Province of Manitoba Media Release | New Services Closer to Home Will Enhance Patient Care: Oswald

New dental surgery services will soon be offered in Swan River to reduce travel times for area residents, Health Minister Theresa Oswald announced today.

“In the past, patients have had to travel to Brandon or Winnipeg for dental surgery,” said Oswald. “This new program at the Swan Valley Health Centre will improve access to services, eliminate the need for patients to travel for certain dental surgeries and bring quality care closer to home.”

It is anticipated a surgeon will travel to Swan River at least six times a year to provide dental surgeries such as excising cysts or tumors, draining dental abscesses and repairing fractured jaws. Other dental procedures, such as dental implant surgery and tooth extractions, will also be performed at the facility.

“This is another positive example of how we work with the province on regional strategies that reflect back on our recently released five-year strategic health plan,” said Kevin McKnight, chief executive officer, Parkland Regional Health Authority. “We consistently review our available human and financial resource capacity to ensure our residents are able to navigate through the health system as easily and quickly as possible.”

Local nursing staff will receive training to assist in procedures, Oswald said, adding the province is investing more than $40,000 to purchase surgical equipment needed to provide services.

“This expansion of services is very important to our region,” said Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk in Swan River today. “Our focus on front-line health-care services and developing innovative models of care will continue to improve health care for rural Manitobans around the province.”

The ministers noted the expansion of dental surgery services builds on other recent investments in health care in rural Manitoba including:

* investing in more than 100 Manitoba Telehealth sites to bring health-care services closer to home for rural and northern families;

* issuing a request for information to review the options for implementing a mobile-services model for surgical and diagnostic services in Manitoba;

* funding a new cataract surgery program at Swan Valley Health Centre in Swan River;

* enhancing access to home-care services, providing more affordable supportive-housing options and expanding personal-care home beds across the province; and

* upgrading the medical laboratory in the Flin Flon General Hospital.

Dental surgery services will begin to be available in Swan River later this year.