What a week! Alberta agrees that #RuralHealthMatters

Thank you to all of our friends and partners who helped us recognize the health professionals and community members  in rural Alberta who work together to keep health care close to home during Alberta Rural Health Week.

#RuralHealthMatters

Last week was Alberta Rural Health Week, and throughout rural Alberta, people got in the spirit, showing their support for rural health in photos and on social media:

What #ruralhealth means to us! #accessibility #telemedicine #integration #palliativecare #ruralhealthmatters #waterquality #continuityofcare #resources #courage @ucalgarymed pic.twitter.com/VzyFyJq1Vn

— UCalgary DLRI (@UCalgaryRural) May 28, 2019

“As physiotherapists, it is an absolute privilege to be part of the patient’s journey from a position of vulnerability to feeling empowered and managing their own health,” say Shirley Toporowski and Sara Jafreen, of Westlock.#PhysiotherapyMonth @AlbertaRhPAP #RuralHealthMatters pic.twitter.com/0iaXlfLCqV

— AHS Communications (@AHS_Innovates) May 29, 2019

 

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For Jonathan Van Sickle-Kope, opposites attract. “What most people like are routine and regularity. I love that it’s not that,” he says of his job as an advanced care paramedic in Viking. And then there’s being able to spend quality time with people. “I like the fact that, being rural, you get more time with your patients,” Van Sickle-Kope says. “You have to do a lot more treatment than you would if you were five to 10 minutes from a major urban hospital.” Do you know a paramedic you want to thank? tag them! #WeAreAHS #10Together #YourEMS #PSWeek #NationalParamedicServicesWeek #WeAreAHS #10Together #RuralHealthMatters #rhpap @Albertarhpap

A post shared by Alberta Health Services (@albertahealthservices) on May 30, 2019 at 11:00am PDT

A healthy dose of recognition.

On Tuesday, May 28, we announced our 2019 Rhapsody Award recipients for 2019, with this year’s health care heroes coming from Mayerthorpe, Pincher Creek, Provost, and Sundre: 

• Rhapsody Community Award – Sundre Health Professional Attraction & Retention Committee 
• Rhapsody Health-care Heroes Awards (Two recipients) – Mayerthorpe Healthcare Centre Nursing Team and Pincher Creek Respiratory Therapist Team (Tess Craig and Larissa Lewis)  
• Rhapsody Physician Award – Dr. Deon Erasmus, Provost 

This year’s Rhapsody Award recipients have gone above and beyond, doing the difficult and rewarding work it takes to keep health care close to home. We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to shine a light on their great deeds and to hold them up as exemplars for the rest of rural Alberta to emulate. – Dr. Rob Warren, Chair, RhPAP Board of Directors

Health-care heroes

Throughout the year we’ve had the privilege of meeting health-care providers from across rural Alberta, many of whom shared with us why they love to live and work in rural Alberta. Here are some of the health-care heroes we profiled on social media through Alberta Rural Health Week: