World Elder Abuse Awareness Day – June 15

June 15 is World Elder Abuse Day! The purpose of this day is to promote a better understanding of elder abuse and neglect and what we can do to prevent it in the future. There are many different types of elder abuse, ranging from physical, emotional, spiritual and financial, to name a few.

What can YOU do to make a difference on this day?

• Start a conversation with friends and family about elder abuse and any of the above-listed resources.
• Visit a senior- they can be your neighbour, someone in assisted living or personal care home!
• Engage in meaningful conversations on social media regarding the impact of Elder Abuse on you or a loved one.
• Wear purple in solidarity.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing any form of elder abuse, there are many supports available in Manitoba to help:

Seniors’ Abuse Support Line

Call the Seniors Abuse Support Line and speak to a trained and caring counsellor. To learn more about seniors abuse and about staying safe, remember that help is just a phone call away. You can call the Seniors Abuse Support Line even when you are not sure that what you are experiencing is abuse. All calls are free & confidential.

Toll-free:  1-888-896-7183

A & O: Support Services for Older Adults

Confidential consultation, assessment and counselling services are provided to seniors who are victims of abuse.

Toll Free:  1-888-333-3121

Website:  www.aosupportservices.ca

Protection for Persons in Care Office

This Office is responsible for receiving and investigating reports of alleged abuse or neglect while receiving care in personal care homes, hospitals or any other designated health facility. If a person’s life or well-being is in immediate danger, take steps to ensure the person’s safety first, then call the PPCP’s confidential, toll-free line.

Toll-Free:  1-866-440-6366 (outside Winnipeg)

TTY Toll Free:  1-776-855-0511

E-mail:  [email protected]

Website:  www.gov.mb.ca/health/protection

Together, we can increase awareness and reduce the stigma associated with Elder Abuse!

Visit Prevent Elder Abuse Manitoba to learn more and find helpful resources.

National HIV Testing Day | June 27

National HIV Testing Day in Canada and across North America is officially observed annually on June 27. This day promotes routine testing, early diagnosis, and access to treatment and preventative medications such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) . It is also an opportunity to raise awareness and reduce stigma associated with HIV and people living with HIV.

Last month, the province of Manitoba declared an HIV public health emergency due to a steady rise in new cases. In response, health officials are emphasizing the importance of testing, increasing awareness, and connecting individuals to care and support services.

As HIV rates continue to rise, it is important to remember that there are many ways we can help prevent the spread of HIV. All people who are sexually active or who use intravenous drugs are encouraged to get routinely tested. Sexually Transmitted and Blood Borne Infections(STBBI)/HIV testing should be offered to all pregnant people during their first prenatal visit and again during the third trimester.

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), when taken as prescribed, is highly effective in preventing HIV infection. Providing low-barrier access to harm reduction supplies, including safer injection and safer sex supplies, is another important strategy to help reduce the spread of HIV.

Remember, HIV can affect anyone, and the only way to know your status for sure is through testing.

In Prairie Mountain Health, several HIV/STBBI testing events will be taking place throughout the month of June, including events recognizing National HIV Testing Day on June 27.

• Brandon – Wednesday, June 24 from 12:00 to 3:00 pm at Princess Park
• Brandon | Pride in the Park – Saturday, June 13 from 4:30 to 8:00 pm at the Discovery Centre
• Brandon | The Sexual Wellness Lodge – First Friday of every month; next event June 5, 12:00 to 4:00 pm at In a Good Way, 303 9th Street
• Dauphin – Wednesday, June 24 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, MHRN will be offering HIV self-testing kits at CN Park
• Swan River – Tuesday, June 23 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. STBBI testing event in partnership with MHRN Swan River chapter. Hosted at the baseball diamonds so outdoor games can be played. 

These events provide opportunities for individuals to access testing, learn more about HIV prevention, and connect with local supports and resources. If you are unable to attend any of the events listed, but would like to be tested for HIV, please visit your local primary health care clinic, community health clinic, public health office or family doctor.

