Latest from the health care advisory group
Pearl Lorentzen
Lakeside Leader
“There’s a lot of concern about the opioid use, which is on the increase,” says Susan Giesbrecht. “We need an addictions detox centre in Slave Lake.”
This was one of the topics raised by the Lesser Slave Lake Health Advisory Council (HAC) at its meeting on Feb. 6, 2023.
The HAC has community volunteers and Alberta Health Services (AHS) reps. Community members represent Slave Lake, Wabasca, High Prairie, and the surrounding counties, municipal districts and Métis settlements.
Giesbrecht is the outgoing chair of the HAC. She will still be a Slave Lake rep on the HAC. The new chair is Terry Rosser from High Prairie. The new vice-chair is Lorraine Muskwa from the Wabasca area.
At the meeting, Shane Pospisil, from Slave Lake, brought up the search for unmarked graves at the former Indian residential school site in Grouard.
The search is being done by Kapawe’no First Nation.
An official announcement of what has been found is scheduled for April, says Giesbrecht.
The HAC requested that AHS provide Indigenous counsellors to support people at the official announcement, she adds.
Another item mentioned at the meeting had to do with stuggles to recruit health-care workers.
“We’re lacking RNs, doctors, specialists,” says Giesbrecht.
Giebrecht’s notes from the meeting have the following information about doctors:
High Prairie has six family doctors and one being assessed by April.
High Prairie will still be short one doctor once this is done, said Giesbrecht.
Slave Lake has eight family medicine doctors and one incoming. Of these, Giesbrecht believed there was also a doctor going on maternity leave.
Wabasca has three doctors. It is advertising for two more.
In 2022 across the AHS North Zone, which covers the top half of Alberta, AHS hired 37 family medicine doctors and eight specialists or family doctors with special skills.
Competition with American hospitals is making it difficult to recruit medical workers, says Giesbrecht.
The meeting wrapped up with a presentation about My Health Records, which is an online way for people to access their health records.
The local hospitals are also in the process of adding Connect Care, which community members can use to access their own health information.
Once the local hospitals are set up, the HAC is planning an information session for the community, says Giesbrecht. However, the HAC isn’t sure when this will be.
The HAC meets quarterly. The next HAC meeting is June 12th in Wabasca (in person) and then September 25th in High Prairie.
Excellent points Rebecca, however i was thinking of a “Out of the Box” approach to Detox/Rehab utilizing holistic methods through (HAC) as a possible starting point. This may or may not be feasible through (HAC). Conventional methods seem to be less effective than a more natural method for our body, mind and soul in my opinion. Having a Holistic Doctor in Slave Lake would be a huge benefit in my opinion.
Addressing this issue sooner than later is paramount. In your view Susan, what is the main source of Opioids in the Slave Lake area? Also, is it feasible to Detox people quicker than the spread of the crisis itself, considering many people from surrounding populations will be in need of this crucial resource. In my opinion, a Detox Centre is past overdue, and attacking the main source of this epidemic in the form of community awareness and the source of Opioids is also critical. I am running for Mayor of Slave Lake this round, and i would be more than interested in meeting with you for your thoughts on the logistics needed to make this happen as soon as possible.
We have a detox facility not even an hour away from town that doesn’t see the use it should. If we had individuals interested in detoxing the service is available here. The key is though is that they want to use it and not us wishing they would use it. There is also transportation free of charge to get them there. I think education is key at this point and making sure our residents know what resources we currently have available to us and how to access those services.
Excellent points Rebecca, however i was thinking of a “Out of the Box” approach to Detox/Rehab utilizing holistic methods through (HAC) as a possible starting point. This may or may not be feasible through (HAC). Conventional methods seem to be less effective than a more natural method for our body, mind and soul in my opinion. Having a Holistic Doctor in Slave Lake would be a huge benefit in my opinion.