Shoal Lake Yellowhead Clinic secures Nurse Practitioner services

The Yellowhead Community Clinic in Shoal Lake welcomes Nurse Practitioner (NP) Cathy Scofield-Singh, who will begin seeing patients on March 13. Scofield-Singh will be joining the Shoal Lake Medical Team on a permanent basis. Cathy will also provide coverage to the personal care home while NP Tanya Radford is on maternity leave. Once Tanya returns from maternity leave, the two NPs will work in Shoal Lake.

The Clinic will also be served by Hamiota physician Dr. Chris Brenneman, who will work some itinerant shifts starting in May to continue to provide services to Shoal Lake and area residents. Dr. Heather Gooden, who practices full-time in Hamiota, will remain to oversee patients within the Shoal Lake Transitional Care Unit.

Nurse Practitioners work independently and can provide many services, including:

• Completing assessments and physical exams, including pap tests and pre-natal exams;
• Diagnosing and managing common issues and chronic conditions;
• Prescribing medications and therapies;
• Ordering diagnostic tests like blood work, x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans and MRIs;
• Performing minor procedures like suturing, biopsies, wart and mole removal; and
• Referring to other health providers, including specialists.

Schofield-Singh comes to the Shoal Lake Clinic after working at the Ste. Rose Primary Health Care Centre, where she started with Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) in 2018.
Cathy did a short locum in Shoal Lake in the fall of 2022, and the clinic staff and board were so happy with her services they approached her about a move to Shoal Lake. This worked for Cathy personally, so it is a positive move for both the community and Cathy. She will be a welcomed addition to the medical services team in Shoal Lake.

As an NP since 2013, Cathy has over 30 years of experience as a Registered Nurse (RN) with a diverse nursing career. She graduated from the University of Manitoba’s Masters of Nursing NP program in October 2013. Before becoming an NP, she also had an opportunity to work in remote northern communities as a Primary Care Nurse for over ten years.

PMH Primary Health Care Manager Diane Ciprick says the Region was pleased to facilitate conversations with Scofield-Singh, allowing her to move into the opportunity in Shoal Lake.
The health region continues to be very active in Nurse Practitioner recruitment and retention efforts. To date, 23 NPs provide service within 27 communities, which include shifts on the Mobile Clinic, services at medical clinics and in the 7th Street Health Access Centre.

CAREER SPOTLIGHT: Health Information Services

The Health Information Services (HIS) team includes Health Information Management Professionals, Medical Transcriptionists and Clerical staff who work in health centres throughout Prairie Mountain Health. This team is about managing healthcare data; collecting, storing, managing and transmitting a patient’s electronic medical records (EMR) in a professional, caring, and confidential manner.

Clerical Staff (Clerk III)

Clerk IIIs work in various areas within the HIS program, such as patient registration, switchboard and the records processing unit. The Clerk III Health Information staff are responsible for accurate and timely registration and processing of the admission/discharge/transfer (ADT) system while following the Provincial and Regional Registration Guidelines and practices. In addition, they process records, including secure storage, maintain the confidentiality of health information, and ensure all records are complete and accurate. This position also supports communication within and outside the facility. The switchboard is the communication hub of the facilities. In this area, they receive patient inquiries, page/communicate with health care providers, and operate the call centre for all Emergency codes within the facilities.

Education Requirements: Clerical staff in HIS are required to have a certificate in Medical Terminology. The Canadian Red Cross and Red River College offer Medical Terminology certificate programs.

Medical Transcriptionists

Medical Transcription changes voice-recorded reports into written texts that become a part of the permanent health record. Physicians and other health care providers dictate information gathered during patient encounters, and medical transcriptionists listen to the recording and transcribe it. These medical reports include clinical findings and therapeutic procedures in the health record and transmission to physicians and other healthcare facilities.

Education Requirements: All Medical Transcriptionists graduate from a recognized Medical Transcription Program. Check out Canscribe Career College or the Academy of Learning College offers the Medical Transcription certificate program as well as Medical Office Assistant (both needed if attending Academy of Learning College).

