Dr. Tracey Thorne is a dedicated leader of the Gabriola Chapter of the Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice. Dr. Thorne pushed for rural communities, and their healthcare providers, to get the support they needed during the pandemic. She was instrumental in creating a position for a Mental Health and Substance Use Nurse and a social worker, both of whom are now embedded in the community of Gabriola Island. Embracing the range and needs of family practice medicine, Dr. Thorne also partnered with a local service agency to create a palliative care program on Gabriola Island and initiated a community-based organization, the Gabriola Health and Wellness Collaborative.
Dr. Thorne has also served the Youth Wellness Clinic in Nanaimo and was on the Advisory Board for the Adult Mental Health and Substance Use Spread Network with the Nanaimo Division of Family Practice. In 2019, she was awarded a BC College of Family Physicians’ Social Determinants of Health grant to develop the Mama Mood program, a facilitated counselling and support group for mothers on Gabriola Island.