June is Pride Month

June is Pride Month, and PMH celebrates everyone in our 2SLGBTQIA+ community! Here are some events within Manitoba, Happy Pride!

Celebrations in Manitoba

• Pride Winnipeg Rally & Parade Sunday June 7, 2026  2026 Festival Schedule – Pride Winnipeg
• Pembina Valley Pride Winkler, Saturday, June 13, 2026. Learn more
• Dauphin Walk with Pride Saturdsay June 13, 2026 … – Northwest Métis Council Inc. – Manitoba Métis Federation | Facebook
• Brandon Pride in the Park Saturday June 13, 2026. Calendar Page — Brandon Pride
• Brandon Pride Rallly and March Sunday June 14, 2026. Calendar Page — Brandon Pride
• Pembina Valley Pride Winkler Saturday, June 13, 2026. Learn more
• Paint with Pride Neepawa Sunday June 14, 2026 Neepawa and Area Pride (@neepawaandareapride) • Instagram photos and videos
• Winnipegosis Pride Sunday June 14, 2026 Sunday, June 14, 2026 Winnipegosis Pride Event – Local Notices – Mossey River, MB

If you are hosting a 2SLGBTQIA+ pride event in your community, please share those details by emailing [email protected], and we would be happy to share that information on our website and on our social media channels.

Support Services

Visit our Gender Affirming Care Clinic page for information on services available to you within Prairie Mountain Health.

Read stories from members of 2SLGBTQQIA+ and allies within Manitoba’s health care community.

National Indigenous Peoples Day | June 21

June 21, 2026 is the 30th anniversary of National Indigenous Peoples Day. It’s a time to recognize and celebrate the traditions, cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

With the arrival of June 21 comes the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

Annually, June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples’ Day (NIPD).

Indigenous people acknowledge the teachings of the four seasons by their representation on the medicine wheel. Summer is a time of growth and warmth. NIPD provides the experience to grow in awareness and understanding and build relationships as people come together to celebrate the culture of Indigenous people.

Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) acknowledges the history, heritage, traditions and experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples within our health region.

Prairie Mountain Health provides health services on the original lands of Treaty 1, 2 & 4, territories of the Dakota, Ojibway and Cree people and the Red River Métis. We acknowledge the traditional territories and treaties that confirm recognition and respect for the Indigenous populations – past and present.

PMH encourages all who deliver health services on the original lands of First Nations people and on the homeland of Métis citizens to recognize the ongoing obligation to provide culturally safe health care. As an organization, we will continue to embrace the distinct cultural knowledge, practices and traditions of Indigenous Peoples and continue efforts to strengthen relationships with the Indigenous communities and peoples who we serve.

Watch social media for announcements and information on this year’s coming events in our region.

For NIPD events near your area, contact your local First Nation or Métis community. 

If you are holding events in the PMH region, please share information by emailing the details to [email protected]

For more information on NIPD, check out the Government of Canada’s link About National Indigenous Peoples Day (rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca)

Click on images to enlarge

Dauphin

Brandon

Men’s Health Week

Make Prevention a Priority

Every season there is a maintenance checklist to ensure vehicles, equipment and households operate efficiently to avoid long-term damage and extend their life span and avoid bigger problems later on.

Our health deserves the same attention.  Men’s Health Week (June 15-21) is a reminder that prevention matters. Small check-ins today can help prevent bigger health concerns tomorrow. Knowing what’s normal for your body – blood pressure, cholesterol, lab results, etc.  can help identify changes and catch issues early.

Take a moment to ask yourself: When was the last time you…

• Had a complete physical exam?
• Checked your blood pressure?
• Checked your cholesterol?
• Did anything for mental wellness?
• Engaged in physical activity?
• Protected yourself from negative sun effects?
• Checked condition of safety equipment?
• Talked to someone about quitting or cutting back on smoking/vaping?

