Janet Rosenfeld, the new nurse practitioner at the Caring Place, takes the blood pressure of Sean O'Connor, a regular volunteer at the facility (Photo: Courtesy of the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times)

The Salvation Army Caring Place in Maple Ridge, B.C., hosted a grand opening ceremony in June to celebrate its new nurse practitioner program. The program is a partnership with the local Fraser Health Authority.

The nurse practitioner, who sees patients during the afternoons, provides primary health-care services to individuals who access the various programs and services offered by the Caring Place. Nurse practitioners are licensed to diagnose and provide health-care management within their scope of practice, which includes ordering investigations such as lab work, ultrasounds or X-rays; prescribing medication; and consulting or referring patients to other physicians or specialists.

The Caring Place has been working with local registered nurses once a week for the past nine years, and the nurse practitioner program continues its commitment to provide health care to the most vulnerable in the community.