Waskaganish, Que., opens new, larger community health centre
Ribbon-cutting for expanded Community Miyupimâtisîun Centre was held this week
As Waskaganish’s population grows, so does the demand for accessible health care.
The Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay (CBHSSJB) has officially opened the expanded Community Miyupimâtisîun Centre (CMC), a clinic to help fill the gaps in health care in the northern Quebec Cree community of about 2,700 people.
The board marked the milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, welcoming community members and partners to celebrate the centre’s opening.
“The community has grown in population for a number of years now," said Thomas Hester, the centre's director.
"The former CMC was small. The services we needed, we couldn't implement because of its size.”
The expanded centre is about four times the size of the old one, and allows the health board to introduce a wider range of services, including hemodialysis, radiology, dentistry, medical imaging, point-of-care laboratory testing, pharmacy services, and a birthing centre being built nearby.
“We already had one birth last fall, the first one under the midwifery services. That brings us closer to the days where people were born within the community or out on the land,” said Hester.
Midwifery services are currently offered out of the former CMC. Hester said the ability to support more births within the community is especially meaningful, as many Cree are born in non-Indigenous communities such as Chibougamau and Val-d’Or.
“If ever you were to ask a child, where were they born? And say ‘Waskaganish,’ that means a lot,” said Hester.
For Dr. Bernard Reid, who's been a clinical physician in Waskaganish for the last nine years, the new CMC is not only bigger, but more functional.
"The functionality of our emergency department I think is one of the most significant things," Reid said.
"It's a much safer space. From beginning to end, how patients arrive through the ambulance, how quickly they can be assessed."
Reid also added that beyond expanding services, the new facility intends to reduce the need for patients to travel outside the community for basic testing and X-ray appointments.
"The nearest place frequently being Montreal, which is 1,000 kilometres south. That's extremely disruptive for patients who have families, jobs and responsibilities," said Reid.
He added that it costs less money to hire a specialist to work with patients in the community, than to fly patients out.
"We have a small radiology department. This helps us avoid medevacs for less acute or less urgent X-rays that need to be done. They can be done here," said Reid.
Reid said that within the Cree Health Board, Waskaganish will now be considered a "third pole," accepting referrals from patients coming from neighbouring communities. The others are Chisasibi and Mistissini.
Hester encourages Cree youth to consider careers in health care, noting that the Cree Health Board continues to rely on fly-in doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals.
“For the young people thinking of where they want to be career-wise, health care is a big area where we need expertise, and we will be requiring in the future,” said Hester.
The expanded services at the CMC in Waskaganish will also create new jobs, Hester said, including positions for two full-time dentists, seven pharmacy staff, nine laboratory workers, four in medical imaging, and 12 nurses and licensed nurse practitioners for the hemodialysis unit.
As staffing needs increase, Hester said the Cree Health Board is also planning for additional housing to support incoming health-care workers.
“There is a plan to build a 40-unit transit housing for Waskaganish in the future, that will be able to house the positions that we will require,” said Hester.
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with files from Cole Bosum