Check on your friends, family and partners. Talking about health (including mental health) helps support healthier outcomes for men. Start with what is easiest for you: going for a walk or working out, booking a medical appointment, tossing a piece of fruit into the lunch box, looking at work/life balance.

It is not about where you start – it’s about taking action and checking something off the prevention checklist.

Learn more about unmasking men’s mental health.

Prairie Mountain Health Celebrates Physiotherapy Month

May is Physiotherapy Month. Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) has physiotherapists that work across many sites in acute care, long term care, community and in outpatient clinics. Physiotherapists play an important role in our health care system to help clients recover after injury or surgery and support clients to have a good quality of life.

Jill Twordik is a physiotherapist that works in the Brandon Regional Health Centre. She began working as a physiotherapist in 2004 and joined the health region in 2008. In her time working in PMH, Jill has worked in outpatients, in the prehab teaching program and in inpatients. She currently has been working on the inpatient rehabilitation floor helping clients to regain physical skills to be discharged from hospital. Jill has worked hard to mentor new staff and create a positive work culture within her team.

Outside of Jill’s work in the hospital, she leads a physiotherapy team within Operation Walk Manitoba. This Winnipeg-based team launched in 2011 and completed its first mission to Managua, Nicaragua in 2012. The organization includes a volunteer team of surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists and healthcare professionals who provide free joint replacement surgeries in developing countries where access to orthopedic care is limited.

The organization works in close partnership with the Roberto Calderon Hospital in Managua, a public teaching hospital offering joint replacement surgeries to impoverished clients. The team works closely with local surgeons, nurses and students to build skills, enhance care and leave a lasting impact long after each mission ends.

Jill has gone four times on a mission to Nicaragua, with the last mission being in November 2025. She describes a team of over 60 people who attend where each team member plays an important role in making care run smoothly for clients. She said on her last trip 70 joint replacements were done over three days. She described working 12-14 hour days, going back to the hotel and then getting up early the next day to do it all over again.

“Being part of a team that can do surgeries like this gives people back their lives” says Jill. “It fills my cup for the year. I can’t even describe the experience of going to help people that are so grateful for something they otherwise would not receive”. She describes seeing young patients receive joint surgeries following motor bike accidents or seeing patients recover after living with severe osteoarthritis related to a life of performing heavy, physical work. She describes seeing a strong family support culture in Nicaragua. “Families are very involved in caregiving following surgery and assume care often the same day of the surgery from the team. Communities band together to support individuals during their recovery” says Jill.

Each Operation Walk mission brings walkers, crutches and braces to provide to patients who may have to wait for surgery. The organization is 100% volunteer driven with every dollar donated supporting the mission directly. More information can be found at operationwalkmb.ca.

Prairie Mountain Health recognizes the good work Jill is doing both in her paid and volunteer roles. She brings her knowledge and worldly experiences back to clients share cares for in the region every day.

Each physiotherapist in PMH is a valued team member and each have stories to share about how they make a difference in lives of Manitobans every day.

May 7^th is International Harm Reduction Day  

International Harm Reduction Day, May 7, 2026, is an opportunity to recognize not only the many health care workers who center their practice around a harm reduction approach, but also the peers and individuals with lived and living experience of substance use. Their voices and contributions are integral to advancing this work and supporting their communities.

Although harm reduction has been officially recognized since the 1980s and practiced informally for much longer, significant work remains across many sectors to expand its reach. Despite strong evidence demonstrating that harm reduction saves lives, many communities still lack access to essential services such as drug checking, safer consumption sites, and other life-saving supports. Stigma remains pervasive, often acting as a barrier to care and limiting access to health and social services for those who need them most.

