July 30, 2015
Province Announces New Primary Care Centre to Open in Swan River
– – –Area Residents to Benefit From Better Health-care Services at New Site: Premier Selinger
SWAN RIVER—A new primary care centre in Swan River’s former McKay Building will offer Swan River Valley families better health-care services, Premier Greg Selinger announced here today.
“This new clinic will be a one-stop shop for quality primary health-care services offered by physicians, nurse practitioners and other regional health-care service providers,” said Premier Selinger. “It will help these providers work as a team to ensure co-ordinated, high-quality health-care services for people in the region and encourage other health-care providers to come work and live in the community.”
The new, 6,000-sq.-ft. Swan Valley Primary Care Centre includes 12 exam rooms, treatment rooms, support spaces and waiting areas. Physician services and co-ordinated care for people living with chronic diseases will be available at the new clinic.
“We have maintained that the cornerstone to sustainable, quality health service delivery in Swan River is a solid primary care foundation. This primary care centre and the physicians and other health-care providers that will be responsible for service here and at the Swan Valley Health Centre will deliver that foundation,” said Penny Gilson, chief executive officer, Prairie Mountain Health, noting five new physicians have been recruited to the community to work in the clinic. “Based on this foundation and ongoing partnerships with key stakeholders, we are confident we will be able to enhance services available to the people of Swan River and the surrounding area.”
Other recent investments in health services in Swan River include:
• new endoscopy equipment purchased in 2013, which makes this less-invasive diagnostic procedure available closer to home;
• a cataract surgery program that has completed more than 772 procedures since it began in 2012;
• specialized equipment to support the oral and maxillofacial surgery program at Swan Valley Health Centre, which has performed about 100 procedures per year since it began in 2011;
• a dialysis program in 2006, with expansion in 2007, 2008 and 2010; and
• a new, $33-million health-care facility that opened in 2005.
“Our investments in front-line care are helping people get better access to the health care they need, when it is needed,” said Health Minister Sharon Blady. “We will build on our successes and continue to strengthen the health-care system to support Manitoba families across the province.”
The premier noted the opening of the new centre supports the Manitoba government’s strategy to ensure consistent, co-ordinated primary care services and access to a family doctor for all Manitobans.
The Manitoba government has opened five QuickCare clinics, six ACCESS centres and two mobile clinics that offer quality services to communities when and where they need it. Up to 11 additional primary care clinics, including one new mobile clinic and three QuickCare clinics, are scheduled to open in areas across Manitoba over the next few years.
The province has also introduced the Family Doctor Finder Program to give Manitobans an easy way to be connected with a family doctor or nurse practitioner. This year, the program has consistently matched between 80 to 85 per cent of registrants without a provider within 30 days of registration. Since July 2014, more than two-thirds of people who registered with the program were matched with a doctor within five days.
To date, more than 30,000 Manitobans without a provider, representing 95 per cent of all registrants without a provider, have found a family doctor or nurse practitioner through the program. The program has also connected more than 5,000 people who already had a family doctor with a new primary care provider.
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