ST. PAUL – For one day, the Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre (MNFC) in St. Paul transformed into a healthcare hub.
From Hepatitis C testing to addiction counselling and STI screenings, the St. Paul Wellness Day event saw 19 different healthcare and community services come together to provide care and information to the community on Oct. 17.
All people had to do was walk in.
LiveRx, a collaborative research study between the University of Calgary, the University of Alberta, and the Alberta Health Services (AHS), was among the organizers of the event. The study is focused on improving access to testing and treatment of Hepatitis C, a viral infection that causes swelling on the liver.
Cari Egan, one of the primary event organizers and a researcher with LiveRx, said that Hepatitis C treatment is now much than it was in the past.
“Most have no side effects, and the treatment and cure is achieved within two to three months of treatment, depending which medication they take,” she said.
In Alberta, pharmacists have also expanded their scope of practice, and they are now able to prescribe a much broader range of treatments, including Hepatitis C.
But access to treatment can still be difficult for many people, according to Egan. Bigger challenges that remain include how people can access these treatments and who can give prescriptions.
The are challenges that LivRx is hoping to help to solve.
“People needed to travel to Edmonton, Calgary or Red Deer for treatment. But we know that's a major barrier to treating people,” she said.
The event in St. Paul was also an opportunity for LivRx to bring those testing and treatment options directly to a rural community.
Hepatitis C testing and treatment
Lisa Hale-Balla is a licensed practical nurse with the Saddle Lake Health Care Centre. She was among the many healthcare providers present during the event.
Her role during the day involved screening individuals for Hepatitis-C infection.
“We’re really wanting to reach out to members of the community and do some testing so that people can access treatments that could save their lives.”
Hale-Balla agreed with Egan that in the past, Hepatitis-C was an infection that could lead to death. But with modern treatments available, there is a 95 per cent success rate, she said.
Hale-Balla also wanted to bring more awareness to other diseases, like syphilis. She said the North Zone has the highest syphilis rate in Alberta.
“We’ve had hundreds of babies . . . born with syphilis in Alberta this year,” said Hale-Balla. “We have about 20 per cent of those babies die.”
“So, it’s really important that we do syphilis testing along with the other STIs to protect community members, but also protect our babies,” she said.
Members of the Saddle Lake community can find Hale-Balla at the medical clinic. She is available any day from Monday to Friday.
“I can test for syphilis, HIV, Hepatitis C, chlamydia, and gonorrhea right in my clinic . . . without seeing a physician.”
Health and wellness event
“What we have found is that a lot of people have different care needs,” said Egan, during the wellness event. Those needs may require someone to access other services or make other changes in their lives before taking treatment for viral infections like Hepatitis C.
“They might need to get support for other things,” like immunizations, housing, or addiction counseling.
Because of this, the event also brought in other health and wellness providers from the region, including Alfred Ndose, an addictions counselor with Recovery Alberta.
Ndose wants to bring more awareness to the community about addictions services that are available in St. Paul.
“We came in to talk a little bit about our services like addiction counseling on a one-on-one basis . . . We assist people to go to treatment and we helped them with the treatment application,” he said.
Addiction Services is located at the provincial building, and there is also a mental health unit at the hospital, according to Ndose.
Both services have walk-in opportunities available every Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Ndose said he was happy to see the wellness day take place.
“The initiative to have different services working together with the Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre is something that is going to change the community,” he said.
Bringing people together
Egan shared a similar sentiment to Ndose about the benefits of the wellness day.
“Sometimes we don’t have enough opportunity to work together closely,” said Egan.
So, the event was not only about bringing services to people who may not access them on a regular basis, “But also to bring together organizations that would really like to partner more and strengthen those relationships.”
Tany Shaw, executive director with the MNFC, said the friendship centre movement is all about helping serve the needs of the community - without discrimination.
“It’s about the inclusiveness of everybody,” she said.
But Shaw acknowledged that friendship centres like the MNFC are not the only ones able to provide solutions and services. “Together, we can provide a lot,” she said, explaining the event is a prime example of how unity is crucial to help people.
“Let’s come together and work together in partnership,” said Shaw.
