January 14, 2016
Province to Invest in New Primary Care Clinic in The Pas
The Manitoba government is approving the release of a request for proposals for the design and construction of a primary care clinic in The Pas, Health Minister Sharon Blady announced today.
“We want area residents to receive primary care services that are more accessible and culturally appropriate including services provided by doctors as well as nurse practitioners, primary care nurses, mental health clinicians and others,” said Minister Blady. “The new facility will be adjacent to the hospital to ensure providers can work closely together to care for patients.”
The new, 9,800-sq.-ft. building will replace a clinic that was established on the fourth floor of St. Anthony’s General Hospital. It will be located on the hospital campus in The Pas and connected to the hospital.
“This much anticipated clinic will provide the infrastructure needed to deliver quality, accessible health care to the residents of The Pas and area and support the recruitment and retention of health-care providers. I would like to give credit to the community of The Pas for having advocated for this clinic,” said Helga Bryant, chief executive officer, Northern Regional Health Authority. “We are excited about providing this excellent resource for northern Manitoba.”
The clinic will open with the existing physicians contracted to work with the region. Over time, the clinic will add primary care nurses, nurse practitioners and support staff, and will be designed to enable dietitians, mental health counselors and public health staff to work on site with clinic staff.
The clinic will be accessible to approximately 18,000 people in the town of The Pas, the Rural Municipality of Kelsey, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and the communities of Cormorant, Moose Lake, Easterville and Grand Rapids. The clinic’s services will complement primary health-care services available at the Beatrice Wilson Health Centre in the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.
“The new clinic will ensure the community has modern facilities that support quality health care in the region,” said Minister Blady. “This will help with the long-term recruitment and retention of doctors and other health-care providers and ensure quality care is available for area residents.”
The minister noted the new clinic will build on other recent investments in rural communities to enhance front-line care including:
- opening a new primary care centre in Swan River to offer a hub for primary health-care services;
- renovating the Lundar Health Centre to allow for better co-ordinated primary health-care services in the community;
- introducing two mobile clinics in Prairie Mountain and Southern Health – Santé Sud;
- opening QuickCare clinics in Steinbach and Selkirk;
- redeveloping the Powerview-Pine Falls Health Centre complex to include a new primary care and a traditional healing centre at the facility; and
- introducing MyHealthTeams in the communities of Brandon, Portage/Gladstone, Steinbach and Morden/Winkler.
Primary care is often a person’s first contact with the health-care system. It can include medical checkups, tests such as blood-work, receiving a diagnosis or treatment for a health problem, or learning how to stay healthy and prevent illness. For more information on primary care in Manitoba, visit www.gov.mb.ca/health/primarycare/public/index.html.
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