The Rural Municipality of Enniskillen is expanding health services for its residents and the broader region with the addition of radiology services, including ultrasound, through Guardian Radiology.
Pamela Barnett, chief administrative officer for the R.M. of Enniskillen, said the new service is a major benefit for the community.
“We are extremely excited not only for the R.M. of Enniskillen residents, but the whole southeast of Saskatchewan and southwest of Manitoba to be able to access the radiology services in a timely manner, and with local sonographers,” she said.
“This is something you don’t see very often in small communities. The access that we have to local sonographers in our area is quite rare.”
She said the ability to offer this service locally is significant.
“A lot of people will move for healthcare and access to healthcare, and when anybody comes to the community, chances are they’re going to visit businesses within the community and support those local businesses—not just in Oxbow, but in the whole southeast of Saskatchewan.”
Barnett added that the new service is expected to be beneficial for both residents and the economy.
“Most ultrasound clinics have quite a long wait list, and so it alleviates the burden on their schedules, allowing their residents to get into their clinic in a timely manner. It also helps our residents, not having to travel, and it also helps when we’re trying to recruit healthcare professionals—showing that we have services available for them to utilize and they don’t have to transfer patients to a larger centre.”
To support the new service, the R.M. is leasing the space at no cost and has entered into a partnership with Guardian Radiology.
“We’re hoping that it opens up doors for other options to be able to come into the community as well,” Barnett said. “We not only have this venture, but we also have the Wellness Centre, and so the R.M. has always made sure that healthcare is on the front line.”
“It was absolutely amazing. The community of Oxbow welcomed us with open arms, complete with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a nice reception,” said Nadine Kanigan, director of operations with the ultrasound centre, a partnering clinic with Guardian Radiology. “We had a number of community members and physicians stop by to welcome us to the community, so we're very, very excited to be operating in the town of Oxbow.”
“There’s quite a need for ultrasound services in that area of the province. So we're looking forward to filling a void there, as well as creating an opportunity for our two sonographers who are from that area to be able to practice in their hometown.”
Kanigan explained that both sonographers, Cheyenne Yates and Jalisa Pauchard, had worked at their Saskatoon location before starting families.
“It was always a bit of a coffee room joke saying once you girls go off and have your families, I know you're not going to come back to work with us. So let's keep in touch, because hey, I still want to keep you as part of the team. So if there's an opportunity in your neck of the woods, we'd love to help you continue along your professional careers and be able to stay and work at your home site.”
The new center not only gives healthcare professionals more options, but it also benefits patients in rural communities.
“Being able to have access to ultrasound right in the community is great because it'll just take off some of that waitlist and some of that backlog that Estevan and Weyburn, and I guess potentially even into Brandon and Regina, are having,” Kanigan said. “So overall, it's a positive impact for increasing access to ultrasound services in that area.”
When asked if they faced any challenges hiring for a rural community, Kanigan said they were fortunate.
“We got super lucky. It's just sort of one of those meant-to-be scenarios that if we had two of the very best sonographers who actually wanted to work in that area, we absolutely had to find a way to continue to let them practice and bring their knowledge and their skill sets to that community."
Kanigan emphasized the value of timely diagnostics in health outcomes.
“There are a lot of instances where things are time-sensitive. We do often get a lot of urgent requests, and ultrasound is one of those first-line modalities that physicians will refer for. So in terms of reducing travel and wait time, we can improve patient outcome by not letting some of those things that are urgent linger. We can be able to find a diagnosis quicker for people if it's in their community.”
Planning for the Oxbow site began months ago, with Kanigan thanking the RM and one of the sonographers for their help.
“Jalisa, who is from Oxbow, she has a lot of contact in the community, so it was really a joint effort between Jalisa sort of drumming up some support and reaching out to the community members and the RM of Enniskillen approaching us to say we hear that there are sonographers in our area that want to come back to work. Can we actually put the wheels in motion and make something happen here?”
“I would say the serious conversation really happened six months ago, and we started just initially by looking for space, looking for logistics, and then it all just really fell into place within the last two months.”
Kanigan said the project has been a rewarding one to bring to life.
“I just want to highlight the fact that it's a really special project. It's a win all around the board for keeping professional services in the rural communities where it's needed. And it's great for the physicians—they want to be able to provide timely diagnosis for their patients—and of course for the patients themselves that they can stay in their home communities and not have to travel excessively to get services.”
“Our goal is just to provide great access, high-quality imaging, and help the community and be part of the healthcare journey. Because when you bring healthcare into the communities, I think it just changes so many things. It has a positive ripple effect.”