MUSKOKA – Dorset, Port Carling, Port Severn and Severn Bridge might be getting new nursing stations by next summer.
“Everybody’s excited, all of the communities have full government support at the municipal level, and three of the communities have actually had space donated, or land donated to them,” said Donna Kearney, nurse practitioner at the Rosseau Nursing Station.
She has been contracted by the district of Muskoka to write a business plan and proposal for a new initiative, which includes the nursing stations, something she said would be a benefit to the area.
“We find that the rural communities are often where there is a lot of elderly people, or people living below the poverty line, and they can’t necessarily travel back and forth to get adequate health care,” she explained. “So they end up going without of care a lot of times.”
She said closer health care options could help those who couldn’t travel, and could help seasonal residents as well.
“It’s great for the cottage population, because if they are playing at the lake they can get a lot of their primary care right at the nursing stations, and not have to go into ‘emerge,’” she said.
Currently there are two nursing stations in Muskoka, Moose Deer Point and Wahta Nursing Station.
While located in Parry Sound, the Rosseau Nursing station borders Muskoka and many residents and cottagers do take advantage of its services.
Kearney said adding more nursing stations will help keep people out of the emergency room, and keep local residents from having to travel farther distances when sick or injured.
“If we have the nursing stations out in those rural areas, we can keep the cottagers at the dock, we can keep the rural people in their home communities,” she said.
According to Kearney, wait times at the nursing station are a lot shorter, and nurse practitioners can do about 90 per cent of what a family doctor can do.
She said if people come in who are in need of hospitalization, they call 911. They also have a defibrillator, emergency medicine and IVs on site if they are needed.
She said nursing stations complement the system, people do not get billed, and doctors are not penalized.
Those without OHIP are not charged, but asked to make a $100 donation. Kearney said people often donate more.
The nursing stations will also feature videoconferencing with the Ontario Telemedicine Network, where patients can connect with specialists anywhere in Ontario. The nursing stations will also use electronic medical records.
The proposed initiative also includes the introduction of a nurse practitioner for social housing units in Muskoka, who would specifically deal with those living below the poverty line.
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Source: http://www.muskokaregion.com/news-story/4254276-four-new-nursing-stations-proposed-for-muskoka/
