YORKTON - The new Diagnostic Sonography Program being offered by Suncrest College in Yorkton has had students in class for less than a month, but Friday things paused long enough hold a thank you reception for major sponsors.
Kami DePape, VP, External Relations, International & Research with Suncrest within hours of announcing the program in February said “there was a flood of phone calls and emails.” In the end “almost 100 students applied.”
That might not be all that surprising given the course is “the only ultrasound program in Saskatchewan,” said DePape, adding “so we’re pretty proud of that.”
Now a scant few months after the February announcement the six students accepted from among all the applications are in class.
“Each year six students will be accepted,” said DePape, so adding three years our 18 students will be at various stages of the training which “is a very, very intensive program.
Halle Simard from St. Lazare, Man., is one of the six accepted into the first year of the course.
“I’m super-excited,” she said during a brief presentation. “. . . It’s really such an amazing opportunity.”
Zubia Asad immigrated to Canada from Pakistan, ending up in Lloydminster, but has now moved to Yorkton to take part in the course.
“I love it here so far . . . It’s my home now,” she said.
Claire Giddings hails from Endeavour. She said the course allows her to still get home on weekends to help with the family’s cattle herd, an opportunity she could not have had moving out of province for training.
“It made it possible for me to have an opportunity like this.”
When it came time for the thank-yous Alison Dubreuil CEO & President of Suncrest began with a tip of the hat to the local health foundation.
“We’re especially proud of the partnership with The Health Foundation,” she said, later noting the foundation provided $300,000 “to acquire equipment and resources needed” to run the program.
The local foundation participation in funding training has led to a larger collective of support.
Six hospital foundations, The Health Foundation of East Central Saskatchewan in Yorkton, Hospitals of Regina Foundation, St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation in Saskatoon, Boreal Healthcare Foundation in Prince Albert, Lloydminster Region Health Foundation and St. Anthony’s Hospital Foundation in Esterhazy, have now partnered to provide the majority of the capital costs needed to start the new program.
Overall, the technology and equipment required to start the program will cost approximately $500,000.
“It’s a collaborative that was groundbreaking,” said Dubreuil.
The college head then singled out Health Foundation Executive Director Ross Fisher for added recognition categorizing him as relentless and passionate in his efforts to get the sonography program approved and going.
“It only happened because of you,” Fisher said looking over the assembled program supporters. “Thank you for caring.”
Fisher said the process was not always easy, quick, or smooth, noting there was “two years of work in the background” ahead of the program announcement.
But it was a trek through the regulations and red tape Fisher said was needed because there was no sonography training in the province.
He suggested when a 19-year-old heads out of province for three years of training “the majority of those kids don’t come home.”
While saying that’s all right but “we’d like them here,” said Fisher, adding sonographers are one of several health care professionals which have proven difficult to recruit to Saskatchewan.
“Historically we’ve been short for 20 years (locally),” said Fisher. “This is a step in correcting that.”A sonographer does 2000-2500 tests a year. “That’s a lot of exams we’d expect to add to programs in Saskatchewan we’re currently not doing,” said Fisher.
The hope, or near expectation, is that if students from Saskatchewan – especially rural Saskatchewan – “they’ll be prepared to work in places like Yorkton ... because they're familiar with Saskatchewan.”
Fisher said that is why donations are so important, because they help create programs that are good for “our people. . . It makes a difference in people’s health care. . . It’s a long term investment in the community.”
Lori Walsh with Cornerstone Credit Union, a major program donor, said Friday’s event was “a milestone celebration,” adding “we’re so very fortunate to have it (the program) offered here at home.”
Walsh said she sees the program making “a difference in our community moving forward.”
The program is offered in partnership with Manitoba's Red River College Polytechnic, which will provide program support and instruction. Hands on learning will take place in Suncrest's new on-campus imaging lab. Clinical placements will be provided in hospitals across the province through the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
