In October 2019 our community lost a very special advocate for seniors’ health. Dr. Tom Bailey set up his family practice in Langford in 1978 and, over the next 40 years, he looked after generations of Western Communities families as well as seniors in residential care throughout the South Island.
Dr. Bailey’s relationship with long-term care started in 1984 as medical coordinator at the Priory Hospital and grew to include president of medical staff for the Juan de Fuca Hospitals (Aberdeen, Glengarry, Mt. Tolmie and Priory Hospitals) and membership on many supporting committees.
After amalgamation of the Vancouver Island hospital societies, Dr. Bailey served in many capacities including medical director of residential services for the Vancouver Island Health Authority, as well as being a member of the Medical Advisory Committee and the Ethics Committee for Island Health.
Outside of Vancouver Island, he was president of the BC College of Family Physicians, President and long time Board Member of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and a member of the BC Association of Geriatric Care Physicians and a host of other roles.
Dr. Bailey sat on the Eldercare Foundation’s Board of Directors for 16 years, providing us with knowledgeable and thoughtful guidance. Continuing education was an important focus for this dedicated physician. He was a clinical associate professor in the Department of Family Practice at UBC and an associate professor in the Division of Medical Sciences at the University of Victoria.
As a member of Eldercare’s Awards Committee, Dr. Bailey helped to support the education of healthcare employees from housekeeping staff to medical staff, all in an effort to provide the best possible care for the elderly.
To honour Dr. Bailey’s legacy of caring for older adults, the Eldercare Foundation is working with his family to create two memorials.
In recognition of the deep respect he held for those working directly with very vulnerable seniors, the Tom Bailey Memorial Bursary will be held by the Eldercare Foundation and awarded by Camosun College annually.
This bursary will be for students in their health care assistant, practical nursing and licensed practical nursing programs. Dr. Bailey was very excited for the seniors moving into the new Summit at Quadra Village long-term care residence.
To honour his life-long commitment to our vulnerable elders, a Circle of Life sculpture is being commissioned for the Summit’s courtyard garden. Eldercare will work with the Vancouver Island Sculptors Guild with an aim for an installation and unveiling in September 2021.
Those of us who have had the privilege of working with Tom Bailey have lost a friend and mentor, but we have also gained so much by witnessing his integrity, his dedication and his willingness to step up to help wherever help is needed.
To donate to the Tom Bailey Memorial Fund please visit www.gvef.org/TomBaileyMemorial or call the Eldercare Foundation at 250-370-5664.