Doctors in Olds and Sundre are working together to set up a Primary Care Network, or join an existing network in the area, to increase services to patients.
Primary Care Networks, operating across Alberta, allow local doctors and other frontline health care providers to co-ordinate the delivery of health services for their patients. Some networks have nurses and mental health workers located in doctors’ offices.
Dr. Allan Hoeve, of Olds, said the network has been approved by Alberta Health Services and should be offering some services by fall.
“We’re just in the process of getting the vision, goals and paperwork done,” Hoeve said on Friday.
Existing networks in the area are Red Deer Primary Care Network, Big Country Primary Care Network in the Drumheller area, and Calgary Rural Primary Care Network.
Hoeve said Olds and Sundre would like to provide a maternity clinic so obstetric doctors can share the workload and don’t have to be on call 24-7, expand mental health services and counselling, and deliver programs to promote weight loss and exercise and help people deal with diabetes.
Hoeve said things are coming together nicely for the medical community and patients in the Olds area.
The number of doctors in Olds has grown to 14 after dropping to about seven doctors when Olds Associate Clinic closed last June.
Since then, Wild Rose Medical Clinic, the remaining clinic in town, has added six doctors who are new to the community, two doctors from Associate, and doctors on maternity leave have returned.
New doctors have come from South Africa and elsewhere in Canada.
“Some of the new people we recruited do surgical services and anesthesia services, which is exactly what we needed at this time,” Hoeve said.
“The region is working to expand the surgical program here so Red Deer surgeons can come and do surgical cases here to open up space in Red Deer operating rooms.”
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com