August 30 marked the end of an era in Cochrane's medical community.
That is the day Dr. Dennis Fundytus saw his final patient – coincidentally Cochrane Eagle publisher Brenda Tennant.
It marked the final day of a 40-year career spent entirely in Cochrane.
Fundytus came to Cochrane at age 28 after completing his family practice residency at the Foothills Hospital at the behest of head of the department at the time, Dr. George McQuitty. McQuitty, who is the namesake of a society that offers scholarships to aspiring doctors, died a year after Fundytus took the job at the University of Calgay satellite clinic at the Cochrane provincial building. McQuitty's death left Fundytus as the only doctor in Cochrane.
Cochrane was much different back then with a population of only 2,500, comprised mostly of rural ranching folk.
"Glenbow was just starting to be developed at that point. My background is I came froma rural area so I could certainly relate to the ranchers and the farmers. They welcomed me with open arms because there was only me and George McQuitty at that time," Fundytus said.
Medical practice has changed a lot since Fundytus's first practice, when doctors did it all.
"You would do deliveries, I was admitting to the Foothills, I worked at the 'emerg' in the Foothills and there was no ambulance service in Cochrane at that time, the ambulances had to come from Calgary," he recalls, adding it was a little easier to get out of town back then, with one set of lights and no traffic.
Through the years, Fundytus was among the people who worked to improve Cochrane's access to medical services.
"Brian Winter and myself and Tom Sampson with the City of Calgary worked with town council to convince them to make the move to have a Town of Cochrane ambulance service," said Fundytus, adding the push was realized in the early '80s.
Soon after, three or four other physicians came to town and shortly after a group of the physicans consolidated into the professional on First Street and Centre Avenue.
"We were able to get a lab to come into that building, we were able to get physical therapy to come into that building. As the town continued to grow, those services really enhanced the quality of the services we were able to offer as physicians," Fundytus said.
In the '90s, as the town continued its growth, a group mobilized to begin discussions for an urgent care facility to help consolidate some of the services available to the region.
"It took us a number of years to convince the region that they should move forweard with what is now the Community Health Centre and the Urgent Care services, which was a major improvement in terms of after-hours care and services – we now have X-ray and a bigger lab and mental health," Fundytus said.
In the early 2000s, the province made the decision to consolidate primary care delivery in the province.
"I, along with a group from Cochrane and a group from Northwest Calgary, worked in terms of putting together a proposal to put forward the Calgary Foothills Primary Care Network, which is now one of the largest primary care networks in the province," Fundytus said, adding that led to the consolidation of a single clinic from the physicians working in the provincial building, which still exists today.
While Fundytus was one of the people who was instrumental in the evolution of the medical community in Cochrane and the region, he remains humble when describing his role.
"I would just hope I had some influence. Some of what we see is a credit to the people and a credit to the politicans who were willing to listen," he said. "It probably would have happened even if I had not been involved. It will be interesting to see where health care delivery in the province goes. The constraints on the budget with the population growth and the baby boomers and the demands we're going to put on the system. (The politicians) are going to have to make some harsh decisions ... I don't know if our system is sustainable."
Four decades working in a single community doing the same thing isn't common but Fundytus said his longevity is a credit not only to the community and the region, but also the people.
"The patients that I have had and have, have been superb. It's been a privilege to provide medical service to them. The area we live in is an amazing area and over the years I have been able to make friends, the mountains are my passion and at some point medicine became a hobby to allow me to do all those other things," he said.
Fundytus said the time has flown by but he said the past couple weeks will stick with him as a number of his appointments have been from patients wanting to say goodbye.
"It's been really quite gratifying to have them come by and say to me "you shouldn't be leaving but we understand,'" he said.
It's also been an emotional farewell, some of the families he has seen over the years span multiple generations.
"I can honestly say I have had an awesome career and it's time to move on and do something else," he said, adding that means travel, knock things off his bucket list and spend time with his family.
