Widening health-care capacity in southeast Saskatchewan

Community of Redvers re-opens its hospital, with help from an Enbridge grant

Hospital staff in the small, southeastern Saskatchewan community of Redvers are ready to open a time capsule of sorts.

In 2009, a doctor shortage forced the community to close the hospital, and much of its medical equipment has sat untouched since then.

But last spring, when the second of two physicians arrived in Redvers from India to practice medicine, the town began making plans to reopen its hospital. There was one obstacle in the way – outfitting the pre-2009-era facility to meet the community’s 2014 health care needs.

Help has come in the form of an Enbridge grant for two pieces of equipment – a telehealth system and a Doppler machine. Each will allow the little hospital to offer care far beyond the scope of a normal rural, two-physician centre.

The telehealth system uses videoconferencing equipment to connect patients with specialists and other health care providers from around the province, greatly expanding the range of medical expertise available in a community.

“If a patient needs to see a specialist in Saskatoon, instead of having to drive five hours to an appointment, he can go to the Redvers Health Centre and dial up via telehealth to meet with the specialist,” says Corrine Orsteb-Bulbuck, office manager at the Redvers Health Centre that contains the hospital.

The system will also help Redvers’ two new physicians to stay on top of their game with remote access to medical training or conferences.

The new Doppler machine will also help the doctors maximize the scope of patient services. The Doppler is a handheld instrument used for providing ultrasound tests for prenatal care, or for evaluating patients with diabetic or cardiovascular issues.

“We don’t have any technicians to do ultrasounds at the hospital, so this will help us to provide that care,” says Dr. Vijay Anthony Trabhu, one of the physicians at the Redvers Health Centre. “Getting effective equipment helps us to do tests in one place, so people don’t have to run to neighbouring centres to get the care they need.”

Mike Garnier, chairman of Redvers Health Foundation Inc., says one of the most important aspects of the new equipment is that it supports the hospital’s most important assets – the doctors.

“Ultimately, Enbridge’s grant helps us to retain our doctors and keep them happy here,” says Garnier. “It means the doctors have the chance to use the equipment they are trained to use – the equipment that helps them to treat their patients as effectively as possible.”

Updating equipment to help the hospital get on its feet is just one of many ways Enbridge has supported Redvers and become a partner in the town. Jeff Yanko, a Public Affairs Advisor with Enbridge Pipelines Saskatchewan Inc., says that sense of partnership extends far beyond dollars and cents.

“I can’t begin to tell you how many people come up to me to tell me how much Enbridge’s support means to the community,” says Yanko. “It’s not only money, it’s the way our company shows support in the community – and that’s the most important thing.”