PMH organizes health care students tour as part of recruitment activities
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 in Brandon part of rural interest group
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.
Sydney McLaughlin, Student RIG Co-President
Medical Students participate in a clinical casting workshop
Medical students have some down time to try out their painting skills.
Did you know? Eating Disorders have the highest overall mortality rate of any mental illness in Canada. While eating disorders are serious mental health conditions, they are also treatable. Unfortunately, research indicates that the majority of people with eating disorders don’t seek treatment, or when they do there are lengthy delays in receiving treatment. Many factors influence the development of an eating disorder including biological factors like genetics, psychological factors like mental health, and social factors like cultural attitudes around food and appearance. Those that struggle with their identity and self-image, dieting and weight loss, body dissatisfaction, experience weight stigma, as well as those who have experienced trauma are at risk. Eating disorders don’t discriminate, they affect people from all ages, genders, racial and ethnic identities, sexual orientations, socioeconomic backgrounds, and body sizes. Contrary to the public and even medical assumptions, eating disorders do not have a certain look to them. People living in large bodies can be affected by anorexia nervosa, just like people living in smaller bodies can be affected by binge eating disorder.
Here are some ways to counteract the negative social messages around food and bodies:
Help others (and yourself) develop self-esteem based on qualities other than physical appearance: Comment on and affirm characteristics that are not related to the body, but rather skills, talents, personality traits, passions, achievements, etc.
Get rid of your diet and your scale: Learn to understand your body and listen to its cues. Your weight is not a measurement of your health or self-worth. Learn about the Health at Every Size® philosophy.
Avoid labeling food as good or bad: Labeling food as good or bad ties morality to food. Food is morally neutral, as is body size. When food is tied to morality it can lead to feelings of guilt and shame around food leading to disordered eating like restricting, bingeing, and hiding eating behaviours.
Stand up against size or body-based bullying: Do not encourage or laugh at jokes that make fun of anyone’s body or size (including your own). A person’s worth and morality are not related to how they look. Celebrate body diversity.
Criticize the culture that promotes unhealthy body image, not yourself: Look at how encouraging people to dislike their bodies helps to sell products. Encourage people to question, evaluate and respond to the messages that promote unhealthy body image and low self-esteem.
Do you spend most of your day thinking about food and your body?
Do you avoid meals, restrict certain foods, binge eat, or purge after eating?
Do you feel guilty or out of control when eating?
Do you think that life will only be good if an ideal weight is achieved?
If you answer yes to any combination of these thoughts and behaviors, you may have an eating disorder. There are programs in Manitoba which can help you wherever you are on the journey to recovery.
It’s World Cancer day on February 4th. This event aims to save millions of preventable deaths yearly by raising awareness about the disease. This year the World Cancer Day’s agenda is to ‘Close the Care Gap’ and promote equitable care for everyone. The Prairie Mountain Health Navigation Services Team is here to support patients and health care providers, from the time of clinical suspicion of cancer and through the diagnostic period to treatments. We help anyone recently diagnosed with cancer, to understand their diagnosis, care plan, and assist through the cancer journey with resources and other helpful supports. Please help us ‘Close the Care Gap’, by connecting with us in Navigation Services.
Prairie Mountain Health Navigation Services Team Front row: Tanis – Navigation Clerk, Katy – Nurse Navigator, Michelle – Registered Dietitian Second row: Audrey – Nurse Navigator, Jannelle – Oncology Social Worker Third row: Joyce – Community Engagement Liaison, Kelsey – Nurse Navigator Back: Angela – Oncology Social Worker
“No person with cancer should have to spend more time fighting their way through the cancer care system than fighting their disease”.
H. Freeman, MD
Community Engagement Liaison, Joyce Gibson
Community Engagement Liaison
In the Prairie Mountain Health Region (PMH), there are several Community Cancer programs (CCPS) offering cancer treatments and services. One of the services offered is that of the Community Engagement Liaison. Joyce Gibson fills this role within the PMH region. Joyce focuses on serving the Under-Served Population Program (UPP), First Nations, Metis, Inuit, Seniors, LGBTQ, Immigration Services and low-income residents. The Community Engagement Liaison works with communities providing support and information regarding cancer prevention and the importance of early detection and cancer screening.
These services are provided free of charge. You can contact Joyce about attending your Health Fair, Clinic, Community Event etc.
For more information, please contact Joyce Gibson at 204-638-2198 or [email protected].
This Donation Page is populated by submissions from our staff, the public, local Auxiliaries and Foundations. If a donation has been made to your local facility please send a photo and a brief write up to the Communications Department. We would like the opportunity to share it with the rest of our staff and the public. Please email your submissions to [email protected].
HERO Club Receives Donation
HERO Club Donation
The Dauphin HERO Club received a boost from Fusion Credit Union to the tune of $1,000 through Fusion’s ‘Full Circle Fund’. The fund assists communities served by the Credit Union and the contribution will go towards construction of a new shed for the HERO Club’s well-recognized Hot Dog Cart. From front (l-r) are: Francis Jackson, Lori Bogoslowski, HERO Club Activity Instructor, Kelly Marceniuk and Dauphin Fusion Credit Union representatives Amber Fedirchuk and Kelli Zeiler. From back (l-r), and representing Prairie Mountain Health, are Anish Arapurathu Rajasekharan Pillai, Mental Health Proctor and Shantelle Rank, Registered Psychiatric Nurse. Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) provides coordination and other assistance to the HERO Club through its mental health program. Dauphin is one of four HERO Club sites within the health region. Roblin, Russell and Swan River are the others.
U18 AAA Parkland Rangers donates to cancer units within PMH
Members of the U18 AAA Parkland Rangers were on hand in three local communities January 12 to present proceeds from their ‘Hockey Fights Cancer Night’, which was held back on Oct. 25, 2022 when the team played host to the U18 Brandon Wheat Kings. The annual recognition night raised a total of $3,600 dollars, with a split of $1,200 each presented to three Community Cancer Programs within the Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) region. Chemotherapy Units in Dauphin, Russell and Swan River were grateful to receive the contributions, which were primarily raised through game night donations, door prizes and a raffle draw.
Prairie Mountain Health and CancerCare Manitoba sincerely appreciate the generous donations. (With pictures and files from Russell Banner and Swan Valley Star and Times.)
DAUPHIN Pictured from l-r) Chase Glover, Linden Smigelsky, Sam Swanton, Shelley Tokarchuk, DRHC Cancer Care Community Program, Madden Murray, Terrie Strong, DRHC CCCP, Kyler Swanton, Ryan Gower and Skyler Carriere.
SWAN RIVER Pictured (l-r) Tavyn Boychuk, Jackson Badwoski and PMH Registered Nurses Kristie Poole and Kelly Burick, along with Bo Eisner and Andrew Pidskalny.
RUSSELL Pictured from (l-r) Lisa Derkach, Community Cancer Program nurse, Hayden Seib, Dru Mushumanski, Dr. Wickus Pieterse and Abbey Vorlicek, Care Team Manager for Russell Health Centre.
Donation to Russell Health Centre
Darryl Fuz General Manager of the Paterson Grain Terminal in Binscarth presented a cheque for 10,000.00 to Care Team Manager Abbey Vorelick. The donation is from The Paterson Family Foundation. The funds are to be utilized for the 2023 year towards emergency care and services provided by the Russell Health Centre. Darryl stated that they chose to donate to the Russell Health Centre because of all the great work that is done. This is the fourth year in a row that Paterson Family Foundation has donated $10,000.00. This donation will be used to purchase a Glide Scope, the donation for the 2022 year from Paterson Family Foundation was used to purchase new treatment chairs.
All donations made to the Russell Health Centre are used to enhance the services, care and comfort of the patients and clients that access the Health Centre.
BRHC Auxiliary exceeds $6 million milestone, commits to half million in 2023
Maternity Ward staff by a maternity birthing bed funded by the BRHC Auxiliary
The Brandon Regional Health Care (BRHC) Auxiliary continues its generous and giving ways by reaching and exceeding the $6-million milestone in contributions.
The Auxiliary contributed to the purchases of several pieces of hospital equipment totaling nearly $284,000 for BRHC in 2022, which include:
Colonoscopes and Gastroscopes (totaling $160,000).
Warming units for surgical suites (totaling $43,500) – used to warm up fluids and blankets.
Holter monitors (totaling $19, 200) – a small wearable device that records the heart’s rhythm. It is used to detect or determine the risk of irregular heartbeats.
The Auxiliary is committing to purchase an additional $528,000 for BRHC in the coming year, including funding for three bariatric beds (wider beds for comfort) at the cost of $98,000 and a vein finder (used to help identify veins in patients where they are difficult to visualize/find) totaling just over $27,000. BRHC Auxiliary raises funds from sales at the BRHC Gift Shop and Nearly New Shop located at 601 9th Street in Brandon. The group has been very fortunate to also receive a few generous estate funds within the last few years.
Marlene Brichon and Linda Noto – Auxiliary Members standing by a recently purchased bariatric bed
In 2017, the BRHC Auxiliary celebrated 125 years of dedication and commitment to health care in the Westman area. In 2016, the organization noted the milestone of $ 4 million in equipment purchases (since 1980).
