I wasn’t born in rural Alberta. But that’s where I grew up.
I was less than a year old when my parents moved to Provost, Alberta, to start a new life 10 minutes west of the Saskatchewan border.
I remember the house calls from our family doctor when my two brothers and I were too sick to go to the clinic. Maybe it was due more to the risk of infecting others with measles, chicken pox, mumps, or whatever ailments we had at the time. Whatever the reason, it was handy to have a doctor pop by your home while you rested on the couch.
Alberta’s health-care system has undergone many transformations over the past few decades. Throughout it all, rural health-care professionals have remained committed to their communities.
While a toddler, I was taken to the old Provost hospital and put in a plastic enclosed crib with round zipper openings designed to retain moist air to help me overcome croup. I was admitted at least a couple of times and so were my younger brothers. Fortunately our home was just a five-minute drive from the hospital and my parents were able to pop by often to comfort us.
Not every visit to my doctor was medically necessary. I couldn’t wait to have my ears pierced as a pre-teen. So Mom and I headed to the medical clinic to see the doctor, as that’s where you got them pierced in Provost. Most of my friends had already visited the town’s long-time doctor and told me exactly what to expect.
For a young family in a rural community, we relied on solid health-care services in our town of 1,500 people. Wainwright — a 45-minute drive away, and not convenient at all for a family with one vehicle and three kids — was the closest larger centre.
Alberta’s health-care system has undergone many transformations over the past few decades. Throughout it all, rural health-care professionals have remained committed to their communities.
As a freelance writer/photographer for RhPAP, I’ve witnessed many wonderful health-care stories coming out of rural Central Alberta. Whether in the hospitals, clinics or simply as local citizens, health-care workers are giving it their all in their professions and to make their communities the best possible places to live.
Programs such as Young Medical Minds in Camrose give Grade 8 students a glimpse into life as a health-care professional by learning suturing, casting and other medical tasks. Those who mentor the inquisitive teens hope some will return to their communities one day as health-care workers.
In the Bashaw area, now low-risk pregnant moms can often have their appointments carried out locally by a licensed practice nurse. This saves on costs for the health-care system and patients don’t have the hassle of travelling out of their community.
Back in Provost, a number of physicians with ties to South Africa have settled into my hometown. When I interviewed them last fall they told me the prairie town is ideal for professional collaboration and the newer physicians say the community is a great place to put down roots and raise a family.
Just like my parents did in 1969.
- Article by Lorena Franchuk