Maidstone made history Sept. 24 as the province's first Collaborative Emergency Centre in the province was officially opened there.
The new CEC is now open at the Maidstone Health Complex and runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing extended primary health care hours and emergency care to people in the area. It has been operational since early September for patients, but it wasn't until last Tuesday its grand opening was celebrated with a giant cake cutting.
At the ceremony were Randy Weekes, minister of Rural and Remote Health, and Dustin Duncan, minister of Health. There on behalf of Prairie North Health Region were CEO David Fan and chair Bonnie O'Grady.
Weekes called it a "historic day" and a "great accomplishment for Prairie North Health Region." He said one of the major challenges in rural areas of the province was "timely and consistent access to emergency services."
The CEC model was one of those looked at. The model is based on one adopted in Nova Scotia, which introduced it to seven of its communities beginning in July 2011.
CECs reduce emergency department disruptions 92 per cent, according to the province.
"We certainly got a lot of information and advice and encouragement from them," said Weekes.
The new CEC is staffed by four physicians and a nurse practitioner, who will offer extended hours of primary health care including evenings and weekend hours.
O'Grady told reporters from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. a physician is present in the building and they along with the nursing staff respond to emergencies that come through the doors. The staff includes both a registered nurse and a licensed practical nurse.
During the evenings and weekend hours, it switches to different health professionals -"your paramedics, your RN and support of physician coverage through STARS," said O'Grady.
She said when someone reports to the facility with an emergency, an assessment is conducted to see whether their needs could be met there or if they would need transfer to another facility.
Weekes said the new model would "improve access to stable and reliable primary health care, reduce emergency room service and visits and shortens wait times." It also provides a better way to address needs proactively, so emergency situations can be avoided, he said.
Weekes notes the CEC means local physicians will no longer need to do around the clock emergency call coverage, taking the workload off of those doctors and encouraging better quality of life for them.
He called CECs a "good retention tool" to encourage doctors to work in rural Saskatchewan, to "know they won't have that huge workload to work 24/7."
Weekes credits the work of Prairie North CEO David Fan and the involvement of health care providers and the community for Maidstone's selection for the project. The government hopes to bring the CEC model to other communities over the next number of months, though details are yet to be announced as to where those would be located, Weekes explained. He told reporters they are working with the health regions to identify sites.
Maidstone has previously seen some service disruptions with physicians coming and going, it was acknowledged. Maidstone mayor Connie McCullough welcomed the opportunity to see 24-hour service restored at the health complex.
"The community was really disappointed with the fact that they couldn't keep it open as they thought it was going to be with the 24/7 emergency services," said McCullough. "Now that we've got that back, it's going to be huge for the community as a whole."
O'Grady said the CEC arrival "changes things dramatically for the community" and means people will not need to necessarily go to Lloydminster or North Battleford for emergency care.
"It means they can come to their facility again for 24 hour care," said O'Grady. "And that care can be provided from here."
One of those who dealt directly already with the new model is Ruth Presley of Maidstone, who brought her 97-year old mother to the complex for care. She was assessed and ultimately transferred to Lloydminster for further care there.
Presley said her mother's experience "was very positive," and that having a collaborative emergency centre in the community would make it easier for people of that age group and help them avoid having to travel out of town.
"The CEC coming to Maidstone is the next best step to having doctors on call 24-7, but it's a good one, I think, for the community," Presley said.
