In November of 2014, Dr. Phil Staniland was officially recognized for his contributions and long-term service as a family physician in Prince George to both his community and to the University Hospital of Northern BC. The Prince George Medical Staff Society and Northern Health presented him with a plaque in recognition of his long and exemplary medical service from December 1968 to March 2010.
Phil was born in 1934. He was raised and educated in Broughton, North Lincolnshire, England.
In England at the time, the country adhered to the National Service Act of 1948 which formulated National Service as peacetime conscription; which meant that healthy males 17 to 21 years of age were expected to serve in the armed forces for 18 months and remain on the reserve list for four years.
Phil's father was a war veteran and suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from injuries he received during the war. His mother felt strongly that she did not want her son to have to go into the army. The solution was to move to Canada and join a great uncle in Vancouver. Phil and his father left for Vancouver in 1953 and his mother and two sisters followed three months later.
His father found work in a packing plant as a meat cutter. Phil was 17 and he wanted to study chemistry to be a scientist in metallurgy. He had finished his secondary schooling in England and upon his arrival in Canada he took Grade 13 at King Edward High School. He attended UBC for the next three years and earned a degree in physiology and sociology. For the next three years he studied theology - a broad field that included biblical studies, ministry and religious studies - and attended seminars.
He went on to serve as the United Church minister in Invermere for three years and that is when he met his future wife Jean Rickson.
Jean was born in Powell River in 1933. She grew up wanting to be a nurse so after high school she took the four-year nursing program at UBC and earned her degree in nursing. She was working as a nurse in Kimberly when she met Phil.
All the public health nurses in the area met for a monthly business meeting in Cranbrook. A nurse from Invermere wanted to introduce Jean to her church minister Phil Staniland. At first, Jean declined the offer because she was not interested in looking for a boyfriend let alone a husband. Eventually in early 1961, she attended a dance in Invermere, met Phil and they got married in October that same year.
Jean explained, "After we got married, we moved to Vancouver. I kept working as a public health nurse and Phil went to medical school. He graduated from medical school in 1967, served his internship in family medicine from 1967-68 at the Royal Columbian Hospital, passed all the rotations as required and we moved to Prince George in 1968.
"Doctors were needed in Prince George so we decided to check it out. We liked the community and agreed that we would only stay for five years. When the five years were up it was our children who wanted to stay. We had a family meeting and our very young boys reminded Phil that he was not a bank manager that was forced to move by the company and that he had choices and could stay if he wanted too. We stayed and as it turned out we are still here and the children are now living at the coast."
Phil and Jean had three children; Jeffrey Thomas Phillip, Ann Christine (deceased) and Andrew James William. They have three grandsons that are perfect in every way.
Phil started his own medical practice in 1968 and shared space with Dr. Umesh Khare for many years.
Subsequently, he took further training and obtained membership in family medicine a few years later. In the meantime, having volunteered on the executive of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, in the B.C. division, Phil was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Family Physicians of Canada.
Phil taught in the medical training program at UNBC, did locums and established Prince George Palliative Care Service in 2005. He retired completely in 2012 after a very successful 44-year medical career.
Phil said, "I moved into palliative care and it was the best thing that I did. Palliative care is medical care focused on improving the quality of the life of patients with serious illnesses by treating symptoms and providing emotional support. I worked with the families facing the problems associated with a life-threatening illness of their loved ones.
"We were the third palliative care unit in the province at the time. We had a team of physicians, nurses, dieticians and pharmacists in the program and we met once a week to discuss cases and plan conferences. It was always rewarding and retiring in 2012 as the medical director of the Palliative Care for Northern Medical was the pinnacle of my career."
Over the years Phil and Jean were always willing to give back to their community. Phil served on the board of AiMHi, the Prince George Association for Community Living in the mid-1970s, volunteered at the Rotary Hospice House and sang with the Cantata Singers for nearly 20 years. He was a member of the Forever Young Choir, the drama club and served on the board of directors at the Elder Citizens Recreation Centre.
He coached speed skating for about three years and served on the board of the Speed Skating Club.
Phil said, "Now at the age of 85, I no longer serve on executive positions and Jean and I have both retired from volunteering. We used to travel to Europe and all over B.C. but now we are using the time to just enjoy our retirement here in Prince George."
Jean explained, "We moved into our Prince George family home in 1968 and we have been here ever since. I was surprised to learn that my longtime university friend Marguerite Fox lived just down the street. She was working as a teacher and I was working as a nurse when we ran into one another only to learn that we were neighbors. Phil and I have been married for 58 years but I have been friends with Marguerite even longer than that.
"We eventually formed the Dalhousie neighbourhood weekly craft group along with Marguerite and my other neighbours; Roberta Barnes, Margaret Dunlop, Karen Pavich, Nancy Spensley, Donna Hills and Sylvia Swennumson. We used to make and donate many items to local fundraisers but now after 40 years we just meet, do some knitting, enjoy snacks and have great conversations mainly about our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and of course we all have coveted photos to share."
