Government donates $1.27 million for virtual health care in northern Saskatchewan
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Northern communities in Saskatchewan now have a virtual health-care pilot project thanks to a significant amount of funding from the federal government.
Researchers with the University of Regina and the Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre at the First Nations University of Canada, as well as the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, will receive $1.27 million over the next five years from the government’s Canada Institutes for Health Research Project grant.
“Indigenous children in remote Canadian communities are at risk because of poor access to comprehensive and local pediatric health care. They require rapid solutions that are culturally safe, community-directed, and consistent with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action,” said Dr. Gregory Hansen, pediatric neurointensivist at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital and adjunct nursing professor at the University of Regina.
The virtual health care aspect gives the patients easy access to health-care professionals for a real-time assessment and also allows for follow up conversations with the patients. The project is building off a previous pilot project for northern Saskatchewan led by Tanya Holt with the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. The project used a robot controlled by a pediatrician in Saskatoon to do virtual clinical visits.
