The only thing young people know about ‘house calls’ today is when they get summoned to the dinner table by a parent.
The term was used much differently in days of yore, including around this community when no one thought anything of house calls; i.e., doctors coming to your home rather than you having to transport yourself to the emergency department of the local hospital and wait for hours on end to be seen.
The heyday of Chemainus had three doctors who served in such a capacity for decades, Drs. Gordon Heydon, Jerry Philippson and Larry Fenton. Philippson is the last of the three to pass away, marking the end of a remarkable era.
Most longtime residents, either still living here or elsewhere, remember being served by one or all three with doctor visits to their homes. It’s hard to believe now that such a commitment existed, but it did. The doctors even split time at a clinic in Crofton, a fact long-forgotten by many or never known by newcomers to the community.
Many, upon hearing of Philippson’s death, were immediately stricken by the memory of how these doctors went above and beyond the call of duty.
Some of those sentiments were shared on the Courier’s Facebook page after our story appeared on the Courier website Friday.
Cindy DeVries wrote: Philippson “was a wonderful man, a great doctor and he loved his community and his family. He was my mom’s doctor so he delivered me and my siblings and cared for my family after our car accident and every other incident in our lives. He made house calls to our home when needed and genuinely cared for all he met. He will be missed, but his influence will remain.”
“Dr. Philippson became one of my doctors shortly after Dr. Heydon brought me into this world in the Chemainus Hospital in ‘57,” noted Kathy Smith. “Dr. Philippson did make a house call to our place mid-70s. A fine trio they were.”
That house call memory stood out for many in a grateful community upon reflection. There will never be anyone quite like them again in an ever-changing medical environment, but it’s great to remember the good old days.
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don.bodger@chemainusvalleycourier.ca
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