Manitobans are reminded that vital health services will continue to be available in the event of a strike.

While job action by MGEU and CUPE essential service agreements are in place to ensure care continues to be provided, with the sickest and most injured patients prioritized. Essential health services will be provided even if strike occurs

Visit: Service Disruptions Related to Work Stoppage – Interlake-Eastern RHA (ierha.ca)

Residents living throughout much of Manitoba, excluding the Northern Health Region, are advised that community health services – particularly home care services – and some clinic appointments could be significantly disrupted next week if planned job action by CUPE and MGEU-affiliated staff proceeds. Click here for more information.

Young local artists are being recognized for their heartfelt designs in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30.

Youth aged 12 to 18 entered a contest launched by Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority to design a poster for this important national recognition day, which honours survivors of residential schools and children who never returned home.

Health authority staff and select community partners reviewed 25 submissions from across the region and selected three winning entries.

The winning submissions were created by Vanya from Stonewall, Nicholas from Garson and artistic duo Hunter and Evan from Stonewall. Their designs will be featured on posters that will be on display in Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority facilities across the region.

Vanya’s poster depicts an image of girl in an orange shirt without any facial features.

“I drew this girl without a face because in residential school, lots of identities were lost,” Vanya wrote in her artist’s statement.

The artwork by Nicholas shows a dreamcatcher with handprints in the background.

“I put the handprints and orange on the poster to remember the children that went to residential schools,” Nicholas said. “The dreamcatcher is for Indigenous people. I also wanted to remember the survivors in my own family.”

Evan and Hunter worked together to create a poster that depicts a dreamcatcher on a background of green leaves and purple flowers.

“The poster has a dreamcatcher and nature, which are both significant to the Indigenous culture,” they shared in explanation of their design.

Each winning submission received $100. Members of the public will be able to see this artwork posted in IERHA facilities at the end of September.

Visit https://engagemb.ca/health-cards to vote for your preferred design. Act soon as the poll closes Sunday, Sept. 29.

Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority (RHA) hosted the 2024 Family Medicine Resident Retreat in Gimli September 20 to 22 to showcase the region’s many practice and lifestyle opportunities.

In total, 110 first- and second-year family medicine physician residents attended the event planed by their colleagues to participate in education presentations, explore the area with their families and rekindle relationships with their classmates.

“The weekend would not be a success without the help of our local communities who understand the value of investing in this retreat to help with physician recruitment in our rural communities. Thank you for your sponsorship,” says Interlake-Eastern RHA chief medical officer Dr. Charles Penner. “A special thank you to the individuals who represented their communities, who handed out the welcome baskets and who extended a warm welcome to these young doctors to start their weekend off right.”

The weekend included a variety of tourist, social and educational events with a focus on rural practice and rural living. Among educational sessions offered were family practice, physician wellness, suturing, rural emergency medicine and Indigenous health. A special thank you to physicians practicing in Interlake-Eastern RHA who took time to speak to residents and attend the job fair. Hosting the resident retreat rotates among rural regional health authorities. The last time Interlake-Eastern RHA hosted the was in September 2019. As a result of the overwhelmingly warm welcome young physicians receive from communities as well as physicians practising in the health region who offer training opportunities combined with the work of the RHA, 14 former University of Manitoba family medicine residents have started practising in the region. That’s more than the region has been able to attract in the past. These doctors could have started their practices anywhere in Canada or abroad but they chose Interlake-Eastern RHA.

Thank you to the following communities who supported the event:

• Lake Manitoba First Nation
• Local Government District of Pinawa
• Rural Municipality of Alexander
• Rural Municipality of Arborg
• Rural Municipality of Coldwell
• Rural Municipality of Fisher
• Rural Municipality of Gimli
• Rural Municipality of Reynolds
• Rural Municipality of Rosser
• Rural Municipality of St. Clements
• Rural Municipality of St. Laurent
• Rural Municipality of Springfield
• Rural Municipality of West Interlake
• Rural Municipality of Whitemouth
• Town of Arborg
• Town of Lac du Bonnet
• Town of Powerview-Pine Falls
• Town of Stonewall
• Town of Teulon
• Town of Winnipeg Beach

Eighteen inpatient beds are now open at Selkirk Regional Health Centre’s new inpatient unit with 12 more beds to open by November. Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority (IERHA) staff, community members and construction partners joined to celebrate the formal opening of the 30 bed inpatient expansion on September 13.

“After years of cuts, our government understood adding beds and staff to the health care system was the first priority. ​These beds will free up space in Selkirk’s wards and reduce access blocks in the emergency department, which will in turn reduce wait times for families,” said Minister of Health, Seniors and Long Term Care Uzoma Asagwara. “Funding a bed is only part of the solution, we have to staff it as well. I want to thank the front line workers and IERHA staff who helped us open this new unit and welcome the patients.” 

IERHA CEO Marion Ellis acknowledged the people who worked to bring this project to fruition.

“Completed ahead of schedule, this inpatient expansion project is a credit to everyone involved from planning through to completion,” said Ellis. “Expansion of Selkirk Regional Health Centre will help us better meet the needs of residents across the health region and health system.”

Ellis acknowledged Interlake Eastern Health Foundation and Selkirk gift shop volunteers for their ongoing contributions to supporting patient care.

