The Saskatoon Health Region is working toward tailoring the delivery of health care services specifically to Humboldt and surrounding communities.
Approximately 50 people, representing a variety of agencies, institutions and municipalities, attended the Conversation Café held on Monday, May 6.
Director of Rural Integration for the Saskatoon Health Region Rod MacKenzie, said the value of having diverse representation helps to identify the different health needs and priorities of the community.
"Health is not just health care," he said during the Café. "It's not just the hospital, and it's not just long-term care."
The Conversation Café consisted of four 20-minute rounds of discussion surrounding key questions presented by facilitators. The discussion, deliberation and debate of the four particular issues will help the health region form an idea of what a Community Health Advisory Council should consist of for Humboldt and the surrounding area.
Employees of the Saskatoon Health Region will compile the information collected at the Conversation Café and will return in about two months time to announce their conclusion as to what the Community Health Advisory Council should look like for Humboldt, said MacKenzie.
"We purposefully create these councils so that there's more representation from community than from the health region because it's not meant to be a health region council. We want to make sure the council is representing the community," he said. "Nobody knows the community better than the community members."
Community Health Advisory Councils are a relatively new concept for the Saskatoon Health Region.
The first Community Health Advisory Council was established in Cudworth about two years ago, said MacKenzie.
The idea behind the councils is to create a soundboard for the health region when making changes or improvements to health care services or programs in a particular community.
"Having a community council we can run things by is really helpful to the (health) region," said MacKenzie. "It's a way to grow a healthy community."
There are several community agencies with a focus on health, said MacKenzie, adding a Community Health Advisory Council will help evaluate available resources and identify existing gaps.
The formation of a Humboldt Community Health Advisory Council is scheduled for sometime this fall, said MacKenzie.
The council will meet with health region representatives once per month in the beginning term to establish the terms of engagement (guiding principles of how to make decisions) and priorities.
