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4- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday August 5, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Doctor aims to make a difference Continued from page 3 Dr. Richard Kunica, and Dr. Janina Zaborowska, in starting Trafalgar Medical Clinic. "We developed the vision for a large group after a group of family doctors we knew in Beamsville," he explains. "We saw it was an efficient way of practising medicine." Before graduating, Isaak had talked with his wife about serving in medicine in a different cultural setting. In 1971, he made a short-term trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There, he met a doctor preparing to work in Africa and he applied to do the same. Then he waited two years. "When they finally called, I said to Betty, `They want us to come,' and she said, `Let's go.' Our kids were six, four and six months." Isaak worked as Assistant Director of Community Medicine for Hospital Mama Yemo in Zaire, a busy hospital with 45,000 babies delivered each year (about 125 a day). The Isaaks lived in an international community, a compound of about 30 homes. "The old Belgian Congo was an oppressive society to live in, but it was offset with a close community and church life and great fellow hospital workers." The two-year commitment ended and they returned to Oakville, forever changed by their time in Zaire. "We didn't want to ever take things for granted after what we'd seen. We went from stores in Africa with powdered milk and halfempty shelves to stores here "Those serving time have family and social issues which are often devastating. I want to help them have a sense that there are alternative ways of dealing with these things." Dr. Vern Isaak $ 95 39 per month o.a.c. as low as THE BIGGEST with whole rows just for pet food." Over the years, they have taken more short-term trips to impoverished countries, some with their older children. "We learned that we could contribute anywhere and we should be ready and willing for anything," says Isaak. So he was set when, in 1975, Sheridan College's Health Services Department needed doctors to help with medical and counselling care. "Students are really a pleasure to work with because they're teachable," he says. "Some of what we see in health services is from irresponsible behaviour and we can teach them to be responsible for their own health care." Some students from his earliest years at Sheridan have remained his patients to this day. Having always taken an interest in psychology, he was also ready to help with emotional issues. Many Sheridan students are from rural areas, adjusting to urban college life. "A listening ear can help straighten life out for them," he says. Perhaps the memory of his own experience of moving from small town Ontario to attend university in the big city of Toronto has made this work satisfying. Isaak started his practice with a desire not only to treat his patients' medical problems, but also to influence them as whole individuals. Not surprising, then, is the fact that he has many patients with chronic mental and emotional issues, issues which, by their very nature, require a time-consuming, long-term commitment. "I committed early on to giving up to 30 to 40 per cent of my time to counselling issues," Isaak explains. "I realized quickly that if you listened, people would put a lot of trust in what you have to say." This same "wholistic" approach to health care led Isaak and five of his associates to agree to give medical care to residents of Syl Apps Youth Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison for young people. The work eventually expanded to include residents at Maplehurst Correctional Complex where his group of doctors now cares for 700 of the 1,100 residents. Confidentiality laws forbid disclosure of names and circumstances, but Isaak can say that he has cared for participants in stories that make the news. Isaak is motivated by a desire to offer care and hope. "Those serving time have family and social issues which are often devastating. I want to help them have a sense that there are alternative ways of dealing with these things." On the acute problem of the decline in the number of doctors choosing family medicine and why family practice is becoming a thing of the past, "The 1991 decision by the Ontario government to reduce medical school enrollment is part of it," he says after a moment. "At the same time, as boomers age, they need more complex care and family practice is not as lucrative as most specialties. Also, the cost of education is so expensive now ($100,000-plus), so the need to pay off debt without being tied to leases and overhead is huge." Doctors choose a more controlled lifestyle, working as hospitalists in the Emergency department or in walk-in clinics, after which they can go home without ongoing patient commitment. How does he compare this to the doctors of his day? "There is a trend for young grads to value quality of life and family life over the (past) tradition of hard work. Society is changing to value time off; that means fewer nights and weekends for doctors." So what has being a family doctor cost his family? He says it has required a tremendous amount of patience and understanding from his wife and family, irregular hours and missed events over the years. About a decade ago, health challenges forced Isaak to step down from several boards of community organizations and church leadership. "Years ago, a doctor was expected to be involved in the community. (This setback) made me choose commitments with some degree of pacing." Now in vibrant health heading into retirement, he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, watching his grandchildren play soccer on Saturday mornings, working on fitness, focusing on volunteer work and connecting with people he has missed. Outside of his continuing weekly work at Maplehurst, Syl Apps and Sheridan College, Isaak plans to visit some of the worst prisons in the world, where he will care for and encourage prisoners in the most dire of conditions. As we part ways at Starbucks, one of Isaak's patients approaches him. "Dr. Isaak, I just want to tell you how much you've meant to me and my family . . ." SALE ! EVER $ ARE YOU CARING FOR SOMEONE WITH ALZHEIMER DISEASE? DO YOU NEED A BREAK? We may be able to help! PLUS *$500 in Government Rebate on 14 Seer Air Conditioner 0 1FF O Furnace Check Up *Free central air Financing Available * Call For Details * The Same Day Installation FREE CENTRAL AIR (Installation Extra) Purchase a Hi Efficiency Furnace and Receive a Plus: NO Payment NO Interest For 6 Months O.A.C. Reserve now and you will receive a central air absolutely free. 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