Sun Country Regional Health Authority approved the location for a new primary health clinic in Weyburn at a special meeting on July 19.
The clinic will be located in the heart of downtown, on the second floor of the MNP Building at 117 3rd Street, Weyburn. Long- time Weyburn residents will know it as the old Weyburn Co-op Building.
"We're very excited that the health authority has given us the go-ahead on the clinic," said Wanda Miller, Regional Director, Primary Health for Sun Country Health Region.
"We're looking forward to working with the owners of the building on renovations. We'd like them done by mid September, when we expect the first of our primary health doctors to arrive," she said. "This particular site allows us to use the design we developed last month with patients and health care providers."
The clinic will provide space for five primary health doctors and one nurse practitioner or four primary health doctors and two nurse practitioners, depending on the availability of practitioners. It is possible that as many as six doctors who work on a primary health contract might be accommodated in the location in future.
"This clinic will enhance existing medical services available in the city," said Mrs. Miller. "With the number of doctors already here and this new space for new doctors, the clinic will help provide office space for the 15 doctors we need in Weyburn and area to serve the population."
Primary health clinics use a team-based approach to providing care. Doctors who sign a primary health contract work as part of a larger team of health care providers that include public health nurses, mental health therapists, addiction and drug abuse services, dietitians, social workers and others.
Marga Cugnet, CEO of Sun Country Health Region, says the renovations must be completed quickly because of the need to accommodate new doctors being recruited. Some of the funding sources for the renovations have yet to be determined.
