PAs are regulated by the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta as trained healthcare providers who work under the supervision of a physician in clinical team settings to complement existing services and help improve patient access to quality healthcare.
“Linda has always had good work relationships with her colleagues, is well-liked by the patients and goes above and beyond to provide healthcare in our community,” says Loralee Bell, a clinic manager at the Bassano Medical Clinic.
“She … works Monday to Friday in the emergency department assisting Dr. Amechi Okam and Rabbiya Aamir by assessing patients and taking patient histories … in the emergency department….
“This allows Dr. Okam and Dr. Aamir to not only manage patient care in the hospital, but also can see patients in their clinic.”