Health pilot project expands virtual care for Maskwacis community members
Stew Schmidt
Maskwacis Ambulance Authority (MAA) and the Maskwacis Mobile Mental Health team leveraged a pilot project grant from PATHWAYS Indigenous Health Collaborations to expand virtual care to their community members in central Alberta. The innovative project, called Âniskômohcikewin, enables caregivers to provide patients with the right care and connection, at the right time, in the right place.
The MAA and mental health team serves the 18,000 members of the Maskwacis territory which includes Ermineskin Cree Nation, Samson Cree Nation, Louis Bull Tribe, and Montana First Nation.
The Âniskômohcikewin project uses a virtual care platform called Maple, allowing frontline paramedics and mental health teams to expand a platform and network of providers to enhance the healthcare service offering. The platform connects patients with physicians, general practitioners and therapists on their own schedule through text, phone or video chat.
Our team supports to initial steps for the patient to connect and register within the Maple solution from the comfort of the patient’s home. And they remain a partner in the healthcare journey anytime the patient needs support. Understanding the people and culture creates an atmosphere of trust, which is a great enabler to ensuring care is appropriately accessed in a timely manner.
Since the patient is connecting to a physician from the comfort of their own home, patients are more likely to be more comfortable and freely report their condition. This gives the healthcare clinician a great opportunity to assess ambulatory needs, provide immediate attention and arrange for follow-up care.
Engaging in a project of this nature has many benefits for not only the patient, but the health care system as a whole. Virtual medicine is modernizing healthcare for patients and providers. It’s also removing barriers to care, such as transportation to attend clinic appointments and long emergency department wait times, which often result in patients leaving prior to being seen by a physician. Our teams are pleased to support and expand quality access to healthcare.
We are also proud of our patients who, despite all the obstacles within healthcare, are stepping up with support from their family and friends to explore the benefits of virtual health and close the access gaps. It’s the adoption of options like this by our people that will improve health outcomes.
Addressing disparities in Indigenous health and wellness requires collaboration, innovation and commitment between communities, the public and private sectors. Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. is leading by example in funding health pilot projects as part of its PATHWAYS Indigenous Health Collaborations commitment. The Âniskômohcikewin partnership is evidence of the progress we can make together for Canada’s vulnerable populations. Let’s continue to explore what’s possible and empower communities to work towards improved health outcomes.
Stew Schmidt is general manager of Maskwacis Ambulance Authority & Maskwacis Mobile Mental Health.
Maskwacis Mobile Mental Health Inc. is a charitable foundation that offers support and services for children, youth and adults in distress throughout the Maskwacis community. Services include intervention, short-term crisis management, information, referrals and mobile response. The diverse team of providers within Maskwacis Mobile Mental Health provide service 24 hours a day through both in person and 24/7 phone access. https://www.maskwacis-mmh.com
Maskwacis Ambulance Authority is an advanced life support emergency medical service which employs advanced care paramedics, nurses, primary care paramedics, social workers, mental health therapists, emergency communications officers with a collective mission to put the patient first. www.maaems.com