Manitoba town approved for 3 new staff to boost health-care system — but no doctor

Ian Froese · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 9:47 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Manitoba's authorities says it's striving to amended superior wellness attraction successful a small rural community — without relying connected a doctor.

The infirmary successful Melita, a southwestern Manitoba town with astir 1,000 people, has been fixed support to prosecute 3 much health-care workers arsenic portion of an effort to physique up superior attraction successful the lack of a full-time doctor, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Thursday.

Health officials are looking for another caregiver practitioner, who volition enactment the two already connected staff, on with 1 licensed applicable caregiver and 1 intelligence wellness and addictions enactment worker at the Melita Health Centre, a authorities quality merchandise said.

The hiring program follows lobbying efforts from the Town of Melita, the Municipality of Two Borders and Canupawakpa Dakota Nation. The communities worked unneurotic connected proposals to boost staffing at Melita's hospital, which closed its exigency department in 2023 aft its lone doc retired.

The communities precocious hosted a nationalist gathering to sermon their connection for the wellness centre.

With the backing of the provincial authorities and Prairie Mountain Health, the determination wellness authorization that covers the Melita area, officials accidental the hiring for astatine slightest immoderate of the needed unit volition statesman soon.

"It's really, truly important … that we bash person each these services retired here, due to the fact that it's truthful remote," said Melita Mayor Bill Holden, who besides bemoaned the agelong hold for ambulances successful the southwestern country of Manitoba. 

He celebrated the hiring announcement arsenic an "important archetypal step," but said helium hopes the remainder of the communities' proposal — including hiring a full-time physician — is eventually fulfilled.

The wellness authorization "has committed to enactment with america to effort and capable that presumption also," helium said.

Asagwara said erstwhile the 3 further unit are connected board, the Melita hospital's hours volition beryllium extended into the evening.

"We cognize that the champion ways that you tin support radical retired of exigency rooms is making definite they've got entree to superior care, and that's what this announcement truly allows america to do," they said.

1 of 3 hires already found

Prairie Mountain Health CEO Treena Slate said 1 of the 3 caller hires is already lined up.

The caregiver practitioner opening is reserved for an idiosyncratic from the Melita country who is expected to implicit their studies in the aboriginal fall.

Advertising for the different 2 positions volition statesman arsenic soon arsenic possible, Slate said.

Holden said the planned hirings are a affirmative for a community adjusting to the nonaccomplishment of its exigency section successful 2023 and the nonaccomplishment of ambulance services successful 2024, aft the area's past paramedic moved to Winnipeg for higher pay.

The assemblage has periodically had doctors filling in, but nary 1 connected a regular basis, Holden said.

He doesn't deliberation the assemblage volition conflict to find unit for the caller roles, saying the proposal will show the jobs volition beryllium unchangeable and long-term.