Province announces investment to incentivize rural medicine

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on October 4, 2024.

asmith@medicinehatnews.com

The province announced a plan to help address challenges and improve outcomes in rural and remote health care on Thursday, with the introduction of a Rural Health Action Plan.
Alberta’s government is introducing a $16-million Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary Pilot Program, an $800,000 Medical First Responder Grant program and a $600,000 Emergency Medical Responder Education Grant program.
“There is an urgent need for customized support in rural and remote communities across Alberta. This action plan will serve as a roadmap to build and maintain access to high-quality health care in these areas of the province,” said Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health.
The first of these programs will provide bursaries to medical students in their final year of an undergraduate medical program at any medical university, provided they have been matched with a family medicine residency program at the University of Alberta or University of Calgary.
They will also be available to those completing their family medicine residency at these universities, regardless of year of study. In return, these students will be committed to delivering comprehensive patient care in eligible communities for three years.
The goal of this is to increase the capacity in communities that lack enough physicians.
“Investing in our rural health care workforce is essential for communities across the province,” said Martin Long, parliamentary secretary for rural health. “The introduction of the Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary Pilot Program is a vital step toward attracting and retaining skilled professionals in Alberta’s rural and remote areas.”
The other part of this plan encourages the establishment of new MFR agencies in rural and remote communities, as well as aid existing emergency medical services recruiting and training a local workforce with an $800,000 and $600,000 grant, respectively.
“The RMA is encouraged by the Government of Alberta’s efforts into applying a rural lens on how health care is funded, structured and delivered,” said Paul McLauchlin, president, Rural Municipalities of Alberta. “This plan is a significant step towards designing and implementing a system that works for rural communities across the province.”
The Rural Health Care Action Plan will be reviewed and updated every three years.
However Alberta’s NDP criticized the announcement, saying this does not address the immediate capacity issues Albertans are facing.
“Doctors across the province are on the verge of closing more local practices because the UCP government is failing to take action and sign a new agreement,” said Sarah Hoffman, Alberta NDP Shadow Minister for Health. “Lack of family doctors and frequent staff shortages at rural hospitals continue to force intermittent, and sometimes long-term or permanent closures of emergency departments and medical clinics across our province.

“It doesn’t need to be this way. Instead of causing more chaos, the government should prioritize patients and health-care workers. They should sit down at the table and sign an agreement to create a stable and reliable health-care system that we can all be proud of. Other provinces have shown leadership. Albertans deserve nothing less.”

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