SHAUNAVON — The Town of Shaunavon has hired a community connector as part of a social prescribing pilot initiative, thanks to funding from the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism (SSM).
A steering committee of the Town of Shaunavon led a recruitment process in the spring and recently announced that Tracy McConnell will fill the role of community connector over the next three and a half years.
McConnell is a longtime home care employee with the Saskatchewan Health Authority in the Shaunavon area and has worked with older adults her entire career.
“I’m so excited to be part of this. There is such a need for some older adults in the community who may just require a little bit of extra help to get involved in social activities, or to access other services that might help them out such as accessing the food bank, grocery shopping, or finding someone to help them with home supports such as house cleaning and yard work,” she says.
Social prescribing is a means for health-care providers to connect patients to a range of non-clinical services in the community, in order to improve their health and well-being.
A Community Connector accepts referrals from health-care providers who identify individuals who may have health issues that cannot be addressed through traditional health care, but who may benefit from increased support from community-based services and/or social interaction. The Community Connector meets with the patient to identify what community resources could assist them in improving their overall health and then connects them with partners and services in the community to ensure the individual’s needs are met.
As opposed to simply treating symptoms, social prescribing can help to address the underlying causes of patients’ health and well-being challenges. Social prescribing is a more holistic approach to health care, which promotes community-based integrated care and support and addresses social determinants of health such as social support, housing, food, transportation, income and more.
Ashley MacDonald is a volunteer member of the local steering committee and is the Primary Care Manager for SW4 with the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Ashley states, “I believe this is an important thing for our community; to empower individuals and communities while using the tools available to them in our community towards their health and wellbeing. It is about building a healthy, supportive 55+ community, creating partnerships and delivering a service that is so valuable and helpful to those in need. Social Prescribing will ensure the focus on well-being through creative programming and assistance. Shaunavon is lucky to be able to join in this very special project.”
In addition to helping individuals in need in communities, there are also expected to be economic benefits to society. A paper released by the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing in July 2024 states that ‘every dollar invested into social prescribing programs may return $4.43 to society through improved wellbeing and reduced costs incurred on the health system and government.’
As many as 14 Saskatchewan communities will become part of this pilot initiative in the coming months. Moose Jaw also began the pilot at the same time as Shaunavon and Candle Lake is currently in the process of filling a Community Connector position. SSM lead staff person for Social Prescribing, Rod McKendrick says, “Things are moving forward steadily. There is a need for social prescribing because no one entity or organization can have all the answers. Everyone in a community has to work together to ensure that older adults have services if they need them.”
For more information or guidance on how to obtain a referral for services, you can e-mail Tracy McConnell, Community Connector at [email protected].
