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Prairie Mountain Health has responded to a survey from the Angus Reid Institute showing that most Canadians across the country are dissatisfied with how their province is handling healthcare.
According to the survey, 83% of Manitobans feel that the provincial government is doing a poor or very poor job of managing healthcare in the province.
Brian Schoonbaert, chief executive officer of PMH, said that he was surprised by the results and that there are a number of issues that have come out because of the pandemic.
"We do now have surgical and diagnostic imaging backlogs that have to be dealt with. I know personally that the government is trying its very hardest to try to address those waiting lists and hope to... eliminate that backlog within a while, but anyone waiting for surgery or the like... obviously won't be happy with the current state," he added.
He also said that there is a doctor shortage, which is also being seen in other provinces.
"It's hard to find a family doctor... you won't necessarily find one right away, especially if you're in a small community," Schoonbaert added.
According to Schoonbaert, the labour shortage is contributing to issues within the health system and the province is working with the regions to help find and retain staff.
"Our staff have been demoralized [and] overworked during the pandemic. Many have had to... work a whole lot of [mandated] overtime... be redeployed to areas that they wouldn't otherwise have worked... Some staff are quitting or maybe not picking up additional shifts... That's not their fault. I'm not blaming them at all because they're burnt out and it's actually good for them to try to recuperate," he added.
Schoonbaert then went on to say that these staffing shortages are indeed contributing to some of their waiting lists and the temporary emergency department closures.
Since the PMH region has a bunch of small remote communities, Schoonbaert believes that the best way to recruit new staff is to start young.
"[We want to] entice people to go into healthcare professions, to stay in their communities, to stay in their area of the province and that's really what is most sustainable for us and that has been proven over and over again," he said.
Schoonbaert also wanted to remind people to take advantage of Health Links-Info Santé, which helps give people advice on where to receive the appropriate care over the phone. That service can be reached at 1-888-315-9257.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
After two years off, the WISE Kid-Netic Energy Camp is returning to Dauphin from August 8th to 12th. The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math(STEM) day camps will teach kids aged 9-12 about discovery and innovation.
On top of the normal camp, WISE Kid-Netic Energy will also be hosting Tech Talks for youth aged 13-15 the same week. Program Administrator Caleigh Bell says the Tech Talks will be offered for free.
"It's a little bit different than camp, it has eight sessions throughout the week, Monday to Thursday, and the teenagers can choose if they want to come to one or all of them."
Both the STEM Camp and the Tech Talks have a variety of topics and themes throughout the week. You can register for both of them at the WISE Kid-Netic Energy website.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The pork industry in Manitoba has been dealing with a porcine epidemic diarrhea(PED) outbreak since October, making it the largest, and longest outbreak in the province's history.
Manitoba Pork General Manager Cam Dahl says there have now been 122 cases, and while they have slowed down, and some have transitioned to negative, they are still seeing new cases pop up.
"Producers, the independent producers, the integrated producers, the colonies, are working together with the veterinary community, the processing, the transporters, all parts of the industry." Said Dahl, "We're working together to really look at that question, what has been different about this outbreak, and what do we need to do differently going forward"
This is the first time the province has had a PED outbreak last through the winter.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Swan River and District Community Resource Council (SRDCRC) are looking for volunteers to help transport the elderly to and from medical appointments.
They rely on volunteers to provide both local and long-distance transportation to seniors. Local trips are offered free of charge, while long-distance trips require the senior to cover a portion of the fuel cost, as well as accommodations if applicable.
According to Kyla Scales, community resource administrator at the SRDCRC, they are running out of volunteers.
"We used to have a lot of volunteers... Now they are either ageing or just not able to do it anymore... We're down to [around] six," Scales said.
Kyla Scales also said that, in many cases, seniors need to be taken to appointments that are located way out of town.
"The clientele we have don't just go across town to the local hospital to get their services. Now they need to go out of town for services... If the local hospital handled all the services they used to, there would be less need for an out-of-town drive," her colleague added.
Scales then said that they don't have any reliable bus lines to help transport seniors to out-of-town appointments.
"It comes... three days a week... and is very minimal... For a person to try to organize... what day they can have their appointment with what day the bus might happen to be here, that's pretty hard too," she added.
Those interested in becoming volunteer drivers are being asked to call the SRDCRC at 204-734-5707.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
Last week was National Drowning Prevention Week, and today is World Drowning Prevention Day, so the Lifesaving Society gave some tips on drowning prevention.
Dr. Christopher Love is the Water Smart and Safety Management Coordinator for Lifesaving Society Manitoba, and he said the goal of last week and today is to raise awareness of the problem, and the ways to prevent drowning tragedies from happening.
