KAMSACK — After an agreement was signed between Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and the Assiniboine Valley Health and Wellness Foundation (AVHWF) late last year, an information meeting was held in Kamsack on Jan. 27 to provide an update on health care in the community.
The foundation had been operating the Assiniboine Valley Health Centre, which was one of the last remaining private clinics in rural Saskatchewan, Audrey Horkoff, the foundation’s chair, said recently.
“We began negotiations with SHA about four years ago and were very pleased to have secured a 15-year agreement for the operation of the medical clinic,” she said.
The building’s dental clinic remains under the AVHWF.
Invited to attend the meeting at the Ukrainian Catholic Hall with representatives of SHA and the AVHWF were the community’s doctors, emergency medical services, town council and representatives of neighbouring rural municipalities and First Nations communities.
Tricia Ivanochko, an SHA representative in the region, chaired the meeting which discussed “where we’re at and what expectations there are as we move forward,” Horkoff explained.
Some minor elements of the agreement have not yet been completed, she said, offering as an example, the time that is required to complete the work of converting the computer system from the Kamsack clinic’s system to that of the SHA.
With the agreement, the SHA now manages operations of the clinic, such as staffing, while the community still owns the building and the foundation continues its responsibilities for capital improvements and maintenance, she said. The SHA will pay a monthly lease fee based on square footage, removing a big workload from the foundation, which previously had volunteers making all management decisions.
Traditionally, the doctors were paid “fee for service,” but since COVID, they are now all under contract with the SHA.
“Financially, the clinic did well when we had a full complement of doctors, but when we had only two or three doctors in the clinic, it was often difficult to balance books because the only income the clinic had was from the doctors’ rent, while the overhead remains the same regardless if two or five doctors are paying rent.”
The foundation is gratified to have secured a 15-year lease, she said, adding that already additional staff has been added.
As part of the SHA’s primary care model, additional services will eventually be available in the community.
“The foundation will continue to provide the ultrasound service which began at the Assiniboine Valley Health Centre about a year ago,” she said.
The SHA has announced that the Kamsack Hospital was approved by the ministry for seven doctors’ positions, which will be filled as doctors become available, she said.
“Some communities in the province are down to only one doctor, so they will have doctors placed there first. Kamsack currently has four and continues to be one of the busiest rural hospitals in the province.”
“Finally, some very welcome news was that the Kamsack laboratory is now linked to the Integrated Laboratory System (ILS), Horkoff said.
“We have worked toward this for many years and it has finally happened, so all lab test results done here are now available to all doctors and specialists on completion.
“An added bonus will be recruitment of lab technicians, since this is the system they have been trained on, as opposed to the old system we had been on previously.”
It was agreed such information meetings will be held regularly.
