Prairie Mountain Health Release |

If you have an interest in health care within your community, and have some thoughts regarding health care priorities across the region, Prairie Mountain Health wants to hear from you!

Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) is in the process of establishing Local Health Involvement Groups within the region and is urging residents to consider filling out an application to sit on the newly-established advisory groups. Local Health Involvement Groups, or LHIGs, will explore and provide advice to the Prairie Mountain Health Board of Directors on issues that impact the delivery of local health services. The groups are being established in all Regional Health Authorities across the province, although they may differ in structure or design.

Within PMH, four geographical LHIGs are being created. Two of them will be located south of Riding Mountain National Park and two will be established north of the Park.

PMH Board Chair Marg MacDonald invites residents, who want to share their views and weigh in on health care priorities, to consider putting their names forward to sit on a Local Health Involvement Group.

“Our Board values relationships with our health partners and stakeholders and we are always looking at ways to obtain feedback in our health region. We are excited about the possibilities these groups will afford us in achieving those objectives and we look forward to working with them to develop, among other aspects, our next regional Strategic Health Plan in 2016,” MacDonald stated.

Current PMH Board member Gwynn Ketel has first-hand experience in the important role advisory groups like this play. Before being named to the Board of Directors, Ketel was a member and Chair of a regional health advisory group in the former Parkland RHA.

“I believe groups such as the LHIGs are an excellent way to ensure two-way communication between the RHA and its residents. We want to continue to hear about their experiences, challenges and successes. Our Board strives to engage our citizens and provide avenues where they feel their feedback is making a difference. This is another important way we set out to accomplish that goal,” Ketel added.

A complete list of Frequently Asked Questions about the LHIGs, along with application information, is available on the PMH website (www.prairiemountainhealth.ca). Residents with additional questions can also contact PMH Toll-Free at 1-888-682-2253.