Hamiota and District Health Centre professionals were treated to a banquet, live band November Down, and Big Daddy Tazz comedy. If laughter is good medicine, everyone left the April 20 celebration in top form as ‘Tazzy’ shared his own struggles and foibles with hilarity.
The event was in recognition of the years of hard work that have made the health centre a service to residents from the Kenton area and to residents throughout Prairieview Municipality as well as for Hamiota and area.
Emcee Vaughn Wilson used history questions to select the order of tables for the smorg line-up. The right answers - usually ‘Dr. Ed Hudson’.
Sponsors of the event were the Hamiota District Health Centre Foundation Inc. (HDHCF)., The Hamiota Municipality and Hamiota Chamber of Commerce.
Medical doctors, nurses, lab technicians and support staff were invited guests. Tickets were available for the public to purchase and many did.
Dr. Segovia-Ramos, a new medical doctor now living in Hamiota, is a recent immigrant from Philippines. She’s grateful to Manitoba for accepting her application, when doors in B.C. and Ont. did not open for her.
She completed her education in Philippines and practiced there for two years, mainly in emergency room work. Segovia-Ramos had her sights set on internal medicine requiring an additional four years’ study, however, the couple wanted to get on with their lives in Canada.
Upon arrival in Winnipeg, she wasted no time in challenging the medical educational requirements for a foreign doctor and was successful. She’s on a four-year return of service agreement.
Dr. Segovia-Ramos (Nica) says she finds life in Hamiota to be “quiet,” adding, she enjoys music, movies, the outdoors with her family and trying new food.
Doctor Chris Breneman is full-time in Hamiota while Doctors Gooden and Nosad are shared with nearby medical centres. Dr. Segovia-Ramos is one of three female doctors. She says that an additional lab technician will open the way for more medical services here.
Hamiota mayor Randy Lints says Hamiota Municipality has struck up an important partnership with Prairie Mountain Health to fill gaps in services here.
Regarding physician recruitment he says, “We have been fortunate to receive Dr. Segovia-Ramos from the RHA in February and have signed an agreement with the RHA to hire Waterford Global a recruiting firm who are already working on our behalf to bring another doctor from the UK to Hamiota.
The HDHCF is contributing (through Hamiota Municipality) $75,000 to the RHA toward a nearly $150,000 cost for the recruitment firm.
Mayor Lints says there are several other docs who have shown interest in practicing in Hamiota. “One has local ties to the area but currently works elsewhere and another is a student who graduates this summer and wants to come to Hamiota. She did a residency in Hamiota and loves the community.” He adds, “All of this of course is dependent on the RHA as these doctors would be their employees and we need their blessing to make this all happen.”
Hiring a laboratory technician is also dependent upon Shared Health both Provincially and at the Prairie Mountain Health levels, however there is a graduate slated for Hamiota facility.
“It is kind of a chicken and egg scenario. We need the doctors to justify more staff at the lab and we need more staff to support an increase in doctors. We currently have signed a return of service agreement with an individual who is in their second year of lab tech studies at Red River. In the new year (2025) they will start work in Hamiota at the lab.
“We also have been promised a lab tech person who has a return of service agreement with the RHA and is studying in a two-year course at Saskatoon Polytechnical College and once they have completed their course, they will be assigned to Hamiota.”
The goal is to maintain nursing and all staffing “to get back to the days of 24/7 ER and return our number of acute beds back to the old number of 20 (currently about 16).”
The need for personal care service is growing. “Currently you need to go on a list and may get paneled to another town until a room becomes available,” says Lints. “Birch (Lodge) is a wonderful facility but with an aging population we need to look more long term.”
The mayor credits the Health Centre Foundation (donated monies from the entire area) as a funding partner in the return of service agreements with PMH and Shared Health.
“The hospital will benefit the entire area, so the foundation sees a way to help us in a non-traditional way to recruit and retain staff for the health centre.”
