November 30, 2022

Clearing a New Path™ and Clearing a New Path Podcast™ are products of Radar Media, located in Dorchester, Ontario on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Neutral peoples who once used this land as their traditional beaver hunting grounds.  As a settler here I’m committed to deepening understanding of Indigenous communities and reframing responsibilities to land and community. I am grateful to Mother Earth for the opportunity for love and connection and to the spirits of the Elders and the Medicine People who still walk the Earth.

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

I come to this work as a white woman of privilege; a vulnerable allyship student.I get things wrong often and I am open to, and welcome opportunities to be called in about the content in this newsletter, in order to create safe, brave spaces for all. The purpose is to unite people in rural Canada.I am grateful to walk along this journey in grace, love and empathy together.Simply hit 'reply' to contribute, suggest and correct.

Solutions-based journalism is reporting about how people and organizations are responding to social problems.I'm looking to add folks to my team to cover more issues with more urgency.Your support, no matter the size, can help me do that.

LESSONS FROM THE BC RURAL HEALTH NETWORK

Hello Amazing Humans,I was off last week but this week is the start of a number of episodes addressing health care in rural Canada.First up is the BC Rural Health Network (BCRHN), a grassroots organization that really got its start like many powerful citizen-led organizations do, around a kitchen table. "The BCRHN is the healthcare voice of the rural residents of British Columbia and seeks better health outcomes for all people, through solutions-based approaches with governments, and information provision to residents." The work of the collaborative of organizations started some 20 years ago but it's only been in the last 5 years that the collective has come together as one voice. The organization is made up of citizen-led initiatives, researchers, municipalities and other concerned organizations and has a large and growing list of members.

WHAT IS SOLUTIONS-BASED HEALTH CARE?

The BC Rural Health Network approach to tackling some of the province-wide rural health care issues is to look to the most vulnerable in any BC community and address barriers to basic care for those most at risk of harm. Paul talked about education being key to sensitivity, specifically in rural areas where that education may be lacking in those that are charged with delivering that fundamental care. That means addressing biases and judgements of all.

WHAT OTHER ORGANIZATIONS FOCUS ON RURAL CANADIAN SOLUTIONS-BASED HEALTH?

ALBERTA

Rural Health Professions Action Plan (RhPAP) 

Latest initative:

Let’s Go Rural high school event is to introduce students to career opportunities in rural health care that they aren’t aware of.

MANITOBA

A grassroots organization called Grandview Health Care Solutions came together n 2017 and it grew out of a community response from Grandview and Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve to maintain the Grandview Emergency Medical Services station as an essential service of the local healthcare system for both communities and surrounding areas. The role of the group expanded to advocate that the Grandview District Hospital be maintained as an acute care facility with 24/7 Emergency Service. The group promotes keeping Healthcare close to home in rural Manitoba and supports the Grandview Healthcare model as a viable system, essential for the health of all community members.

Latest initiative:

Gateway Rural Health was founded in 2008 as a not-for-profit corporation with charitable status governed by a community-based volunteer Board of Directors committed to its continued success. Since its inception,

Gateway has been committed to engaging health care professionals in rural settings and enabling rural citizens to take control of their health.

Latest initiative: S.H.E.D. Talks - Sustaining Healthy Farms Through Empowerment and Dedication.

Research for this project was done through the Men's Shed Association which was developed in Manitoba, Ontario and is a peer-run group that provides a safe and welcoming place for men to work on meaningful projects. Additionally, this is demonstrated through engaging in activities such as carpentry, construction, music, watching sports, etc., in aims of reducing social isolation.

There's a student-led organization called Northern Ontario and Rural Health Advocacy. The group did a series of interviews Myth-Busting the ills of working in rural communities and spotlighting practising rural physicians. They also released a position paper calling on the

There are many other rural health advocacy organizations across Canada, I'll add some from across eastern and northern Canada in the next newsletter. If you belong to one and would like your organization amplified, please get in touch!

NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE:The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada

was founded in 1992, the SRPC’s mission is championing rural generalist medical care through education, collaboration, advocacy and research.The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (SRPC) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) formed the Rural Road Map Implementation Committee (RRMIC) in February 2018 to support the implementation of the Rural Road Map for Action (RRM). The RRMIC provides a forum for members to report and deliberate on how to advance the RRM in ways that can be scaled and shared locally, provincially, and at a pan-Canadian level.

Next week's episode will talk about that Rural Road Map and what progress and maybe backsliding has happened in rural Canadian health care since its release last year.

ARE YOU A RURAL CANADIAN-BASED AUTHOR OR DO YOU KNOW ONE?HAVE YOU WRITTEN A BOOK ADDRESSING RURAL AND REMOTE CANADIAN ISSUES?

CLEARING A NEW PATH PODCAST REWIND

Sascha Boulet Devost is the CEO of Capture Therapeutics (& PhysioFirst). She started these practices with one purpose: to offer accessible healthcare for all.

Her goal is to provide rural communities with accessibility to an interdisciplinary team, without being added to a waitlist, transforming healthcare from reactive to proactive.

Sascha started a small practice but early on, needed to expand. She now has three locations and is currently opening the fourth in Atlantic Canada. Sascha takes pride in ensuring each and every patient and team member is seen, heard and understood. That requires focusing on both the client experience and providing stable non-competing positions that allow true interdisciplinary collaboration. It’s healthcare reinvented!

Sascha believes that as clinicians they must find ways to go above and beyond the limits of their professions to help better serve the people of their communities. She says, “We must aim higher, and create new outlets and opportunities for everyone involved.”

OPEN SUNDAY CIRCLE

I'll be starting up the OPEN SUNDAY CIRCLE Zoom calls in the New Year. If you have a suggestion for a topic and/or day or time that works best, please drop me a line or leave me a voicemail.

Want to help fund original stories focused on rural Canada?Every donation helps!

SUPPORTERS

This newsletter and the Clearing a New Path™ podcast are supported by Xplore Business, formerly Xplornet Enterprise Solutions.