This event is from the archives of The Notice Board. The event has already taken place and the information contained in this post may no longer be relevant or accurate.
The Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA) presents a session with Dr. Sam Myhr as she discusses the challenges of rural medicine.
Government’s plan for rural medicine: Do Not Resuscitate?
Thursday October 7, 2021 – 12 p.m. MDT
YouTube Live link: https://youtu.be/OjjY6qQwSUI
Sustaining medical services in smaller communities is challenging at the best of times. Doctors have been working without an agreement for almost two years, and the unstable relationship with our government has made it nearly impossible to recruit and retain physicians to rural areas. The gaps in services are widening provincially, and instead of addressing the worsening underlying issues, government and Alberta Health Services have dismissed the numerous closures as pandemic or vacation related. Dr. Sam Myhr questions whether maintaining services for rural populations is a priority — especially in light of the February 2020 review of AHS that suggested reductions or closures would save the system money. Myhr will give an overview of the current crisis and why it should matter to everyone.
Speaker: Dr. Sam Myhr, Rural Medicine President for the Alberta Medical Association
Sam Myhr is a family physician in Pincher Creek, where she and her colleagues are true generalists — a now endangered species in medicine. Together, they run the clinic, hospital, emergency room, and surgical/obstetrical services for the surrounding area — all while training a constant complement of six medical students/residents. What started as a fight to maintain the broad services her group is proud to deliver has led to multiple regional and provincial advocacy roles. Sam is vice-president of Pincher Creek’s Attraction and Retention Committee, advises government on rural sustainability through various channels, and is the current president of the Section of Rural Medicine for the AMA.
In order to ask questions of our speaker in the chat feature of YouTube, you must have a YouTube account and be signed in. Please do so well ahead of the scheduled start time, so you’ll be ready. Go the YouTube Live link provided in this session flyer and on the top right of your browser click the “sign in” button. If you have Google or Gmail accounts, they can be used to sign in. If you don’t, click “Create Account” and follow along. Once you are signed in, you can return to the live stream and use the chat feature to ask your questions of the speaker. Remember, you can only participate in the chat feature while we are livestreaming.
Link to SACPA’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SouthernAlbertaCouncilonPublicAffairs
For further information on the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs, visit the SACPA website.
Contact:
Trevor Kenney | trevor.kenney@uleth.ca | sacpa.ca