By Eric Granson
Fourteen municipalities and districts, represented by senior administrative personnel and elected officials, met in Lethbridge on September 15, 2017 to discuss a number of issues, including the importance of what RhPAP has to offer to their community.
Paul Childs, RhPAP’s Director of Rural Professionals Development, talked about what the importance of RhPAP is to the members of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC)
According to Childs, RhPAP is hoping to bring more attention to health workforce issues in rural communities. “We haven’t had a very high profile in the southern part of the province, we are known where we have high accreditation from places like Brooks where the mayor has been a strong advocate of ours, so we hope to build more relationships today and the future.”
The purpose of the meeting was to highlight the benefits of RhPAP and to ask how they can help communities address their health workforce needs with healthcare tools, more capacity, and networks. “One of the ways when working on community development, you have to make sure you cover all your bases and engaging with as many people and communities as you can, such as Alberta Health Services and community leaders, giving us a connection with their situation and needs.” Childs also explained. He hopes that after this meeting, communities will reach out and remember that RhPAP has a lot to offer.