Over the past more than a year, we have watched as our medical personnel and hospitals have struggled to cope with the flood of COVID 19 pandemic patients and their needs. Many of us have offered sincere and genuine thanks for the Medical Service Plan that has assisted so many who have suffered with this virus. The medical services of today were an unheard of luxury not available at the time of the Spanish Influenza of 1918 -1919, but as early as 1915 Women's Institute members began suggesting medical insurance plans.

In the records of the Agassiz Women's Institute we find: “ In 1922 a resolution by Miss Minnie Agassiz with regard to State Health Insurance was sent by the Agassiz Women's Institute  to the conference. It became a subject of much discussion in the Legislature and paved the way to toward present hospital insurance.”

Salmon River Valley WI suggested that if members paid a small monthly fee, they could be entitled to hospital admission and a reduced rate. In 1936, a Health Insurance Act was passed by the British Columbia Government, but not implemented, due to lack of funds and opposition from people who viewed this as state interference in the private sector. Health Insurance did come, but not until after the Second World War.

 And today, what a blessing medical insurance is! But it is now our responsibility to use, but not abuse, this comprehensive medical service to which we all have access. Watching the dedicated doctors and nurses, and other personnel as they carry on, under very difficult circumstances, to address the huge volume of COVID 19 cases is inspiring, and it should set a standard for the public to do their part to stay healthy, and to support the efforts of the medical community by following the guidelines set for all citizens.

One day this pandemic will be a thing of the past. But right now is when we need to pull together, take are of ourselves and others, and follow the rules! For many in our communities, life continues in a similar pattern from before this virus arrived. Those who work in essential services, or the medical community, to name a few, find they have an added component to their daily routine; but those who have had their employment interrupted and find themselves isolated at home, with monetary worries, life has taken an unsettling turn.

We should all remember we have come through over a year of this problem, and with the applications of the vaccines, we should be entering a time period when the numbers of infections drop noticeably. Just as the 1918 – 1919 influenza epidemic passed with time, so will this one. We have had many deaths worldwide, but remember, the world population 100 years ago was much smaller, and the death toll in that pandemic rose to 50 MILLION! We do not, as yet have a the final death toll from COVID 19, but I am sure it will be much smaller!

So. let's pull together, stay safe, wear masks and do our part to stamp out this scourge. Talk with your neighbours out in the street, physically distanced, of course, remember the shut-ins in your area, and do what you can to help one another, and let's all smile more!

Yours For Home and Country, Ruth Fenner, Provincial Historian, British Columbia Women's Institute