"Annually every year in Canada we have approximately 450 who die due to drowning, and in Manitoba, it's on average 22 deaths per year. That's just the fatalities, that's not including any injuries that also occur due to drownings across the country."
He said some of the common, standard tips from anyone going around the water are:
- Never go alone
- Wear a life jacket when it's appropriate to do so (ie. when boating)
- Learn how to swim
- When children are swimming, have active adult supervision
- When the children are around seven or under, be within arm's reach at all times
- Be sober when around the water
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Ryleigh Timmins has been safely located. The Manitoba RCMP thanks the public and media for their assistance.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Northwest Métis Council will be sending a delegation to Edmonton for the Pope's visit that will take place next Monday and Tuesday.
Vice-President Frances Chartrand is excited to be attending and estimated that as many as 100 elders from many different communities — including San Clara, Shell River, Duck Bay, Manitoba House, and Dauphin — will be joining her to hear the Pope speak and attend mass.
"I always think that if we all work together, we all have a place in this world... If we move forward and then we work with the federal, provincial and Métis governments... with the Pope... [and] with the churches, everything will be okay," Chartrand said.
She also said that it's a good step toward reconciliation.
Furthermore, Father Michel, the pastor of St. Viator's Roman Catholic Parish, thinks that it will be a positive experience focused on healing.
"There's a lot that needs to be done for sure. This is one step and it's a positive step," he said.
The church later confirmed that a parishioner from St. Viator's will be travelling to Edmonton to attend.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
Sandy Lake Western Days returns to Sandy Lake on Friday, August 5th and will go on until Sunday, August 7th.
Charlene Lewandoski, a member of the Western Days Committee, said that there will be a lot of things for visitors to enjoy.
"[We're going to have] lots of good food, fireworks, a parade, bouncy houses, borscht and bread, a car show, a trade show, beer gardens ... a vintage tractor pull, a duck race, a golf cart rodeo and pierogies," Lewandoski said.
She also said that the goal of the festival is to bring people into the community and that all of the events will be free.
"We have [an] annual [ice fishing] derby in the winter, where we raise money, so we're able to put on Western Days to make pretty much everything free that weekend," Lewandoski added.
More information can be found on the Sandy Lake Western Days Facebook page.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
There's a new kindergarten program coming to Whitmore school that will promote inclusivity, and give parents an opportunity to learn alongside their kids.
The new program runs every day, and at two o'clock, parents and younger siblings of the students will be welcomed into the school if they choose, to participate in activities like medicine picking, making ribbon skirts, and gardening. Principal Dawn Dutchak says teachers were the driving force behind the new program.
"Our teachers had looked at some of the things they had perceived as barriers within our school," said Dutchak, "They want to make sure that parents felt comfortable within our building, that they see representation."
There will also be an opportunity for language learning, for both Michif and Anishinabek if there is enough interest among parents. The new program will use resources already in the Mountain View School Division, along with a grant through the provincial government's Teachers Idea Fund.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Combine College comes to Dauphin on July 26th at the Rotary Arena and DMCC Fairgrounds. There are morning and afternoon sessions for John Deere, New Holland, and Case I-H combines, as well as a Harvest Loss Management session presented by Shawn Senko, an Agronomy Specialist for the Canola Council of Canada.
"They'll be going over basically the whole machine, from the header working their way back through the machine. They'll cover feeding issues, settings, and operational tips for varying conditions, diagnostics, maintenance, and everything that an attendee will want to go over as well. So please ask questions when you're there because we want to engage our sales guys and our product specialists for these manufacturers to get as much information out of them as possible right before harvest." - Manitoba Crop Alliance Agronomy Extension Special for Special Crops, Morgan Cott
You can register for the college here, it costs $75 for the day, however, members in good standing with Manitoba Canola Growers, Manitoba Crop Alliance, or Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers get a $25 rebate per group they belong to.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Dauphin and District Community Food Bank will be accepting applications for food assistance today from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 220 Whitmore Ave. W.
Board Member Tom Monson said that people must have not received food from the food bank in the last four weeks and must bring their Manitoba health card to be eligible.
"We are providing a service for... the community in Dauphin... to help those that are less fortunate... [and] those that are struggling at the present time... It gives them a bit of food to kind of tide them over until they can receive some... financial support somewhere else," Monson said.
He also said that when people go to the food bank, they receive a hamper of food, which should last 3 to 5 days.
Furthermore, Monson noticed that the demand for food assistance keeps increasing as inflation continues to rise.
"When everybody was receiving the CERB, our numbers were down... Sometimes thirty hampers [were given out] on a Thursday... Now we're running [awfully] close to 180 to 200 hampers a month, so that's a significant increase," he said.
For more information, you can call the Food Bank at 204-638-7853.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