Linda Noto Auxiliary member with a staff person from the Cardiology Department and the Holter Monitors
Brandon Satellite Residency Campus reaches 10-year milestone in 2023
Brandon Satellite Residency Campus reaches 10-year milestone in 2023
Dr. Joanne Maier, Associate Dean of UM Max Rady College of Medicine’s Brandon Satellite Campus
Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) continues its strong partnerships with two University of Manitoba residency programs located within the health region. The Brandon Satellite Campus, along with the Parkland Family Medicine Residency Unit, based in Dauphin, has provided exceptional opportunities for physicians to train in rural settings and has further increased the number of physicians who continue to practice in rural and more remote communities.
In 2013, the University of Manitoba (UM) established the Brandon Satellite Campus, designed to expand the postgraduate training of physicians to recruit more doctors to rural Manitoba. Two years later, with mounting success, UM expanded the initiative with enhanced programs for emergency medicine, psychiatry and an anesthesia program. In 2017, another expansion allowed students to take their third year of medical school in Brandon.
Dr. Joanne Maier is the Associate Dean of the UM Max Rady College of Medicine’s Brandon Satellite Campus. Dr. Maier succeeded Dr. Charles Penner, who moved on to other opportunities last July. Dr. Maier says the residency program continues to play a prominent role in the region and province and has enjoyed tremendous support.
“It is great to see most of the physicians involved in precepting and teaching and the programs increasing,” Maier said. “Also, it’s wonderful to see so many graduates working in Brandon and rural Manitoba! It really has made a difference for recruitment and retention.”
Dr. Maier says several exciting programs have developed over time that the Brandon Satellite Campus is pleased to highlight.
Drs. Alise Gaiser-Edwards and Laurel Stevenson
“Three programs— two postgraduate and one undergraduate— have been developed that are based almost entirely in Brandon. This includes a two-year family medicine residency, a five-year psychiatry residency and a one-year longitudinal clerkship (third year of medical school with clinical rotations). There is a hybrid program (postgraduate) for a five-year anesthesia residency, which includes a portion of the training in Brandon. And, we have many visiting medical students, residents and physician assistant trainees doing a variety of rotations here throughout the year.”
Across the province and country, recruitment and retention of health-care providers remain top of mind, including the ongoing challenge of finding more doctors for rural areas. Looking back on Brandon Satellite Campus over the past 10 years, the tongue-in-cheek reference of ‘grow your own’ has taken on even greater significance.
“We know there are factors associated with the increased probability of physicians choosing to practice in rural and remote communities, some of which include rural upbringing, positive undergraduate rural exposure, postgraduate exposure outside of urban areas and stated intent/preference for general or family practice primary care,” Maier stated.
Candace Kwiatkowski, Dr Scott Blyth (preceptor) and Dr. Carmel Razzaghi
“The main purpose of developing a satellite campus here was to improve recruitment and retention by training rurally, which has been effective. Many of the graduates from Brandon family medicine and Brandon family medicine/emergency medicine enhanced skills training have remained in Brandon or rural Manitoba. Many of the graduated physicians working here are from Brandon or the area. And, the other programs based here are now starting to have residents that are graduating.”
Maier says physician preceptors and PMH continue to be very supportive of the medical residents, medical students and UM Brandon Satellite Campus. PMH CEO Brian Schoonbaert says the health region has a lot to offer and regularly touches base with residents within the residency programs.
“We always say, come and enjoy, or continue to enjoy, our ‘good nature’! For health-care professionals, this applies to living and working in rural Manitoba. We really don’t have to sell the benefits of living in our region if residents are from rural areas; they already know how special it is. But we do have to continue to promote the diverse practice opportunities that exist region-wide, from family practice to specialized positions. We remain committed to continuing that,”
Maier says the campus initiative continues to evolve, and there is an opportunity to develop more rural training positions in family medicine, enhanced skills in emergency medicine/family medicine, psychiatry and anesthesia in a sustainable way.
“Other generalist specialty rural training is needed and being explored. These will all require the appropriate funding from government, support from the respective University of Manitoba departments, support from PMH, training, retention and recruitment of preceptors here and adequate infrastructure.”
Maier says UM is developing new and strengthening current partnerships between other Rady Faculty of Health Sciences’ colleges (dentistry, rehabilitation sciences, pharmacy and nursing) and the respective Brandon departments, moves she adds, can only benefit the city and region.
“There’s a need to increase physician resources for rural PMH communities, including First Nations communities in the area and training family medicine residents in these communities may improve this.”
Looking ahead, Dr. Maier says partnerships have been and will continue to be, critical to developing programs at the Brandon Satellite Campus.
“There are many stakeholders involved in the success of this distributed campus, including UM, PMH, Brandon Regional Health Centre, the many departments and physicians in Brandon and the health region, all of the interprofessional team members, our administrative team, Sioux Valley High School and the provincial government.”