At PMH, we acknowledge the importance of peer voices and the individuals who continue to show up for their communities despite ongoing challenges and barriers. In particular, we would like to recognize PMH’s two official Peer Volunteers, who have generously contributed their time, experience, and expertise to our organization. They have spent countless hours developing and maintaining the harm reduction locker outside the 7th Street Health Access Centre in Brandon, co-facilitating coffee programs, supporting the Healthy Sexuality and Harm Reduction team with outreach events, reviewing PMH policies, participating in health event booths, and co-facilitating Trauma- and Violence-Informed Care sessions alongside the Regional Harm Reduction Coordinator & Health Educator from Nine Circles Community Health Centre as well as supporting the development of the Sexual Wellness Health Lodge.

In addition to the Brandon peers, there are many more peers in Swan River, Dauphin, and across the PMH region who contribute in similar ways through the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network and within their own communities. We see peers showing up to respond to toxic drug supply poisonings and overdoses, providing harm reduction supplies at all hours of the day and night, and walking alongside community members to help ensure they have what they need to stay safe, including a place to sleep or a support person at an appointment. Most importantly, they offer compassion, care, and connection to people who use drugs — a group that is often stigmatized and marginalized by the systems around them.

PMH would like to honour peers not only today but throughout the year by acknowledging their efforts and extending a very warm, heartfelt thank-you. We truly could not do this work without the integral voices, leadership, and support of peers.

Throughout the PMH region, May 7 will be recognized with the following events:

• Brandon – May 7, 1:00–3:00 PM, Princess Park
• Swan River – May 6, 11:00 AM–1:00 PM, Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre
• Dauphin – May 7, 1:00–3:00 PM, CN Park
• Health Sciences Centre – May 7, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM, Virtual Conference: Harm Reduction: Committing to Care.   Harm Reduction – Health Sciences Centre

Therapy dogs and volunteers: Keeping it ‘pawsitive’

There are nearly 1100 registered facility volunteers within Prairie Mountain Health who have provided nearly 52,000 volunteer hours this year to the betterment of patients, clients and residents within the region.  When we think of volunteers, we naturally assume that it’s all our ‘people’ in the region who are doing the volunteering.  However, here’s something to chew on. There are ‘ruffly’ 50 registered pet therapy teams that provide therapeutic visits for the health and well-being of patients and residents within our hospitals and personal care homes.

The Therapy Dogs Program, coordinated through PMH and St. John Ambulance, continues to receive positive feedback across the region. Volunteer Ngaire Abernethy and certified dog Tai have visited Brandon Regional Health Centre since 2017. Abernethy, a volunteer for over 20 years, says dogs’ connections with people lift spirits and may help reduce pain and distress.

“There has been scientific research that has shown those exposed to animal therapy have demonstrated an overall improvement in physical pain. A compassionate visit can also help people cope with illness, trauma, stress and anxiety.”

Louise Stitt is a volunteer canine handler who has retired from working at Prairie Mountain Health.

“People ask me what I’m doing in my retirement, and I say I’ve gone to the dogs!” Stitt said. “Never have I experienced a time in my life when all I had to do was walk into a room with my therapy dog and automatically bring smiles and joy to those I met. It’s like carrying around a magic wand that makes everything a little bit better for people.”

And you don’t have to go far to chase additional accolades for the dog therapy initiative.

“Your visit is the highlight of my day and brings back happy memories of my own dogs.” (care home resident)

“So glad to see Sadie visiting. This will help Mom’s care home transition. We’ll try to visit too” (from new PCH resident’s family at River’s Care Home).

“She’s here (the therapy dog)!! They’re (the residents) all waiting in the multi-purpose room, waiting to give her the ‘pats’ she craves….. but first, come over here, girl.  I could use some lovin’ too, ha ha.” (from staff at a care home).

The Trauma Response Emotional Assistance Team (TREAT) is a specialized group of PATDogs who have received intensive training for both canines and handlers to manage more challenging and emotionally intense situations. Their role includes supporting staff who have experienced a critical event during their shift or responding to facility or community crises that require extra support.

