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BARRHEAD - After many delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Barrhead physician Dr. Kent Bernes was finally recognized last week with the 2021 Rural Health Profession Action Plan’s (RhPAP) Rhapsody Physician Award in recognition of his contributions to medical care and the community of Barrhead over three decades.
Dr. Bernes, who currently serves as Barrhead’s community medical director, was surrounded by family, friends, colleagues and other well-wishers in an April 21 ceremony hosted at the Charles Godberson Rotary Room.
“It has been a rewarding career. It’s been a great community. I have enjoyed it,” said Bernes, who will celebrate his 30th anniversary of practicing in Barrhead this September.
Shelly Pusch, chair of the local Attraction and Retention Committee, indicated they had originally planned to hold the awards ceremony in the fall (and during a much larger event) but had to hold off due to the ever-changing circumstances of the COVID pandemic.
Bobby Jones, communications, marketing and research specialist with RhPAP, acknowledged that other representatives of the organization would have been present but were unable to attend due to positive test results.
Jones said that the 2021 Rhapsody Physician Award is presented to “those unsung heroes” who provide Alberta’s rural communities with outstanding patient care and make notable contributions to both medical practice and their communities.
“Dr. Bernes, you are clearly a valued member of your rural community. Despite your busy schedule, you have consistently stepped up both in terms of improving medical care and as a phenomenal fundraiser, a leader, a musician, a volunteer, a father and a spouse. It is clear that Barrhead is a better place for your many efforts both in and out of the health care centre,” Jones said.
Jones also played a video biography summarizing Bernes’ career, which can now be viewed at the RhPAP website at rhpap.ca.
While Bernes first came to the town in 1988 as a third-year medical student, the video stated that he began practicing full-time in Barrhead in 1992 to get some experience as a family physician before pursuing his dream as a pediatrician.
Not long after he arrived, he took extra training in cardiology so he could provide cardiac care. He also worked in emergency care, and for 15 years, provided obstetrics. Later on, the video noted, Bernes trained in oncology and became certified as a general practitioner.
On top of his role as community medical director, he is one of three physicians at the Barrhead Cancer Centre, which provides immunotherapy and chemotherapy treatments for local cancer patients and others from far-away rural centres. He also works as a family medicine physician at the Barrhead Clinic.
The video took note of Bernes’ love of teaching and mentoring of medical students, which has led to him being twice named by the University of Alberta as Rural Preceptor of the Year.
It also noted his role in fundraising campaigns for Habitat for Humanity and the Barrhead Aquatic Centre, as well as his interest in music and water skiing.
“When I think back on it, I’ve had an amazing career. I’ve got to do tons of stuff, I’ve got to work with tons of great people, and the people I have around me now are a really solid team,” Bernes said.
The video was also sprinkled with testimonials from municipal leaders and colleagues, some of whom were at the event in person to give their congratulations.
Linda Wolfram, who previously served as site manager at the Barrhead Healthcare Centre, said it was an honour to acknowledge the years of dedicated service Bernes had given the community, not only as a physician, but as a husband, father and friend.
“From the very beginning, it was obvious that you were meant to be a rural physician. You loved every aspect of every challenge that was presented to you, and we as a nursing team were always so grateful when you were on call, because it didn’t matter what came in those doors, you could handle it.”
She added that when it came time to leave her role as site manager, she was really grateful that Bernes was serving as community medical director “because I knew I was leaving the site in good hands.”
Sherri-May Hotchkiss, who took over from Wolfram as site manager, echoed her sentiments about what a privilege it has been to work with Bernes and to see his impact on the community at large.
“When I think about the community and the medical system, all of the physicians pull together, but when it comes to … looking at what you’ve done over the last particularly 10 years, it’s incredible the difference that you’ve made to every person in this room,” she said.
She jokingly noted that one of her favourite memories was seeing Kent lead her daughter’s band with a “stupid light-up baton,” but also recalled another instance where Bernes was called in to deal with a patient who refused to work with her or the nurse.
“It’s easy to joke about those things, but those moments are irreplaceable in a person’s life,” Hotchkiss said.
Hotchkiss later presented a gift to Kent’s wife Donna for being the “unsung hero” who looked after their children and who made their home a welcoming environment for medical students coming out to Barrhead for a taste of rural medicine.
It should be noted that along with the Rhapsody Award, Bernes was given the opportunity to make a $2,500 donation to the charity of his choice. He opted to use the money to provide “Swim to Survive” courses for up to 1,000 K-6 students in Barrhead, Neerlandia, Fort Assiniboine and Dunstable.
Kelsey Lalonde, a drowning prevention co-ordinator with the Lifesaving Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories branch, said their Swim to Survive courses define the basic skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into water.
“We are honoured that Dr. Bernes has chosen ‘Swim to Survive’ to bring to the community of Barrhead. It is programs like this that truly make a difference on a global scale,” she said.
When called to the podium to give some remarks, Dr. Bernes said he has always been very lucky to have a great team at the Barrhead Healthcare Centre and at the clinic, noting that even at the start of his career, he had the benefit of local physicians mentoring him.
“Without that mentorship and without that team, it would be very difficult, I think, to work in rural Alberta and to do family medicine, and to do it as efficiently and proficiently as what I believe we do here in Barrhead. So I think that as a community, we’re really quite blessed,” he said.
“I think in many respects, this is for the team. Sure, I’ve been here the longest, and my name is alphabetically first, so it makes sense that my name is on the award. But truly, without the support of all the people that I’ve had over the years, I don’t think my career would have been as good as it has been.”