Photo credits: Sandy Black, for UM Brandon Satellite Campus.
Do you try and set goals and can’t seem to follow through with them? Is your list of things you should be doing just getting longer? Sometimes it can be overwhelming to think about the changes we want to make or the activities we want to accomplish. The list seems too big to work on all at once, making it difficult to start.
Setting yourself goals or learning how to create action plans that will help you achieve those goals is an important part of life. Making action plans allows us to break down our activities into smaller, more doable steps.
When deciding on an Action Plan, there are a few key things you need to consider for it to succeed:
First and foremost, the action you are planning needs to be something YOU want to do or have decided to do. Not something someone else thinks you should do.
Second, make sure that the action you have chosen is ACHIEVABLE. If you are new to action planning, it’s a good idea to start with something that can be achieved within the next week.
Third, make sure the action you have decided on is ACTION-SPECIFIC. For example, losing weight is not action-specific; it’s a result of an action. Reducing the amount of sugar-sweetened beverages from 6 to 3 in a week is action specific.
Next, you need to answer the following questions:
What? What are you going to do (specific action)
How much? This is measuring the time, distance or amount
When? Which day of the week or time of the day works best to complete the action
How often? This is the number of times you will carry out the activity in a week. When thinking about this one, try to avoid saying every day. Things come up, and plans change. It is better to underestimate and feel like you’ve succeeded if you do more than planned than to feel like you’ve failed if you don’t reach your lofty goals.
The final step to creating a successful action plan
Rate your confidence level on a scale of 0-10. 0 being not at all confident I can achieve this, and 10 being totally sure and confident the plan will be fully completed. It is recommended that if your confidence level is below 7, you should have a look at what barriers are preventing you from feeling more confident and consider reworking the action plan. Setting realistic and achievable action plans is key to becoming a better self-manager. It’s important that you succeed!
Action planning is one of the many skills discussed and practiced in the Get Better Together program and is seen as the most important self-management tool. If you are living with a chronic health condition and want to learn more about becoming a better self-manager, consider signing up for this program. Participants will work to build the confidence needed to better manage their health through group support and discussion of topics such as healthy eating, physical activity, communication and pain management. This program is offered both in-person and virtual across PMH.
For more information, please contact Roslyn Cullen at [email protected] or call our Health Promotion toll-fee line at 1-877-509-7852.
(Information for this article was taken from The Chronic Disease Self-Management Workshop developed by The Self-Management Resource Center – Stanford University.)
BRHC Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Temporary Relocation Due to Construction
Brandon Regional Health Centre (BRHC) expansion project continues with the foundation work of the new building located on the north side of BRHC.
Pile driving of posts into the ground close to the Brandon Regional Health Centre’s existing wall will start to take place. This will require temporary changes inside the hospital where the NICU and Maternity Ward are located.
Effective February 1, the NICU will be moved to 200 Surgery (2nd floor). Depending on the location of piling driving, some maternity patients may also be transferred to 200 surgery after they deliver. Patients moved may have to share a room with other moms.
Visitation in the NICU may be limited to one person per baby due to space.
When visiting, we also ask you to check at the front information desk before going to the Maternity Unit to ensure your family member has not been moved to 200 Surgery.
These moves are necessary due to the noise and vibration levels of the pile driving. This work is expected to be completed in mid-March.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding during the construction phase.
Once again, the holiday season is upon us. It’s a time for reflection, celebration, fellowship, worship and song.
Visiting with family and friends, either in-person or virtually in today’s day and age keeps us connected to the people we love and care about the most!
It’s a time to enjoy a festive meal, open cards and gifts and participate in holiday traditions. We all have our traditions, memories, moments of reflection and our spirit of giving. Putting up decorations, marvelling at the twinkling lights, reminiscing during the holiday meal, joyously singing along to hymns and festive songs…it’s such a special time of year!
Despite the challenges we have all endured with the worldwide COVID pandemic, along with the emerging increase in respiratory virus season, now, more than ever, is a time for understanding, caring, and optimism.
Within our facilities, if an ‘in-person’ visit isn’t possible, you can let patients and Personal Care Home residents know you are thinking of them by going to the PMH website and filling out the ‘well wishes’ information. By making this well wishes request, it will be delivered directly to the person on your behalf.
We take this moment to especially recognize our staff who have continued giving of themselves over the past year. They continue doing what they do best — providing quality care to the people we serve. We can’t say thank you enough! We know residents within our health region are extremely grateful for the dedication, commitment and compassion you bring to work with you every day!
On behalf of the Prairie Mountain Health Board, Management and Staff, we sincerely wish every one of you a safe, healthy and happy holiday! May your season be filled with love, happiness and cherished memories! And all the best in 2023!