To learn more about the Therapy Dog program in PMH, visit Therapy Dogs – Prairie Mountain Health. You can also visit the St. John Ambulance website St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program | St. John Ambulance Canada

Passion Ignites Volunteerism in Palliative Care

Across Canada, National Volunteer Week (April 19 – 25) celebrates the individual and collective actions that volunteers participate in to create strong, interconnected and vibrant communities.  The Palliative Care Volunteer Service would like to acknowledge and applaud the contributions of over 200 palliative care volunteers in many communities across Prairie Mountain Health.

The Palliative Care Volunteer Service is comprised of a network of 20 individual committees who are dedicated to the improvement of palliative care in their local community.  Palliative care volunteers come alongside, and complement, the existing professional services to provide compassionate, non-medical support, to clients and families.  Volunteers share a sense of interconnectedness and hold the thread of common hope, “that at some time, or in some way, we will all face the end of life; and when that time comes, we will have the love and support of our family and the greater community” (Holly, Palliative Care Volunteer)

The theme of National Volunteer Week “Ignite Volunteerism” is about inspiring Canadians to reconnect with their communities through acts of service, civic action, and mutual support. These goals are demonstrated amongst our specialized palliative care volunteers every day. Our volunteers offer client companionship, caregiver respite, relevant resources, end of life vigil sitting and bereavement follow-up.  Volunteers also engage in activities that promote palliative care awareness, such as fundraisers, advocacy events and educational opportunities. In 2025, volunteers contributed over 4,000 hours in support of palliative care in our region!  “After having gone through the loss of my daughter, the grieving process has taught me that giving back can help recovery. I volunteer with Palliative patients to help them through the end of life process by being an eager listener and a comfort to them and their loved ones”. (Linda, Palliative Care Volunteer)  

Thank you to all our dedicated volunteers from the following Palliative Care Committees: Birtle, Boissevain, Carberry, Dauphin, Deloraine, Erickson and District, Glenboro, Hamiota, Killarney, Melita, Minnedosa, Neepawa and District, Reston, Riverdale, Rossburn, Russell, Shoal Lake, Souris, Virden and Westman Hospice (Brandon).

In addition to our invaluable volunteer committees that reach across the region, we recognize the over 20 volunteers involved in the realization of Camp Bridges each year. The annual grief and bereavement camp for children and youth would not be possible without the committed individuals who come together for one memorable weekend each year to provide campers with a safe and supportive environment where they can explore their grief through community and memorial activities. Also, with the help of these volunteers, the campers participate in activities such as horseback riding and ziplining, where they are reminded that there is space for them to just be kids and have fun. Thank you. If you would like to learn more about the Palliative Care Volunteer Program, please contact the Palliative Care Volunteer & Bereavement Coordinator, Hope Roberts, 204-578-2310 or visit our website.

If Not You, Who?  If Not Now, When? 

If you couldn’t communicate for yourself, even temporarily, who would make your health and personal care decisions? Would they truly understand what matters most to you?

Waiting too long to have these conversations, or not sharing your preferences, could leave important decisions in the hands of others who may not fully understand what matters most to you.

No one else can truly communicate for you when it comes to your health and personal care if you don’t have an advance care plan that is documented and shared.

It is never too early to start planning and sharing your wishes and preferences for your health and personal care

Advance care planning is something you can do now, before a crisis or sudden change forces decisions to be made under pressure. It gives you time to think about your values, wishes, and priorities, and to talk them through with the people you trust.

Starting these conversations early can ease stress for loved ones and help healthcare teams provide care that reflects what matters to you. By documenting your preferences now, you ensure your voice is heard and your care aligns with your choices, whatever the future brings. Advance care planning is for everyone, whether young or old, healthy or living with health challenges, and the best time to start is today.

This ACP Day 2026, take the opportunity to plan and share your wishes, take charge of your future care, and ease the burden on those close to you who might otherwise face difficult decisions on your behalf. Advance Care Planning Canada will be hosting an ACP Webinar on April 16^th at 11:00am CT. For more information on advance care planning and to register, visit https://www.advancecareplanning.ca/

Submitted by Palliative Care Services