“It’s our collective privilege to be in a position to offer care to people when it’s needed. We remain grateful for the community support that we receive,” Ellis said.

In addition to the 28,627 square foot inpatient expansion, the project also included enlargement of the health centre’s emergency department waiting room.

BACKGROUND

Selkirk Regional Health Centre Inpatient Unit Addition

The new 30 bed inpatient unit and emergency department expansion are improving Interlake-Eastern RHA’s ability to care for patients across the region and health system.

Inpatient Addition

• 28,627 sq. ft. single storey addition
• Two new wings (medicine 3 and 4) comprising 30 new inpatient rooms in total
  • private rooms with washrooms
  • two bariatric isolation rooms
  • therapy tub room
  • central care stations with satellite workstations for staff
  • increased support services and physician space
• Medicine 3 opened September 3
• Medicine 4 scheduled to open in November

Emergency department waiting room expansion

• Two new treatment rooms and one new treatment station have been created
• Waiting room has been expanded

Manitobans will see cost savings with the introduction of no-cost coverage of prescription birth control, beginning Tuesday, Oct. 1, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced today.

Read the provincial news release

Hot weather has arrived in Manitoba. Individuals who are elderly, living alone or with compromised health will benefit from a regular check-in during times of high heat.  

All Manitobans can take care to prevent heat illness by:

• drinking plenty of liquids, especially water, before feeling thirsty;
• avoiding prolonged sun exposure;
• cancelling outdoor activities or rescheduling them to cooler times of the day;
• taking more breaks and staying well hydrated if working outdoors;
• wearing loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing and a wide-brimmed hat;
• limiting alcohol consumption;
• blocking sun out at home during the day by closing awnings, curtains or blinds;
• taking a cool shower or bath; or 
• going to a cool place such as a mall, community centre, public library or place of worship. 

Read more

The construction of the new state of the art Ashern Lakeshore General Hospital 26 private room inpatient unit expansion is on track for targeted completion at the end of the year with the first patients seen in the new wing sometime in February 2025.

As part of this expansion project, a new room for patients and visitors to gather called “All Are Relations” is being added. This room has a wall for a mural that will provide a welcoming environment for patients and their families.

“One of the ways people can feel at ease in health care facilities is through surroundings that represent who they are,” says Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority Indigenous health lead Adam Sanderson. “It is hoped that the feature wall at Ashern’s Lakeshore General Hospital will reflect local communities, the place of spirituality in the healing journey and be inclusive in its presentation.”

The artwork would need to be approximately 7’ high by 18’ wide and should reflect one or more of the following themes:

• Health, Healing and Wellness
• Nature
• Indigenous culture/history
• Local culture/history of surrounding communities
• Truth and Reconciliation
  
  

Interested indigenous artists who would like to be considered to commission the mural are invited to submit an application at https://www.ierha.ca/about-us/community-involvement/indigenous-health/truth-and-reconciliation-day/ashern-lakeshore-general-hospital-indigenous-mural-submission/

Deadline for applications is August 30, 2024.

Reduce your risk of tick bites and disease exposure by:

• applying an appropriate tick repellent on exposed skin and clothing, following label directions;
• wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts;
• tucking in clothing to create a barrier;
• staying to the centre of walking trails;
• inspecting yourself, children and pets after spending time outdoors;
• removing ticks as soon as possible from people and pets, using tweezers; and
• keeping grass and shrubs around homes cut short to create drier environments that are less suitable for tick survival.

Read more: Province of Manitoba | News Releases | Manitobans Urged to be Vigilant During Tick Season (gov.mb.ca)

The 24-hour crisis line (204-482-5419 and  1-866-427-8628) will be out of service (for a short period up to 30 minutes) at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29 while MTS moves the 24 hour crisis line phones to their new location. Users will hear a dial tone, busy signal, or “phone not in service.” This is a result of the move of mental health services from 446 Main St. location to the second floor of the Selkirk Community Health Office at 237 Manitoba Ave, in Selkirk. If you need to access a crisis line during this time, please contact Klinic’s 24-hour crisis line at 1-888-322-3019. We apologize for the inconvenience.

June is here, and it’s time to celebrate love, acceptance, and the beautiful diversity of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community. The acronym 2SLGBTQQIA+ represents those who are two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and all other sexual orientations and genders.

These terms and acronyms may be used differently by individuals in various ways depending on how they identify and the context. People will also have different understandings of their identity and it is up to individuals to decide what their identity means to them. If you are unsure of how someone identifies, asking which pronouns they use is respectful and good practice.

Pride Month is not just a time for parades and parties—it’s a powerful reminder of the ongoing fight for equality and recognition.

Want to learn how you can support diversity and inclusivity?

Check out these resources from Shared Health:

Becoming an Ally – HM (sharedhealthmb.ca)

Pronouns, 2SLGBTQQIA+ & Health Care Leading Practice Guide

Genderdiversity poster (8.5 × 11 in) (sharedhealthmb.ca)

Pronoun Poster (sharedhealthmb.ca)

Becoming an ally (sharedhealthmb.ca)

May 19-25 is Paramedic Services Week. IERHA acknowledges the paramedics and their team members who are providing life-saving care during medical emergencies every day in our region. Thank you for your service!

On May 15, the Manitoba government proclaimed May 19-25 Paramedic Services Week

Read more about this week on sharedhealthmb.ca