Health Information Management Professionals (HIMP)

Health Information Management Professionals provide services in all aspects of health records management. This includes data collection, disclosure, retention and the proper disposal of health information. The HIMP codes and summarizes all inpatient and same-day care health records accurately and efficiently. This is done by following the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Standards and utilizing the appropriate Coding Classification System. This health data is transformed into information that can be analyzed and used to help in healthcare delivery, patient safety, and decision-making.

Education Requirements: All Health Information Management Professionals are graduates of a Health Information Management Professional Program and can be certified with the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA). The Canadian HealthCare Association (CHA Learning – online) or Red River College offers the Health Information Management Professional certificate program.

All of the functions within HIS are tied together with our Administrative Assistants and our Management team. The Health Information Services portfolio offers plenty of room for growth and career advancement and is currently recruiting for positions within our team!

Visit our Prairie Mountain Health careers page at https://www.pmh-mb.ca/careers.

PMH organizes health care students tour as part of recruitment activities

If Willie Nelson’s “On the road again” wasn’t blaring, it should have been! Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) hosted a rural bus tour for health-care students January 21-22 and the weekend initiative drew great reviews. PMH Recruitment Supervisor Larissa Kominko says nine students took advantage of the opportunity to visit several communities and facilities in the health region and came away with a better appreciation of the numerous advantages of working and living in rural Manitoba.

“Spending time and making connections with the students was so rewarding,” Kominko said. “Being able to showcase the amazing lifestyle of rural Manitoba, the hospitality of small towns and all the programs and services that our local hospitals and personal care homes have to offer was amazing. I think it is fair to say that all involved made a very good impression, as students were extremely overwhelmed and excited about all they saw and heard over the two days.“

This year, health-care students from both the University of Manitoba and Brandon University were part of the two-day tour, with site visits to Dauphin Regional Health Centre, St. Paul’s PCH, Grandview Health Centre, Roblin Health Centre/PCH, and Russell Health Centre. During the road trip, information was also shared about communities the bus travelled through, which included Gilbert Plains, Neepawa, Minnedosa, Shoal Lake and Rossburn.

Planned activities at Asessippi Ski Resort (between Roblin and Russell), and Northgate Trails, located in Riding Mountain National Park, provided participants with a chance to get some exercise and have some fun!

Some comments from participants included:

“Thanks for the opportunity to explore rural communities and future potential careers. I didn’t realize it, but I really needed to get outside of the city.”

“I genuinely had an amazing time this weekend. Thank you so much!”

“Thanks to everyone who organized the trip. It was a really great experience seeing all of the communities. I definitely have a lot to think about!”

Kominko says the tour built upon a similar initiative that was organized in 2019, before the COVID pandemic surfaced. She adds, the region is always evaluating and improving upon the various strategies it undertakes in regards to recruitment and retention initiatives. She stated plans are already in the works to hold a smiliar event in another part of the geographically large health region.

Medical students gather in Brandon as part of rural interest group

In partnership with the Manitoba Health Care Providers Network (MHCPN) and Max Rady College of Medicine, Faculty of Sciences, Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) hosted the University of Manitoba medical student Rural Interest Group in Brandon on January 27-28, 2023. The Rural Interest Group (RIG) weekend highlighted the benefits of practicing medicine in rural communities and available lifestyle opportunities. Some 34 first and second-year medical students took part.

PMH continues to be a strong advocate for the initiative as it provides the health region with additional opportunities to engage medical students early in their training. Clinical workstations were set up at Brandon Regional Health Centre that allowed students to put their skills to the test by undertaking tasks like suturing, casting and airway management.

Student RIG Co-President Sydney McLaughlin says after a brief event pause, due to the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of the students learned a lot and had great fun at the same time.

“The weekend went really well and I am really happy with how things went!” McLaughlin stated.
“On behalf of both the Rural Interest Group and the University of Manitoba Medical Classes of 2025 and 2026, I would like to extend a huge thank you to PMH for welcoming us back this year. These events are so important for our education as they expose students to what it is like to work in rural medicine, provide opportunities for students to network with doctors and residents, and give us an idea of what it is like to work within the health region.”

Both MHCPN and PMH sincerely appreciate the support of regional physicians, staff and volunteers who help make the RIG weekend a success.