BY BOB ZIMMER
Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies MP
One of the most rewarding aspects of being your Member of Parliament is being able to meet residents who are making a difference for the people of our region.
Sadly, Northern British Columbia recently lost one of our hardest working health care advocates with the passing of Dr. Albert Scott Kelly.
A family physician, Dr. Kelly was a key figure in establishing the Northern Medical Program at UNBC and the BC Cancer Centre for the North. He was also an advocate for medical services in the region.
I had the honour of attending Dr. Kelly’s Celebration of Life in Prince George on January 26 with hundreds of others who wanted to pay their respects to a man who has done so much for access to health care in our region.
It was inspiring to hear speaker after speaker talk about the important role Dr. Kelly played in their lives. This included his daughter Joanna, who spoke lovingly of her father, as well as Dr. Taya O’Neill-Haugland, one of my former students from my time teaching at North Peace Secondary School, who is now making a difference as a physician in Northeastern BC thanks in part to Dr. Kelly’s mentorship.
It is clear that Dr. Kelly’s passion for health care touched the lives of many and his fierce advocacy for access to quality health care has made our region a better place to live.
Dr. Kelly’s Celebration of Life was also an important reminder to all of us that anyone can have a positive impact on the lives of others by focusing on the issues that we are passionate about.
I would like to once again offer my condolences to the Kelly family. We can’t thank you enough for sharing your husband and father with the people of Northern BC. It is because of his love and care for people that he became a physician and so much more. Dr. Kelly’s legacy is the lives he touched personally as a physician, as well as the many residents who will remain alive and healthy thanks to the northern doctors who are educated in the north and stay in the North.
