The Bigstone Medical Clinic is hosting its first-ever one-day women’s clinic in Wabasca later this month. Three female physicians are travelling to the rural community to provide specialized care and address a long-standing local need.
The clinic is set for Friday, Aug. 28, running from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Patients will have access to a variety of services, including pap smears, STI screening, contraception, menopause care, bladder health and breast health.
The Lakeside Leader reached out to Samson King Jr., manager for the Bigstone Medical Clinics, to discuss the upcoming event. He says the community currently relies on two male family doctors, and while they provide regular medical care, female patients often prefer a female physician for specific health services.
“Sometimes they don’t have a choice, because we only have male physicians,” King Jr. says. “They have to see our male physicians for services that they would prefer a woman, like, for example, pap smears, IUD insertions, talking about their women’s health, menstruation, menopause and breast health.”
He says recruiting doctors to rural areas in Alberta is a well-known challenge, and finding female physicians willing to travel to Wabasca has proven especially difficult.
“It’s been a known issue that it’s difficult to look for somebody to go to Wabasca,” King Jr. says. “Generally in Alberta, there are shortages of physicians. How much more in rural areas? How much more in places which are quite far away from the city?”
He says housing was not a barrier for this event since the doctors will only be visiting for a few days; rather, the biggest hurdle was simply physician availability.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time already, but now it’s just the time that I was able to finally get their schedule and have them come together,” he says.
The demand for the new service is very high. The clinic is operating by appointment only, and pre-booking is currently open for the limited spots. King Jr. says 10 people booked an appointment on the very first day the promotional poster went out, leaving only four open spots remaining at the time of the interview.
While the clinic is a department program rather than a community-led initiative, King Jr. says the request from the community is “really there.”
To encourage patients to share their thoughts on the experience, a survey form will serve as a ticket to a special raffle. Three lucky women will win one of three $100 gift cards.
King Jr. says the survey is a crucial planning tool. It directly asks patients if they want these specific doctors to return, and the answers will help the health commission plan future women’s clinics.
This upcoming event is part of a larger goal for the Bigstone Health Commission, which operates clinics at the Inglewood Professional Centre in Edmonton, Calling Lake, and Wabasca.
“My goal is to bring specialists, like, for example, these women doctors, and we also have a hepatologist—a doctor for the liver—just coming also in Wabasca,” King Jr. says. “I’m continuously looking for connections, so that eventually the needs of the people in Wabasca will be served properly.”
Residents looking to book one of the final spots can call the clinic at 780-891-3839.
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter